The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality is a Category B municipality in the western region of the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B3 (small towns) |
| Province: | Eastern Cape |
| District: | Amathole |
| Municipal code: | EC129 |
| Seat: | KwaMaqoma (Fort Beaufort) |
| Number of wards: | 23 |
| Total area: | 6,357 km² (2,454 square miles) |
| Population: | 178,594 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Nomhle Beauty Sango |
About
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality was established after the August 2016 local elections by merging the Nxuba and Nkonkobe local municipalities.
The Municipality is named after anti-apartheid activist and politician Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba. This legend was born on 12 February 1920 in a village known as Mazoka in Kwanondyola in the Fort Beaufort district. He is the son of the soil of the Eastern Cape. In 1994, Raymond Mhlaba became the first Premier of the Eastern Cape Province.
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality is geographically located in the western region of the Amathole District Municipality, in the Winterland of the Eastern Cape Province, approximately 140 kilometres northwest of East London on the R63 and 200 kilometres northeast of Gqeberha (formerly named Port Elizabeth).
This countryside municipality is situated at the foot of a mountain range of great significance, the Winterberg. Several historical events occurred around the Winterberg, such as the War of the Axe and the War of Maqoma, in which the great Xhosa King resisted land dispossession by the British colonialists.
During the war, the Xhosa King retreated to the mountain peak, called Mthontsi (now called Fordyce), where caves exist. It was here that he conducted Guerrilla Warfare until his capture and imprisonment on Robben Island.
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality comprises 23 wards and covers an area of 6,357 km² (2,454 square miles), making it the largest of six local municipalities in the Amathole District, as it accounts for a third of its geographical area.
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Amahlathi Local Municipality to the east
- Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality to the southeast
- Ngqushwa Local Municipality to the southeast
- Makana Local Municipality in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality to the south
- Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality to the west
- Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality in the Chris Hani District Municipality to the northwest
- Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality in the Chris Hani District Municipality to the north
The administrative headquarters/seat of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality is in KwaMaqoma (previously known as Fort Beaufort).
The municipality’s major towns are KwaMaqoma, Alice, Middledrift, Adelaide, Bedford, Seymour, and Hogsback.
Raymond Mhlaba is a rural municipality whose economy is greatly driven by the agricultural sector, which includes forestry, citrus, and crop production. The citrus industry is one of the municipality’s largest employers. Forest plantations and timber processing are also undertaken in the area.
Most farming activities happen in the rural areas, which consist of privately owned farms, and this plays a major role in the municipality’s economic growth.
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality is well-known for its rich culture and heritage. The historic education institutions of the University of Fort Hare, Healdtown College, and Lovedale College are important heritage sites in Raymond Mhlaba, but as yet are underutilised as tourism or cultural sites.
The municipality’s tourism sector remains largely unsupported and underexploited in a municipality with iconic natural resources in the form of the Amathole Mountains and nationally significant heritage sites.
Tourism
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality boasts small towns that have significant history and magnificent heritage sites, trails, attractions, adventure spots, hospitality, eco-tourism, arts and crafts which may be discovered during your visit in the area.
The municipality is a great place, from the picturesque town of Hogsback to the rich heritage of the eight Wars of Resistance waged against the colonial conquest.
The Raymond Mhlaba Municipality prides itself on the distinct educational institutions that meaningfully contributed to the development of South Africa by producing quality leaders who shaped and sharpened the world outlook.
The municipality hosts the Bedford Garden Festival, which mainly focuses on showcasing the most beautiful gardens in the world, local handmade crafts, and local artists’ performances, attracting national and international visitors to Bedford.
At the Katberg Hotel and Mountain Spa, visitors can experience the world-class golf course, the clear sparkling rivers, laughing waterfalls, soft green valleys, and forested ravines.
The Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality is also the home to the Music in the Snow Jazz Festival, which takes place at Hogsback annually in July. The event is filled with a lot of fun and entertainment for the family.
The municipality hosts the Cultural Heritage Festival annually in September to celebrate heritage and promote tourism.
The Maqoma Heritage Route takes visitors on a journey into the spirit of self-assertion, the configuration of self-respect, and the nature of dignity.
Adelaide tourist attractions
- Adelaide Museum
- Molweni Private Game Reserve
Alice tourist attractions
- KKʼs Shisanyama
- Lovedale College
- Cecelia Makiwane
- John Knox Bokwe
- The University of Fort Hare
- Stewart Memorial
- Nkonkobe Garden of Remembrance
Bedford tourist attractions
- Garden Tourism
- Glen Lynden Church
- Activities in Bedford
- Loving food
- Eagle Hout
- Garden Lovers of Bedford
- History of Bedford
KwaMaqoma (Fort Beaufort)
- Elundini Backpackers
- Tyumi Lake
- Crafters Association
- Dutch Reformed Mission Church
- The Fossil
- Fort Fordyce Nature Reserve
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Healdtown School
- Fort Beaufort Museum
- The Officers’ Quarters
- Victoria Bridge
Hogsback tourist attractions
- The Big Tree
- Horse Trails
- Hobbiton
- Chief Tyaliʼs Grave
- Hiking and Biking
- Labyrinth at The Edge
- 39 Steps Waterfall
- Madonna & Child Waterfall
Seymour tourist attractions
- Elandʼs Post
- Olive Schreinerʼs House
- Mpofu Game Reserve
- Hertzog Church
- Post Retief
Middledrift tourist attractions
- The Prophet Nkwenkwe Nontetha
- Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality has a population of 178,594 people, compared to 159,515 in 2016 and 151,379 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 1.61%.
According to the 2022 Census, 25.9% of the population is under the age of 15, 64.2% is between 15 and 64, and 9.9% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 98.1% of the population in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 0.9% as Coloured, 0.7% as White, and 0.3% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 57.4% of the population speaks isiXhosa as their first language, 33.3% speak Sesotho, 2.9% speak English, 1.9% speak isiZulu, and 4.5% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality are general government services, wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, business services, construction, manufacturing, community, social, and personal services.
Municipal council and management
The Raymond Mhlaba municipal council is comprised of 45 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Twenty-three councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 23 wards, while the remaining 22 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
In the election of 1 November 2021, the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of 33 seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 33 – DA: 3 – EFF: 3 – INDEPENDENT: 3 – AIC: 1 – PA: 1 – PAC: 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC |
| Executive Mayor | Nomhle Beauty Sango |
| Speaker | Thozama Ngaye |
| Chief Whip | Nonkazimlo Primrose Mlamla |
| Other Council Members | – Elton Bantam (Exco: Community Services) – Ernst Lombard (Exco) – Sinethemba Mjakuca (Exco: Budget and Treasury Office) – Mhlangabezi Nombombo (Exco) – Zingisa Rasmeni (Strategic Planning and LED) Portia Sabane (Exco: Sport, Arts and Culture) – Bukelwa Sharon Tyhali (Exco: Corporate Services) – Sithembele Zuka (Exco: Engineering Services) |
| Municipal Manager | Unathi Malinzi |
| Chief Financial Officer | Mveleni Ngxowa |
| Senior Management | – L Hanabe (Acting Director: Corporate Services) – Dr Lulamile Donacious Hanabe (Director: Strategic Planning and LED) – N Majiba (Director: Community Service) – Daluxolo Mlenzana (Director: Engineering Services) |
| Communications Officers | n/a |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality.
- Adelaide
- Alice
- Balfour
- Bedford
- Calderwood
- Healdtown
- Hogsback
- Ixesi (formerly known as Middledrift)
- Katberg
- KwaMaqoma (formerly known as Fort Beaufort)
- Kwezana
- Mhlangeni (formerly known as Hertzog)
- Seymour
Contact details
The contact details of Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal Address: | P.O. Box 36, Fort Beaufort, 5720 |
| Physical Address: | 8 Somerset Street, Fort Beaufort |
| Telephone: | 046 645 7400 |
| Fax: | 046 645 2562 |
| Email: | customercare@raymondmhlaba.gov.za |
| Website: | www.raymondmhlaba.gov.za |
