Amathole District Municipality

The Amathole District Municipality (ADM) is a Category C municipality situated in the central region of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

Amathole District Municipality

Type of municipality:District (Category C)
Province:Eastern Cape
Municipal code:DC12
Seat:East London
Local municipalities:6
Total area:21,117 km² (8,153 square miles)
Population:871,601 (in 2022)
Executive mayor:Anele Ntsangani

About

The Amathole District Municipality is geographically situated in central Eastern Cape and covers an area of 21,117 km² (8,153 square miles).

The district stretches along the Sunshine Coast from the Fish River Mouth and along the Eastern Seaboard to just south of Hole in the Wall along the Wild Coast. It is bordered to the north by the Amathole Mountains and named after the same mountains.

The Amathole Mountains are a range of densely forested mountains in the Eastern Cape and are part of the Drakensberg Mountains.

The word Amathole means “the calves of the Drakensberg” in isiXhosa which refers to the pastoral way of life of the rural Xhosa communities who still graze their colourful Nguni cattle on the Drakensberg mountain foothills.

The district is divided into six local municipalities namely;

  1. Amahlathi Local Municipality
  2. Great Kei Local Municipality
  3. Mbhashe Local Municipality
  4. Mnquma Local Municipality
  5. Ngqushwa Local Municipality
  6. Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality

The Amathole District Municipality is bordered by Sarah Baartman District Municipality to the west, Chris Hani District Municipality to the north, OR Tambo District Municipality to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the east.

In 2011, the Amathole District Municipality was re-demarcated to exclude the Buffalo City Local Municipality, which became a Metropolitan Council. In this regard, Amathole District Municipality has close links to the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality as the two areas continue to share inter-regional trade and administrative services. This is the reason why the headquarters/seat of the district is East London (in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality).

However, in June 2024, the long-standing plans to move the headquarters to one of the district’s six local municipalities were relaunched.

Access to the district is served by the King Phalo Airport (previously known as East London Airport), the Port of East London, the N2 and N6 national roads, and a rail network.

The District has four heritage routes that were developed and named after Xhosa kings and heroes. The routes are;

  1. The Maqoma Route
  2. The Makana Route
  3. The Sandile Route
  4. The Phalo Route

The above four heritage routes intertwine with the other tourism routes located within the district, namely;

  • Amathole Mountain Escape Route (fauna and flora, waterfalls, and nature reserves)
  • Friendly N6 Route
  • Frontier Country Route (game viewing, skydiving, fly-fishing, river-rafting, mountaineering, forestry, and battlefield with rich cultural heritage)
  • Wild Coast Route (ocean marine activities, game farming, and agriculture)

The district has 72 traditional leaders and includes large parts of the former Ciskei and Transkei homeland areas, resulting in disparities within its borders.

Drought disaster

Amathole is a drought-stricken district with high levels of poverty, over 76% of residents are living in absolute poverty.

The district was declared a drought disaster state in December 2015 and has put in place solution-orientated mechanisms such as the procuring of water tankers to cart water in the various villages affected by the drought, however, the sources have dried up.

Groundwater investigations and successful boreholes have been conducted, however, there is a shortage of equipment.

The prone areas that have been experiencing challenges due to drought are the villages and wards under Great Kei, Mbhashe, Mnquma, Ngqushwa, and Raymond Mhlaba local municipalities.

Below is a table illustrating the magnitude of the drought-affected areas within Amathole District Municipality.

Areas AffectedNo. of VillagesLocal Municipality
Qwaninga Water Supply Ward 2324 Villages (7,271 people)Mbhashe
Dwesa Water Supply Scheme Ward 2915 Villages (5,246 people)Mbhashe
Mendu Water Supply Scheme Ward 294 Villages (1,612 people)Mbhashe
Nqabarha North and South Water Supply Scheme Ward 222 Villages (500 people)Mbhashe
Tholeni Water Supply Scheme Ward 9, 10, 11 and 1235 Villages (13,670 people)Mnquma
Adelaide Ward 21 – Tyoks Village(9000 people)Raymond Mhlaba
Bedford Ward 23, Ndlovini, Old Goodwin Park, Sizakhele, and Old Goodwin Park4 Villages (1500 people)Raymond Mhlaba
Thyefu Water Supply Scheme Ward 78 Villages (6500 people)Ngqushwa
Kei Mouth and Haga-Haga Ward 52 Villages (300 people)Great Kei
Soto and Mooiplaas villages Ward 42 Villages (5000 people)Great Kei

Map

A map of Amathole District Municipality with its six Local Municipalities
A map of Amathole District Municipality with its six Local Municipalities.

Population

According to the South African National Census of 2022, the Amathole District Municipality has a population of 871,601 residents, compared to 880,790 in 2016, and 854,967 in 2011.

The municipality has a population growth per annum of 0.19%.

According to the 2022 Census, 29.3% of the population is under the age of 15, 60.4% is between 15 and 64, and 10.4% is over 65.

Racial makeup

According to the 2022 Census, 97.2% of the population in the Amathole District Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 1.5% as Coloured, 1% as White, and 0.1% as Indian/Asian.

Languages

According to the 2022 Census, 93.6% of the population speaks isiXhosa as their first language, 2.3% speak English, 2.1% speak Afrikaans, and 2% speak other languages.

Economy

The district’s main economic sectors are community services (44%), finance (19%), manufacturing (14%), trade (13%), transport (4%), agriculture (3%), and construction (2%).

District council and management

The municipality is under S139 administration, effective from January 2021.

Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party)ANC: 14
EFF: 2
ATM: 1
DA: 1
UDM: 1
Controlling PartyANC
Executive MayorAnele Ntsangani
SpeakerOnke Mgunculu
Chief WhipNanziwe Rulashe
Other Council Members– Celiwe Genyane (MMC: Legislative and Executive Support)
– Nomonde Geza (MMC: Engineering and Infrastructure Services)
– Bandile Ketelo (MMC: Strategic Planning and Management)
– Bukelwa Madikane (MMC: Corporate and Human Resource Management)
– Khanyile Maneli (MMC: Community Services)
– Xhanti Mngxaso (MMC: Spatial Planning and Economic Development)
– Fumanekile Phumaphi (MMC: Budget and Treasury)
Municipal ManagerDr Bhekisisa Mthembu
Chief Financial OfficerNcecile Zengethwa
Senior Management– Nompucuko Badi (Acting Director: Engineering Services)
– P Billie (Acting Director: Corporate Services)
– Luyanda Sovasi (Director: Strategic and Planning Management)
– Ayanda Tyali (Senior Manager: LED)
– Zolisa Cynthia Xabadiya (Directorate: Land, Human Settlements and Economic Development)
Communications Officers– Sibo Mnqeta (Communications and Customer Care)
– Sisa Msiwa (Acting Senior Manager: Communications and Customer Care)

Towns/places

Below are the towns/places in the Amathole District Municipality.

  • Adelaide
  • Alice
  • Amatola Coastal
  • Bedford
  • Butterworth
  • Cathcart
  • Dutywa
  • Elliotdale
  • Fort Beaufort
  • Hamburg
  • Hogsback
  • Kei Mouth
  • Kei Road
  • Keiskammahoek
  • Kentani
  • Komga
  • Middeldrift
  • Morgan Bay
  • Ngqamakhwe
  • Peddie
  • Seymore
  • Stutterheim
  • Willowvale

Contact details

The contact details of the Amathole District Municipality are listed in the table below.

Postal address:PO Box 320, East London, 5200
Physical address:15 Rees Street Quigney, East London, 5201
Telephone:043 701 4000
Fax:043 721 2874
Email:info@amathole.gov.za
Website:www.amathole.gov.za