Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
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Motto: Development through Unity | |
Coordinates: 32°S 27°E / 32°S 27°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Established | 27 April 1994 |
Capital | Bhisho |
Largest city | Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) |
Districts | List |
Government | |
• Type | US$30.7 billion[4] |
Website | www.ecprov.gov.za |
Xhosa | iMpuma-Kapa |
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Afrikaans | Oos-Kaap |
Setswana | Kapa Botlhaba |
The Eastern Cape (
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after the Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom, began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England,from Scotland and some from Ireland.
Since South Africa's early years, many Xhosas believed in Africanism, and figures such as
.History
The Eastern Cape as a South African Province came into existence in 1994, and incorporated areas from the former Xhosa homelands of the
The Xhosa Kingdom was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa, and had all states in the Eastern Cape as tributaries. Any group, people, or tribe that recognised the Xhosa Kingdom as Paramouncy became Xhosa, practiced Xhosa culture and used isiXhosa as their main language. Some of the tribes that fall under the category of Xhosa people include: AmaMpondo, AbaThembu, AmaMpondomise, AmaHlubi, AmaBhaca, AmaXesibe, AmaBomvana and more.[original research?]
European settlers
In the late 18th century the
From the early 1800s until the formation of the
Demographics
The population of Eastern Cape Province is 6,562,053, of whom 86.3% are
Notable people
Law and government
The first premier was Raymond Mhlaba and the current premier is Oscar Mabuyane, both of the African National Congress. The province is served by the capital of Bhisho next to King William's Town. The parliament and other important government buildings are situated in the precinct. The High Court that is superior to all courts in the region is situated in Grahamstown and has local seats in Port Elizabeth, East London, and Bhisho.
Geography
The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semiarid
Eastern Cape has a coast on its east which lines southward, creating shores leading to the south Indian Ocean. In the northeast, it borders the following districts of Lesotho:
- Mohale's Hoek District – west of Quthing
- Quthing District – between Mohale and Qacha's Nek
- Qacha's Nek District – east of Quthing
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
- Western Cape – west
- Northern Cape – northwest
- Free State– north
- KwaZulu-Natal – far northeast
Climate
Climate is highly varied. The west is dry with sparse rain during winter or summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The area
- Gqeberha: Jan Max: 25 °C, Min: 18 °C; Jul Max: 20 °C, Min: 9 °C
- Molteno & Barkly East: Jan Max 28 °C, Min 11 °C; Jul Max: 14 °C, Min: -7 °C
Tourism
big-five game viewing in a malaria -free environment.
The black rhino of the very scarce Kenyan sub-species.
The province is the location of Ben Macdhui , the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape 3,001 metres (9,846 ft).
The Grahamstown, is Africa's largest cultural event,[citation needed ] offering a choice of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for eleven days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts, music and entertainment.
Jeffreys Bay is an area with wild coastline, which is backed by sub-tropical rainforest. The waters here are noted for having good waves for surfing. Aliwal North, lying on an agricultural plateau on the southern bank of the Orange River, is an inland resort known for its hot springs.[citation needed] The rugged and unspoiled Wild Coast is a place of spectacular scenery. The coastal areas have been a graveyard for many vessels. Amatola Mountains, is known for the first wine estate in the province.[citation needed ]
King William's Town, Alice, Queenstown, Grahamstown, Cradock and Fort Beaufort offer some of the best colonial architecture of the 19th century in the province. The two major cities lining the coast are East London and Port Elizabeth. EconomyThe Eastern Cape is the poorest province in South Africa and has the highest expanded and official unemployment rate in the country.[6][7][8] Subsistence agriculture predominates in the former homelands, resulting in widespread poverty. A multi billion Rand industrial development zone and deep water port are being developed in Coega to boost investment in export-oriented industries.[9] Overall the province only contributes 8% to the national GDP despite making 13.5% of the population. The real GDP of Eastern Cape stands at an estimated R230.3billion in 2017, making the province the fourth largest regional economy in SA ahead of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.[10] AgricultureThere is much fertile land in the Eastern Cape, and agriculture remains important. The fertile fruit orchards . In the Karoo there is widespread sheep farming.
The Alexandria-Makhanda area produces pineapples, chicory and dairy products, while coffee and tea are cultivated at Magwa. People in the former Transkei region are dependent on cattle, maize and sorghum-farming. An olive nursery has been developed in collaboration with the University of Fort Hare to form a nucleus of olive production in the Eastern Cape. Domestic stock farming is slowly giving way to game farming on large scale. Eco-tourism is resulting in economic benefits, and there is lower risk needed to protect wild, native game against drought, and the natural elements. Habitat loss and poaching pose the greatest problems.
The area around Stutterheim is being cultivated extensively with timber plantations. The basis of the province's fishing industry is squid, some recreational and commercial fishing for line fish, the collection of marine resources, and access to line-catches of hake. IndustryWith three import/export harbours and three airports offering direct flights to the main centres, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure,[citation needed] the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development in modern South Africa.[citation needed] The two major industrial centres, DaimlerChrysler plant, now known as Mercedes-Benz South Africa.[11]
Environmental-friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones, the East London Industrial Development Zone and the Coega IDZ near Port Elizabeth. Coega is the largest infrastructure development in post-apartheid South Africa. The construction of the deepwater Port of Ngqura was completed and the first commercial ship anchored in October 2009.[12] Other sectors include finance, real estate, business services, wholesale and retail trade, eco-tourism (nature reserves and game ranches) and hotels and restaurants. Towns and citiesIn the case of places that have been renamed, the traditional name is listed first followed by the new official name.
Municipalities No language dominant The Eastern Cape Province is divided into two district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 27 local municipalities .
EducationThe Eastern Cape Department of Education has been roundly criticised for poor primary and secondary education[13] resulting from dysfunction,[14] special interests, and issues with the South Africa teachers union, SADTU.[15][16] The province struggles with a lack of schools; a lack of teachers leading to overcrowding; a lack of textbooks; a lack of basic facilities like toilets, electricity or water; and poor transport infrastructure which regularly absents and endangers learners. This is a huge problem faced in the former Transkei.[17] By 2011, basic education had so deteriorated that the national Department of Basic Education intervened under section 100(1)(b) of the Constitution of South Africa, taking control of the province's educational administration.[16] The Eastern Cape has since been the worst-performing province educationally and especially in terms of matriculation;[17] matriculants' results averaged 51% in 2009,[18] 58.3% in 2011,[19] 64.9% in 2013,[20] 65.4% in 2014, and 56.8% in 2015.[21][22] In the 2015/2016 financial year, the province failed to spend R 530 million of its allocated R 1.5 billion budget for education, most of it intended for infrastructure development.[23][24] Equal Education's 2017 report, Planning to Fail, found a "systemic failure in Eastern Cape education".[25] Universities
Other educational institutions
HealthThe province is served by big medical centres such as Cecilia Makiwane Hospital which is a large, government-funded hospital near the city of East London that also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. Frere Hospital is another large, provincial government-funded hospital near East London which also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. These hospitals offer many specialty departments such as an ARV clinic for HIV/AIDS in adults and children. Both hospitals are affiliated with Lilitha Nursing College and Walter Sisulu University. A list of hospitals in the Eastern Cape province can be found here. While the Eastern Cape has many state-of-the-art hospitals and private clinics, the province has some of the worst health outcomes and service indicators in South Africa. Some of this can be attributed to staff shortages, with a report indicating that 67% of the 27 monitored facilities have insufficient staff.[26] Rural residents in the Eastern Cape face worse health outcomes than those who reside in the larger towns or cities. This is due to a number of conditions such as lack of healthcare resources, lack of means to access healthcare resources, high unemployment, and poverty. Illiteracy is also a problem in rural communities, which further limits positive health outcomes.[27] HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis are also ongoing issues in the region. In 2017, the Eastern Cape had a TB incidence of 839/100,000 people, which was higher than South Africa's estimated prevalence of 737/100,000.[28] Additionally, the Eastern Cape has a high overall HIV prevalence rate (25.2%) as of 2017.[29] In 2018, HIV/AIDS was the second leading underlying natural cause of death in the Eastern Cape with a 5.9% prevalence rate.[30] Since 2017, there has been an increase in the level of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which disproportionately affects poorer communities. Furthermore, obesity and undiagnosed hypertension are major concerns in rural areas.[31] The Eastern Cape is also known for its traditional Xhosa initiation schools, which perform coming-of-age ceremonies known as ulwaluko which involve circumcision. These ceremonies have been linked to numerous complications such as coma, illness and death.[32][33] There have been countless reports in South African newspapers investigating the poor practices which lead to the death of young men and boys during initiation rituals.[34][35][36] In one case, an 18-year-old man named Yongama Boya was sent to the hospital to be circumcised, as his parents believed this would be the safer option.[37] Then, he was sent to complete the rest of his initiation ritual in a traditional initiation school in the Qumbu area of the Transkei. There, the nurse refused to accept the validity of his prior circumcision at the hospital, and she circumcised him again. Boya's older brother, Mtsasa, spoke to the Mail & Guardian about the case:
Sports
References
External linksWikivoyage has a travel guide for Eastern Cape. |