Mbhashe Local Municipality


Mbhashe Municipality is a local municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The municipality was constituted in terms of the Municipal Structures Act of 1998 and comprises the areas that previously formed the Elliotdale, Willowvale and Dutywa town councils. The municipality is located in the north eastern part of the Amathole District Municipality. The main administrative office is situated in Dutywa.
Its primary claim to fame is as the birthplace of former President Thabo Mbeki. The Mbanyana Falls, Mbhashe Cultural Village and Donald Wood's Snooker Room number among its attractions. The word Mbashe is derived from isiXhosa. The municipality is named after the Mbashe River. The area also boasts the head offices of the AmaXhosa Kingdom at the 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 1 November 2021 the African National Congress won a majority of forty-five seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.