Gamagara Local Municipality

Gamagara Local Municipality is an administrative area in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District of the Northern Cape in South Africa.

Gamagara
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 27°40′S 23°00′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	John Taolo Gaetsewe
Seat	Kathu
Wards	7
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	James Molodi Rakoi
Area
• Total	2,619 km2 (1,011 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	41,617
• Density	16/km2 (41/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	55.0%
• Coloured	28.7%
• Indian/Asian	0.6%
• White	14.0%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Afrikaans	53.9%
• Tswana	33.7%
• English	3.6%
• Sotho	1.4%
• Other	7.4%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	NC453

The name Gamogara is of Setswana origin. The municipality is named after a dry river which was in turn named after a man called Mogara of the Makwere clan (Batlhaping). During the early days of exploration, Mogara was the first person to settle in this part of the country. After 1887, the area became dominated by white farmers who then changed the name as they were unable to pronounce it correctly. Hence it was called Gamagara instead of Gamogara. The name is derived from a dry river that ran from Dibeng to join the Kuruman (Segonyana) river at Dikgatlong tsa ga Kganyile. Incidentally this is the route the Ba ga Motlhware followed on their way to their headquarters, Maje a Mokhothu (Langeberg).[4]