Mbhashe Local Municipality

Mbhashe Municipality (Xhosa: uMasipala wase Mbhashe) is a local municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The municipality was constituted in terms of the Municipal Structures Act of 1998 and comprises the areas that previously formed the Elliotdale, Willowvale and Dutywa town councils. The municipality is located in the north eastern part of the Amathole District Municipality. The main administrative office is situated in Dutywa.

Mbhashe
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Eastern Cape
Coordinates: 32°10′S 28°35′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Amathole
Seat	Dutywa
Wards	31
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Samkelo Nicholas Janda (ANC)
• Speaker	Babalwa Majavu (ANC)
• Chief Whip	Mandla Sibingibingi (ANC)
Area
• Total	3,169 km2 (1,224 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	254,909
• Density	80.44/km2 (208.3/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	99.4%
• Coloured	0.1%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	0.2%
First languages (2011) [2]
• Xhosa	95.7%
• English	1.6%
• Other	2.7%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	EC121

Its primary claim to fame is as the birthplace of former President Thabo Mbeki. The Mbanyana Falls, Mbhashe Cultural Village and Donald Wood's Snooker Room number among its attractions.^[3] The word Mbashe is derived from isiXhosa. The municipality is named after the Mbashe River.^[4] The area also boasts the head offices of the AmaXhosa Kingdom at the Nqadu Great Place.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[5]

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population
Bashee	21001	213.82	13,524
Bonkolo	21002	158.19	9,394
Cizela	21003	143.92	8,903
Ebongweni	21004	19.86	1,223
Ebotwe	21005	771.80	49,869
Elliotdale	21006	8.21	1,012
Emvelini	21007	177.44	17,348
Gcaleka-Ngchana	21008	146.50	11,403
Hala	21009	22.36	1,442
Idutywa Part 1	21010	275.97	28,957
Idutywa Part 2	21019	9.19	4,828
Jalamba	21011	277.47	31,914
Kwamkoloza	21012	306.87	18,655
Mpeko	21013	2.14	0
Ngqwangele	21014	105.63	12,998
Ngubezulu	21015	238.10	27,130
Ntonga	21016	101.36	8,466
Ntshatshongo	21017	48.53	3,779
Willowvale	21018	5.54	2,546

Politics

Main article: Mbhashe Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of sixty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-two wards, while the remaining thirty-one 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 forty-five seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.^[6]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	36,734	66.49	30	39,028	71.59	15	45
	United Democratic Movement	6,361	11.51	1	7,368	13.52	7	8
	Economic Freedom Fighters	3,041	5.50	0	3,386	6.21	4	4
	Independent candidates	5,439	9.85	1				1
	African Transformation Movement	1,122	2.03	0	1,186	2.18	1	1
	Democratic Alliance	809	1.46	0	771	1.41	1	1
	Batho Pele Movement	554	1.00	0	596	1.09	1	1
	Alliance for Transformation for All	287	0.52	0	614	1.13	1	1
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	292	0.53	0	415	0.76	1	1
	African Democrats	192	0.35	0	410	0.75	0	0
	African People's Convention	195	0.35	0	191	0.35	0	0
	Congress of the People	63	0.11	0	322	0.59	0	0
	Al Jama-ah	155	0.28	0	88	0.16	0	0
	Power of Africans Unity	0	0.00	0	142	0.26	0	0
Total		55,244	100.00	32	54,517	100.00	31	63
Valid votes		55,244	97.64		54,517	96.78
Invalid/blank votes		1,334	2.36		1,813	3.22
Total votes		56,578	100.00		56,330	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		122,433	46.21		122,433	46.01