Nyandeni Local Municipality

Nyandeni
Local municipality
Official seal of Nyandeni Seal
Location in the Eastern Cape Location in the Eastern Cape
Coordinates:
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	OR Tambo
Seat	Libode
Wards	31
Government
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Mr P M Diniso
• Manager	Mr H T Hlazo
Area
• Total	2,474 km2 (955 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	290,390
• Density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	99.4%
• Coloured	0.3%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	0.1%
First languages (2011)
• Xhosa	95.3%
• English	2.0%
• Other	2.7%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code	EC155

Nyandeni Local Municipality is a local municipality in the OR Tambo District, situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Its administrative seat is the town of Libode. The entire municipal area falls within the former Transkei homeland area.

The urban population is mainly located in the two small towns of Libode and Ngqeleni.

Scattered, low-density rural settlements dominate the municipality. 79% of households reside in traditional or village type settlements. These settlements are loosely scattered throughout the entire municipal area and are surrounded by communal grazing and arable lands. The majority of residential structures are self-built. Apart from a few trading stores, there is little sign of any significant economic activity within the rural settlements.

Many of the families in the rural regions of the municipality were formerly supported by men who worked as migrant labour in local mines. Subsequent retrenchment at the mines has left these communities with scant means to survive.

About 77% of households can be regarded as indigents with access to either no income or incomes of less than R800 (US $108) per month.

Most of the education institutions in Nyandeni cater to lower level schooling. Of the 426 schools in the Nyandeni area, 64% are overcrowded or highly overcrowded, according to the OR Tambo District office.

The spread of HIV/AIDS is an extremely severe and urgent problem in the area. In 2009 the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was as high as 50%-60% among tested cases; these cases were mainly females who participated in voluntary testing during their regular pregnancy visits to local clinics.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population
Amasane	23401	26.59	3,244
Gibisela	23402	103.10	13,723
Konjyaoyo	23403	380.45	39,367
Libode	23404	33.68	3,835
Masizakhe	23405	6.71	579
Mbalisweni	23406	121.53	6,333
Mcwebeni	23407	159.79	16,614
Mhlanga	23408	709.67	81,298
Ndluzula	23409	2.51	578
Ngqeleni	23410	15.17	2,062
Ngqubusini	23411	292.53	41,001
Ngxangule	23412	105.59	9,131
Nqabe	23413	17.07	2,388
Ntakatye	23414	310.72	36,078
Qokolweni/Zimbane	23415	4.38	0
Simanzi	23416	309.37	24,566
Tshomane	23417	7.03	0
Xesibe	23418	4.85	464

Politics

The municipal council consists of sixty-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-one councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-one wards, while the remaining thirty 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 18 May 2011 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of fifty-three seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.

Party		Votes				Seats
		Ward	List	Total	%	Ward	List	Total
	African National Congress	53,979	54,132	108,111	86.2	31	22	53
	United Democratic Movement	4,766	4,293	9,059	7.2	0	4	4
	Congress of the People	1,563	1,965	3,528	2.8	0	2	2
	Democratic Alliance	1,293	1,851	3,144	2.5	0	2	2
	Pan Africanist Congress	638	327	965	0.8	0	0	0
	African People's Convention	82	344	426	0.3	0	0	0
	Independent	226	–	226	0.2	0	–	0
Total		62,547	62,912	125,459	100.0	31	30	61
Spoilt votes		1,446	1,046	2,492

External links

• Official website