Dutywa


Dutywa is a town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, formerly part of the Transkei bantustan. It is the birthplace of Thabo Mbeki, who became President of South Africa in 1999. It is 35 kilometres north of Gcuwa on the N2 road. Dutywa is the seat of the Mbhashe Municipality in the Amatole District.
Dutywa is an inland located town and an economic center to the nearest coastal town Willowvale Gatyane. The economic contributions to this town mostly come from the agriculture, education and the rapidly developing infrastructure. This town recently finished developing a shopping complex in 2017, and has good recreational areas including sporting centers. Da Village is a heritage oriented fun center where prominent artists with the likes of Zahara among others and radio presenters come to mingle and have fun.

History

The town was founded in 1858 as a military fort after a dispute between a Natal Colony raiding party and local people. It is named after the Dutywa River, a tributary of the Mbhashe River. The name means "place of disorder" in the Xhosa language. Its spelling was officially changed from "Idutywa" to "Dutywa" on 16 July 2004. The settlement was laid out in 1884 and was made a municipality in 1913.

Origin

Dutywa is a relatively new urban settlement descending from a place now called Old Idutywa.

Transport System

The town's transportation consists mainly of a road system. There are bakkies for rural travelling where the roads are not tarred and minibuses to commute between different areas. For long distance travel, one can use buses, available from the local bus rank, Mavumisa or Jobela as the mostly preferred bus companies by locals. One can also book online or buy tickets from local retailers, Shoprite, Idutywa Spar.