Sundays River Valley Sondagsriviervallei | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 33°25′S25°27′E / 33.417°S 25.450°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Eastern Cape |
District | Sarah Baartman |
Seat | Kirkwood |
Wards | 8 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal council |
• Mayor | Nombulelo Bixa (ANC) |
• Speaker | Simphiwe Happyboy Rune (ANC) |
Area | |
• Total | 5,994 km2 (2,314 sq mi) |
Population (2011) [2] | |
• Total | 54,504 |
• Density | 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 71.8% |
• Coloured | 21.4% |
• Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
• White | 5.9% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Xhosa | 64.3% |
• Afrikaans | 28.0% |
• English | 3.4% |
• Other | 4.3% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Municipal code | EC106 |
Sundays River Valley Municipality (Xhosa : uMasipala wase Sundays River Valley; Afrikaans : Sondagsriviervallei Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within Sarah Baartman District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It has a total population of nearly 70,000 people. The municipality is one of the key production areas for citrus in South Africa. It also encompasses the Addo Elephant National Park and other significant areas of nature conservation.
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places: [3]
Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population | Most spoken language |
---|---|---|---|---|
Addo Elephant National Park | 20602 | 1.08 | 90 | Xhosa |
Addo | 20601 | 3.21 | 1,752 | Afrikaans |
Barsheba | 20603 | 0.61 | 517 | Xhosa |
Bontrug | 20604 | 2.33 | 6,806 | Xhosa |
Enon | 20605 | 0.40 | 782 | Afrikaans |
Kirkwood | 20606 | 3.07 | 2,749 | Afrikaans |
KwaZenzele | 20607 | 3.62 | 3,733 | Xhosa |
Nomathamsanqa | 20608 | 1.53 | 9,266 | Xhosa |
Paterson | 20609 | 0.22 | 671 | Afrikaans |
Remainder of the municipality | 20610 | 3,491.83 | 15,218 | Xhosa |
The municipal council consists of sixteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eight wards, while the remaining eight 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 ten seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election. [4]
Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
African National Congress | 7,179 | 63.20 | 7 | 7,258 | 63.83 | 3 | 10 | |
Democratic Alliance | 2,456 | 21.62 | 1 | 2,471 | 21.73 | 3 | 4 | |
Economic Freedom Fighters | 631 | 5.56 | 0 | 647 | 5.69 | 1 | 1 | |
Good | 241 | 2.12 | 0 | 582 | 5.12 | 1 | 1 | |
Freedom Front Plus | 254 | 2.24 | 0 | 264 | 2.32 | 0 | 0 | |
Independent candidates | 509 | 4.48 | 0 | 0 | ||||
African Transformation Movement | 49 | 0.43 | 0 | 85 | 0.75 | 0 | 0 | |
Compatriots of South Africa | 40 | 0.35 | 0 | 64 | 0.56 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 11,359 | 100.00 | 8 | 11,371 | 100.00 | 8 | 16 | |
Valid votes | 11,359 | 97.96 | 11,371 | 97.94 | ||||
Invalid/blank votes | 236 | 2.04 | 239 | 2.06 | ||||
Total votes | 11,595 | 100.00 | 11,610 | 100.00 | ||||
Registered voters/turnout | 25,034 | 46.32 | 25,034 | 46.38 |
The municipality derives its name from the 250 km (160 mi) long Sundays River, the fastest flowing river in South Africa. The river winds its way through the Zuurberg mountains and passes Kirkwood in the fertile Sundays River Valley; it empties into the Indian Ocean at Algoa Bay near Port Elizabeth.
To the north of Kirkwood lies the Rietberg mountain with the Uyepoort (Uye gateway) that provides passage to the Zuurberg mountains and the Greater Addo Elephant National Park. A panoramic view of Kirkwood and the orange groves is visible from The Lookout. The Lookout is also known as a site where large dinosaur fossils have been dug up by archeologists. The first complete dinosaur fossil to be found in South Africa, nicknamed "Kirky," was found not far from Kirkwood. [5]
The municipality comprises three regions with distinct characteristics: [6]
The municipality's population (as of 2005) is 63% urban and 37% rural. 64% of the population are 34 years old or younger. Suggested unemployment rate figures range from 20% to 44%. In 2001, among persons older than 20 years, 5461 had had no schooling, 7642 had had some primary education, 2487 had completed primary school, another 6594 had had some secondary education, 2363 had finished Grade 12, and 827 had gone on to some higher level of schooling. [6]
Among individual residents, 41.63% earned no income in 2001; 45.74% earned R800 or less per month; 6.96% earned between R801 and R1600 per month; 5.71% earned over R1600 per month.
Approximately half of the municipality's households live on less than R800 (US $110) per month. [6]
The agricultural industry, centering mainly around citrus fruit, dairy and chicory farming, plays a major role in the economy and functioning of the region; it alone counts for 31.2% of the GGP and 47.7% of employment.
Approximately 25% of South Africa’s navel oranges and 50% of the country’s lemons are produced in the Sunday’s River Valley. The area exports million of cartons of navel oranges per year, earning more than R1 billion in foreign exchange for the country. Other agricultural products include vegetables, potatoes, maize, wheat, chicory, flowers and rye grass.
Ecotourism is another driving force of the local economy, thanks to the presence of vast unspoiled wilderness areas. Addo receives about 115 000 visitors each year, of which 50% are foreign, and this figure is on the increase. [6]
Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa's second-smallest metropolitan municipality by area. It is the sixth-most populous city in South Africa and is the cultural, economic and financial hub of the Eastern Cape.
Addo Elephant National Park is a diverse wildlife conservation park situated close to Gqeberha in South Africa and is one of the country's 20 national parks. It currently ranks third in size after Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
The Kwazulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of South Africa. It covers an area of 17,800 square kilometers (6,900 sq mi) in South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
The Maputaland coastal forest mosaic is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa. It covers an area of 29,961 square kilometres (11,568 sq mi) in southern Mozambique, Eswatini, and the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Mozambique's capital Maputo lies within the ecoregion.
Alexandria is a small farming town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa and is situated 100 km North East of Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on the way to Bushman's River Mouth, Kenton-on-Sea and Port Alfred. Alexandria is part of the Ndlambe Local Municipality in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality of the Eastern Cape.
The !Khukaǁgamma or Sundays River is a river in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is said to be the fastest flowing river in the country. The Inqua Khoi people, who historically were the wealthiest group in Southern Africa, originally named this river !Khukaǁgamma, 'the waters with the spirit of abundance' because the river's banks are always green and grassy despite the arid terrain that it runs through.
Kirkwood, officially Nqweba is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Sundays River in the eponymously named Sundays River Valley, which forms part of the Sundays River Valley Municipality in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality of the Eastern Cape.
The Addo Elephant Trail Run is a 25-, 50- and 100-mile event that takes place in and around the Addo Elephant National Park which is situated 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of the South African coastal city of Port Elizabeth.
The Sundays River Valley is a low-lying area along the Sundays River. It forms part of the Sunday's River Valley Local Municipality in Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Eliza Tibbets was among early American settlers and founders of Riverside, California; she was an activist in Washington, D.C., for progressive social causes, including freedmen's rights and universal suffrage before going to the West Coast. A spiritualist, she led seances in Riverside. She became known for successfully growing the first two hybrid Washington navel orange trees in California.
Eastern Cape Parks are the national parks, marine protected areas, nature reserves and other nature conservation areas in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) is the governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wilderness areas and public nature reserves in the Eastern Cape, based in East London.
Riverside, California, was founded in 1870, and named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It became the county seat when Riverside County, California, was established in 1893.
The Greater Addo Elephant National Park is a megapark in the making, and consists of the following parks:
The Albany thickets is an ecoregion of dense woodland in southern South Africa, which is concentrated around the Albany region of the Eastern Cape.
Jansenville is a town in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
Kirkwood Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the protected areas of South Africa:
The Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area is a marine conservation area in Algoa Bay, adjacent to the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, near Gqeberha, previously Port Elizabeth.
The Suurberg is a mountain range near the Addo Elephant National Park in the southern Sarah Baartman District Municipality of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The range of some 70 kilometres long is situated at the eastern end of the Cape Fold Belt, and rises just north of the towns of Kirkwood and Bontrug, and Paterson further east. Its rugged terrain is intersected by many defiles and ridge lines, rising from some 200 m a.s.l. in the south to 936 m a.s.l. The southern slopes are drained by various tributaries of the Sundays River, including the Kabouga, Uie, Wit and Krom rivers. Two passes cross the mountain from south to north, namely the Suurberg Pass and Olifantskop Pass.