24-586: Tsolwana Local Municipality was an administrative area in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape in South Africa . Tsolwana is an isiXhosa name which means "something with a sharp ending or a tip", referring the mountains around the whole area. After municipal elections on 3 August 2016 it was merged into the larger Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality . The 2001 census divided
48-621: A feud over the R61 road from Mthatha to Libode and Port St. Johns . This feud resulted in taxi ranks being closed by the Government. Over 60 fatalities were reported during the period of the feud. In 2018, the Minister of Police Bheki Cele closed all taxi ranks in Mthatha and demanded that the taxi associations negotiate with the police and merge to form one association but they refused. As
72-518: A new dawn is beckoning for Mthatha with the construction of infrastructure like BT Ngebs Mall and Mayfair Hotel. The Sinawe Thuthuzela Care Centre , a rape crisis centre launched in 2001, sees between 60 and 120 patients a month, from up to 200 km (120 mi) away. It won an award for being "the best-run care centre in South Africa". Sinawe means "we are with you" in Xhosa . Mthatha has
96-607: A number of construction projects offer hope for renewal. Many of South Africa's black leaders – including Walter Sisulu , Sabelo Phama , Bantu Holomisa and Nelson Mandela — come from this area, and the retired Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela lived in his home village of Qunu a few kilometres south of Mthatha. Mthatha is a focal point of the Nelson Mandela Route which celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela. There are three Nelson Mandela Museums. Spread across three sites, they collect, interpret and exhibit key aspects of
120-503: A result, some taxis were impounded by the police. Sagas ranks were opened in Mthatha but the ranks that were not opened triggered riots with people protesting and police firing rubber bullets and tear gas affecting a nearby school (St John's College). In 2019, two final year students, from the Walter Sisulu University developed affordable prosthetics. These students, Siphosethu Mgwili and Zanodumo Godlimpi, were awarded
144-705: Is also high in this district (64.6%), unemployment is at 65.5% and the literacy rate 42.2%. In 2006, it was reported the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality was owed R250 million by residents in unpaid service fees. It counts among its creditors the South African Revenue Service (to which it owes R18-million), the Public Investment Commission (R84 million), the national water affairs and forestry department (R46 million) and
168-469: Is situated on the watershed of four river systems. These are namely the Orange River , Great Fish River , Mbashe River and Great Kei River . Surface water sources supply water for most of the towns in the area while only a few rely on groundwater supplies. In rural areas, communities use water from unprotected springs, streams and boreholes. For the commercial farms in the west, the water supply
192-476: Is still characterised by its rural settlements and typical subsistence agriculture activities. Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality and Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality are lying in the west. These areas were originally part of the Republic of South Africa during Apartheid. The district’s agricultural industry is identified as dualism since it is divided into the first economy of commercial agriculture and
216-595: Is usually groundwater from boreholes. Mthatha Mthatha / ə m ˈ t ɑː t ɑː / ; Xhosa: [ḿ̩ˈtʰâːtʰà] , alternatively rendered Umtata , is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality . The city has an airport , previously known as the K. D. Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima . Mthatha derives its name from
240-503: The African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of seven seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election. 32°01′S 26°16′E / 32.017°S 26.267°E / -32.017; 26.267 Chris Hani District Municipality The Chris Hani District Municipality ( Xhosa : uMasipala weSithili sase Chris Hani ) is a landlocked district municipality situated in
264-646: The Border Technikon and Eastern Cape Technikon were merged to form the Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science . The campus was the base for the region's first community radio station, UCRFM, which started in 1996 and has become a significant community broadcaster. On 1 August 1973, Mthatha High Court was opened. In 1973, a summit meeting of the black homeland leaders was held at Umtata, when they decided to federate their respective states after independence. In 1976, Transkei
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#1732801941824288-541: The Development Bank of Southern Africa (R13 million). According to SA Delivery, The average annual income of a black Mthatha resident is R15,762. The town has also been plagued by complaints about the state of its roads and the collapse of its utilities and infrastructure. It's widely reported that the general decline into dysfunction and societal fragility is caused by endemic political corruption, municipal incompetence and widespread criminality. Despite all that,
312-612: The Eastern Cape. However, the South African National Defence Force relinquished its control of the airport in 2013. The airport was renamed Mthatha Airport . After the end of apartheid, some sections of the African business and professional community migrated to traditionally white areas of economic activity, and this has been widely cited as a cause of economic recession in the municipality, but
336-722: The Transkeian Territories General Council (known as the Bunga), and the building which served as a parliament was erected in 1903. This was followed by the construction of the town hall in 1908. A branch of the University of Fort Hare was established in the town, and after the independence of the Transkei in 1977 it became the University of Transkei . In 2005, the University of Transkei with
360-423: The centre of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and is made up of eight local municipalities . Most of the communities are in rural areas. The landscape ranges from moist uplands and grassland hills to the arid Karoo scrubland. In 2016, the region reported a population of 840 000 people, accounting for 1.5% of South Africa's total population and 12% of the Eastern Cape's total population. Most of
384-422: The district municipality's employment is based on unskilled labour. In the east are Emalahleni , Dr AB Xuma (previously Engcobo), Intsika Yethu , Sakhisizwe Local Municipality and a section of Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality . These local municipalities were originally part of the Transkei or Ciskei , which were former homelands during Apartheid , designed to separate different ethnic groups. This area
408-594: The first ever WSU vice-chancellor's award for most innovative prototype. The city is the episcopal see of both the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mthatha and the Anglican Diocese of Mthatha . Mthatha falls under OR Tambo District Municipality which is the poorest district in the Eastern Cape by all poverty measures. It has the lowest HDI (0.45) and the highest poverty gap (2 231 million) in the Eastern Cape. The number of people living in poverty
432-650: The intersections of the N6 from East London to Aliwal North via Komani , the R61 from Komani to Mthatha through Cofimvaba via Ngcobo and the N10 from Middelburg to Aliwal North via Cradock . Evidence of tarred roads in the rest of the district municipality is below the Eastern Cape’s provincial average – resulting in limited public transportation and access to health care facilities in bigger towns. The district municipality
456-421: The municipality into the following main places : The municipal council consisted of ten members elected by mixed-member proportional representation . Five councillors were elected by first-past-the-post voting in five wards , while the remaining five were chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives was proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 18 May 2011
480-414: The nearby Mthatha River which was named after the sneezewood (umtati) trees, famous for their wood and medicinal properties. The settlement existed in the 1870s as a buffer-zone, in response to reported tensions between Mpondo and neighbouring Thembu groups, and in 1875 a magistrate's office was opened. The first magistrate, appointed that year, was a man named J F Boyes. The settlement developed during
504-590: The next few years, becoming a military post for the British colonial forces in 1882. The town itself was founded in 1883, along the banks of the Mthatha River . Nearly a century later, the Mthatha Dam was constructed about eight kilometers upstream of the town. Mthatha became the leading administrative centre of the area, having both Anglican and Catholic cathedrals. The town became the headquarters of
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#1732801941824528-402: The second economy of subsistence farming. In spite of its significant agricultural outputs, the municipalities are importers of processed food. The provision of basic services is particularly limited in the eastern municipalities which are largely rural. Backlogs include the delivery of tap water and adequate sanitation , school infrastructure and tarred roads. The district is situated on
552-560: The story of the life and times of Nelson Mandela. The three historical sites of the museum are at Mvezo, Qunu and the Bunga Building in Mthatha. In the Bunga Building is the story of the Long Walk to Freedom and an exhibition of the many gifts received by Nelson Mandela. On 2 March 2004, Umtata was renamed "Mthatha". Mthatha has 2 major taxi businesses: Uncedo Taxi Association and Border Taxi Association. These associations had
576-458: Was granted independence as a bantustan, a nominally independent state not recognised outside South Africa. Mthatha served as the capital under the name "Umtata". Under the Transkei regime, an airport named after the then ruler of Transkei KD Matanzima was built. On 21 May 2012, the airport was formally handed over to Lindiwe Sisulu , then Minister of Defence, by Noxolo Kiviet , then Premier of
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