Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

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Buffalo City
Metropolitan municipality
Seal
Location in the Eastern Cape
Coordinates: 32°59′S 27°52′E / 32.983°S 27.867°E / -32.983; 27.867Coordinates: 32°59′S 27°52′E / 32.983°S 27.867°E / -32.983; 27.867
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
Seat	East London
Wards	50
Government [2]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Xolo Pakati[1] (ANC)
• Deputy Mayor	Vacant
• Speaker	Humphrey Maxhegwana
• Chief Whip	Mawethu Marata (ANC)
Area
• Total	2,536 km2 (979 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[3]
• Total	755,200
• Density	300/km2 (770/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [3]
• Black African	85.1%
• Coloured	6.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.8%
• White	7.7%
First languages (2011) [4]
• Xhosa	78.8%
• English	11.0%
• Afrikaans	7.2%
• Other	3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	BUF

Buffalo City is a metropolitan municipality situated on the east coast of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It includes the towns of East London, Bhisho and King William's Town, as well as the large townships of Mdantsane and Zwelitsha.

History[]

The municipality was established as a local municipality in 2000 after South Africa's reorganisation of municipal areas, and is named after the Buffalo River, at whose mouth lies the only river port in South Africa. On 18 May 2011 it was separated from the Amathole District Municipality and converted into a metropolitan municipality.

The area has a well-developed manufacturing base, with the auto industry playing a major role. Daimler AG through its wholly owned subsidiary Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) has a large assembly plant located next to the port of East London, which produces a variety of vehicles for export.

The climate is mild, with year-round sunshine. Average rainfall is 850mm (33.5 inches).

The population of 701,873 (2001) is largely African (85.2%), with White (8.4%) and Coloured (5.7%) minorities. There is also a small Indian community (0.6%).

The previous mayor, Dr Sindisile Maclean (ANC), was elected in 2000. Buffalo City elected its first female mayor on Friday, 17 March 2006. was voted in as Executive Mayor at the inaugural meeting of the new council following the municipal elections.

Main places[]

The 2011 census divided the municipality into the following main places:

Note:Only the most populated places are reported

Politics[]

The municipal council consists of one hundred members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fifty councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in fifty wards, while the remaining fifty 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 (ANC) won a majority of seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the election.^[5][6]

Hospitals[]

The following hospitals are located in the municipal area:^[7]

• Life Beacon Bay Hospital ^[8]
• Bhisho Provincial Hospital
• Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (Mdantsane)
• Duncan Village Day Hospital
• East London Private Hospital
• Fort Grey TB Hospital
• Frere Hospital
• Grey Provincial Hospital (King William's Town)
• Grey Monument Private Clinic (King William's Town)
• Mount Coke Hospital (replaced by Bhisho Hospital in December 1991)^[9][10]
• Nkqubela Chest Hospital (Mdantsane)
• St Dominic’s Hospital
• St James Hospital
• St Marks Clinic

Town twinning[]

Buffalo City's town twins are:

• Gävle, Sweden
• Leiden, Netherlands
• Milwaukee County, United States of America

References[]

External links[]

• Buffalo City Official site
• Eastern Cape Dept of Health list of hospitals^{[permanent dead link]}