SPECIAL FEATURE Nelson Mandela Bay has a population of 1.1-million and many educational institutions. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and St George’s Park cricket ground host provincial and international sports matches. Superb beaches and plentiful outdoor options make the area a popular tourist stop. The Addo Elephant National Park is less than an hour’s drive from the Port Elizabeth city centre.

Cattle and sheep farming make up 80% of land use, while commercial forestry is a big contributor to employment. There are large forestry plantations at Ugie and Mount Fletcher. Maize is grown along the Orange River and wheat in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. Tiffindell has been revived as a ski resort. The village of Rhodes hosts a “Stoepsit” festival in February.

Alfred Nzo District Municipality

OR Tambo District Municipality

Towns: Matatiele, Mount Frere, Mount Ayliff The smallest district is in the mountainous northeast, with hiking trails for tourists. There is scope for expansion of tourist activities, and a transfrontier park between South Africa and Lesotho could boost the area’s economy. Subsistence agriculture and forestry are the major economic activities.

Towns: Mthatha, Coffee Bay, Port St Johns, Qumbu, Bizana, Flagstaff OR Tambo District Municipality encompasses some of the province’s least-developed areas and contains one of South Africa’s most important ecological areas, the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism. There is mining in some areas but plans for titanium mining on seaside dunes are being contested. A Wild Coast Spatial Development Initiative exists to plot further development. Forestry is a big employer.

Amathole District Municipality

Towns: Cathcart, Stutterheim, Morgan’s Bay, Willowvale, Butterworth, Alice, Bedford The rural Amathole District surrounds the metropolitan area of Buffalo City. Pineapple and forestry are two of the most important agricultural activities. Popular resorts on the Wild Coast attract many tourists to the area. Hogsback and other towns near the Amatole Mountains offer beautiful scenery and popular beaches. Alice hosts the main campus of the University of Fort Hare.

special feature Sarah Baartman District Municipality

Towns: Graaff-Reinet, Humansdorp, Jeffreys Bay, Makhanda (Grahamstown) The western part of the province contains the biggest municipality geographically. Large commercial farms in the Karoo produce highGauteng North West quality meat, wool and mohair, while the coastal belt has dairy farming and some Free Stateforestry. The Kouga Valley is a big deciduous fruit Northern Cape producer, while the Kirkwood/Addo area is known for its citrus. Sarah Baartman has three of the Eastern Cape region’s national parks and several private game farms. Makhanda hosts the National Arts Festival, Rhodes University and several fine schools. ■ ZIMBABWE

MOZAMBIQUE

BOTSWANA

Limpopo

NAMIBIA

Mpumalanga

SWAZILAND

KwaZuluNatal

Chris Hani District Municipality

LESOTHO

Towns: Middelburg, Molteno, Dordrecht, Cradock, Queenstown, Lady Frere, Elliot Sheep farming is an important part of the economy. Some coal is found in the north and tourist activities include fly-fishing. The Foodcorp factory in Molteno manufactures Ouma rusks. Queenstown is a centre for cattle farming and has some manufacturing activities. The Mountain Zebra National Park is near Cradock. The Grootfontein Agricultural College and Research Station is in Middelburg, and the Marlow Agricultural College is near Cradock.

Western Cape

Free State

EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE Britstown N12

Northern Cape

Colesburg

Victoria West

Aliwal North

Oviston

N10

N1

Lady Grey

N6

R56

Molteno

Maclear

Lusikisiki

Elliot

Indwe

Mthatha

Three Sisters

Beaufort West

R61

Rietbron

Joe Gqabi District Municipality

Pearston East

Klipplaat

N10

Steytlerville

Towns: Aliwal North, Burgersdorp, Lady Grey, Rhodes, Barkly East, Ugie

Uniondale

Joubertina

N9

Knysna

N2

Kareedouw Plettenberg Bay

Adelaide

Cookhouse

Willowmore

Kirkwood

Paterson

Jeffreys Bay

15

9

Komga Bhisho N2

EAST LONDON

Port Alfred

PORT ELIZABETH

Humansdorp

N Butterworth

Stutterheim

Hamburg

N2

Port St Johns

Coffee Bay

Cathcart Fort Beaufort

King William's Town Grahamstown

R72

Uitenhage

Tsomo

Sada

Somerset

R63

Aberdeen

N9

Queenstown

Tarkastad

Cradock

Graaff-Reinet

R61

Mount Kokstad Ayliff Port Edward Mount Frere R61

N2

Dordrecht

Hofmeyr

Western Cape

Ixopo

R56

Fletcher

Barkly East

Jamestown

Steynsburg

Middelburg

Matatiele Mount

R58

Burgersdorp

Hanover

KwaZuluNatal

LESOTHO Zastron

Rouxville Bethulie

De Aar

INDIAN OCEAN Motorway Main Road Railway

eaStern cape buSIneSS 2013

EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020