Mbhashe Local Municipality


The Mbhashe Municipality is a remote outpost of the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
The Mbhashe Municipality was constituted in terms of the Municipal Structures Act. No. 117 of 1998 and comprises the areas that previously formed the Elliotdale, Willowvale and Dutywa TLCs and TRCs. The Municipality is located in the North Eastern part of the Amathole District Municipality's area of jurisdiction. The main administrative office of the Municipality is situated in Dutywa.
Its primary claim to fame is as the birthplace of the former president Thabo Mbeki. The Mbanyana Falls, Mbhashe Cultural Village and Donald Wood's Snooker Room number among its attractions.
The name Mbashe is derived from Xhosa. The municipality is named after the Mbashe river that cuts through the three areas, namely Xhora, Gatyana and Dutywa. The area also boats the head offices of the AmaXhosa Kingdom at Nqadu Great Place.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
PlaceCodeArea Population
Bashee213.8213,524
Bonkolo158.199,394
Cizela143.928,903
Ebongweni19.861,223
Ebotwe771.8049,869
Elliotdale8.211,012
Emvelini177.4417,348
Gcaleka-Ngchana146.5011,403
Hala22.361,442
Idutywa Part 1275.9728,957
Idutywa Part 29.194,828
Jalamba277.4731,914
Kwamkoloza306.8718,655
Mpeko2.140
Ngqwangele105.6312,998
Ngubezulu238.1027,130
Ntonga101.368,466
Ntshatshongo48.533,779
Willowvale5.542,546

Politics

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 3 August 2016 the African National Congress won a majority of forty-seven seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.