Amathole District
AMATHOLE DISTRICT
Local municipalities are: Buffalo City (with the main towns being East London, Mdantsane, King William's Town, Bhisho and Zwelitsha); Nkonkobe (main towns: Alice, Fort Beaufort, Seymour); Nxuba (Bedford, Adelaide); Ngqushwa (Peddie, Hamburg); Amahlati (Stutterheim, Cathcart); Great Kei (Komga, Chintsa); Mnquma (Butterworth, Ngqamakhwe, Centane); Mbhashe (Dutywa, Willowvale).
The Amathole District contains the highly-urban Buffalo City Local Municipality, the most populous local municipality in the country - yet two-thirds of the district is made up of ex-homeland areas. The terrain of the district is equally diverse. The warm and well-watered coastal strip gives way to the Transkei hills and, northwest of King William’s Town, to the Amathole Mountains that give the district its name. Fort Hare University, based in Alice and with a campus in East London, was the first black South African university and is the alma mater of a host of African leaders. The East London IDZ, established in 2002, is set to grow rapidly with investments in food processing and medicines already confirmed. The area of the district is 23,675 square kilometres.
Amathole has about 1.7-million people, the most in the province. Despite its rural hinterland, it has a relatively high population density of 78 people per square km, due to densification in the major towns and ex-homeland areas. The population is 91% African, 3% coloured and 5% white. Buffalo City, with East London as its centre, accounts for 42% of the district’s population, 83% of the district’s economic output, and 72% of the district’s formal employment.
Amathole is the second largest economy in the province, providing 27% of value added. The private sector is dominated by manufacturing which contributed 21% to value added in 2000. Agriculture provides only 8% of formal employment but varies greatly within the district. The ex-homeland areas are mostly under communal land tenure, although significant areas of private tenure exist in ex-homeland areas around Peddie and Butterworth. Agriculture in the ex-homelands is mostly small-scale crop farming and open grazed livestock. Farming is for subsistence rather than commercial sale, although some black commercial farmers are present. The coastal belt south of East London is the centre of the pineapple farming industry, with citrus, horticulture and livestock also farmed. Significant forestry plantations are sited in both the Amatola Mountains and around Butterworth. The areas around Peddie and beyond Alice are excellent cattle farming areas.
Formal employment comes from public services (75,000 jobs), manufacturing (27,000 jobs), trade (25,000 jobs) and agriculture (17,000 jobs). The automotive industry, food processing and textiles and clothing are the major manufacturing areas, in that order. East London hosts DaimlerChrysler, which manufactures the C class Mercedes-Benz for export to all right-hand drive markets. Nearby, tyre, car radio, metal products and plastics companies form a supplier cluster that continues to grow. The East London port has invested in a state-of-the-art car export terminal. Food processing is centred on pineapple canning and juicing, confectionery and dairy products. The district has a long-standing textiles and clothing industry that has faced strong foreign competition in recent years and which has restructured extensively. Furniture and leather goods are smaller industries with a historic base in the area, and have faced similar challenges in recent years. East London is an established tourism destination that is starting to emerge in its own right. The district boasts a wide range of tourism attractions, from beaches and the natural beauty of the Transkei Wild Coast, to the forests and waterfalls of the Amatola Mountains. The district hosted many of the conflicts between Xhosa and settler during the Border Wars, and is home to many of the leaders of the struggle against apartheid.
OPPORTUNITIES
Local municipalities are: Buffalo City (with the main towns being East London, Mdantsane, King William's Town, Bhisho and Zwelitsha); Nkonkobe (main towns: Alice, Fort Beaufort, Seymour); Nxuba (Bedford, Adelaide); Ngqushwa (Peddie, Hamburg); Amahlati (Stutterheim, Cathcart); Great Kei (Komga, Chintsa); Mnquma (Butterworth, Ngqamakhwe, Centane); Mbhashe (Dutywa, Willowvale).
The Amathole District contains the highly-urban Buffalo City Local Municipality, the most populous local municipality in the country - yet two-thirds of the district is made up of ex-homeland areas. The terrain of the district is equally diverse. The warm and well-watered coastal strip gives way to the Transkei hills and, northwest of King William’s Town, to the Amathole Mountains that give the district its name. Fort Hare University, based in Alice and with a campus in East London, was the first black South African university and is the alma mater of a host of African leaders. The East London IDZ, established in 2002, is set to grow rapidly with investments in food processing and medicines already confirmed. The area of the district is 23,675 square kilometres.
Amathole has about 1.7-million people, the most in the province. Despite its rural hinterland, it has a relatively high population density of 78 people per square km, due to densification in the major towns and ex-homeland areas. The population is 91% African, 3% coloured and 5% white. Buffalo City, with East London as its centre, accounts for 42% of the district’s population, 83% of the district’s economic output, and 72% of the district’s formal employment.
Amathole is the second largest economy in the province, providing 27% of value added. The private sector is dominated by manufacturing which contributed 21% to value added in 2000. Agriculture provides only 8% of formal employment but varies greatly within the district. The ex-homeland areas are mostly under communal land tenure, although significant areas of private tenure exist in ex-homeland areas around Peddie and Butterworth. Agriculture in the ex-homelands is mostly small-scale crop farming and open grazed livestock. Farming is for subsistence rather than commercial sale, although some black commercial farmers are present. The coastal belt south of East London is the centre of the pineapple farming industry, with citrus, horticulture and livestock also farmed. Significant forestry plantations are sited in both the Amatola Mountains and around Butterworth. The areas around Peddie and beyond Alice are excellent cattle farming areas.
Formal employment comes from public services (75,000 jobs), manufacturing (27,000 jobs), trade (25,000 jobs) and agriculture (17,000 jobs). The automotive industry, food processing and textiles and clothing are the major manufacturing areas, in that order. East London hosts DaimlerChrysler, which manufactures the C class Mercedes-Benz for export to all right-hand drive markets. Nearby, tyre, car radio, metal products and plastics companies form a supplier cluster that continues to grow. The East London port has invested in a state-of-the-art car export terminal. Food processing is centred on pineapple canning and juicing, confectionery and dairy products. The district has a long-standing textiles and clothing industry that has faced strong foreign competition in recent years and which has restructured extensively. Furniture and leather goods are smaller industries with a historic base in the area, and have faced similar challenges in recent years. East London is an established tourism destination that is starting to emerge in its own right. The district boasts a wide range of tourism attractions, from beaches and the natural beauty of the Transkei Wild Coast, to the forests and waterfalls of the Amatola Mountains. The district hosted many of the conflicts between Xhosa and settler during the Border Wars, and is home to many of the leaders of the struggle against apartheid.
OPPORTUNITIES
- Livestock: The district contains some of the richest livestock land in the province, but many commercial farmers have transferred into game farming. Public private partnerships and improved farming methods can expand commercial livestock farming in the former homelands.
- Crops: The coastal belt is warm and well watered. It provides many opportunities for diversified horticultural production, including further expansion of pineapples, tomatoes, citrus and exotic fruits and vegetables. Small-scale irrigation for local sale has potential in the ex-Ciskei and Transkei.
- Forestry can be expanded both in the Amatola Mountains and in the southern Transkei, creating potential for wood products and furniture industries.
- Fishing: The small East London fishing fleet has limited opportunities to expand with new quota allocations to the province, but there are a number of potential sites for aquaculture.
- Food processing: Canning and bottling of fruits and fruit juices can expand further. Expanded crop and dairy production in the Transkei will provide small-scale food processing opportunities, with potential for high-value branded products.
- Furniture can develop from its historic base through high-volume pine furniture components in the East London IDZ and smaller, hand-crafted furniture, with potential in the former homelands.
- Leather and leather goods has contracted under competition. In the longer term, expanded livestock production in the Transkei holds potential for small-scale tanneries and leather craft industries. Tourism can provide a major boost to the district's economy, linking the many diverse attractions of the Amatola Mountains, the Transkei Wild Coast, the long beaches, and the rich culture and history of the area. Strong branding is needed to link the different features.
- Automotive: The automotive industry already has a strong base in East London, strengthened by the opening of the automotive supplier park at the East London IDZ. Apart from automotives, the IDZ East London IDZ is also targeting agro-processing, mariculture, and textile and clothing industries. The IDZ is closely linked to the expanding East London port.
- Textiles and clothing: A move to higher-value design and production is needed.
