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Buffalo City | |
|---|---|
| Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality | |
 Seal | |
.svg) Location in theEastern Cape | |
| Coordinates:32°59′S27°52′E / 32.983°S 27.867°E /-32.983; 27.867 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Eastern Cape |
| Seat | East London |
| Wards | 50 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Princess Faku[1] (ANC) |
| • Deputy Mayor | Vacant |
| • Speaker | Humphrey Maxhegwana |
| • Chief Whip | Mawethu Marata (ANC) |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,753 km2 (1,063 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[3] | |
• Total | 975,255 |
| • Density | 354.3/km2 (917.5/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup(2022) | |
| • Black African | 84.7% |
| • Coloured | 5.2% |
| • Indian/Asian | 1.0% |
| • White | 8.4% |
| First languages(2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 78.8% |
| • English | 11.0% |
| • Afrikaans | 7.2% |
| • Other | 3% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Municipal code | BUF |
TheBuffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (Xhosa:uMasipala oMbaxa wase Buffalo City) is ametropolitan municipality situated on the east coast of theEastern Cape province ofSouth Africa. It includes the towns ofEast London,Bhisho andQonce, as well as the large townships ofMdantsane andZwelitsha.
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The municipality was established as alocal municipality in 2000 after South Africa's reorganisation of municipal areas, and is named after theBuffalo River, at whose mouth lies the only river port in South Africa. On 18 May 2011, it was separated from theAmathole District Municipality and converted into a metropolitan municipality.
The area has a well-developed manufacturing base, with the auto industry playing a major role.Daimler AG through its wholly owned subsidiary Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) has a large assembly plant located next to the port of East London, which produces a variety of vehicles for export.
The climate is mild, with year-round sunshine. Average rainfall is 850mm (33.5 inches).
The population of 701,873 (2001) is largely African (85.2%), with White (8.4%) andColoured (5.7%) minorities. There is also a small Indian community (0.6%).
The previous mayor, Dr Sindisile Maclean (ANC), was elected in 2000. Buffalo City elected its first female mayor on Friday, 17 March 2006.Ntombentle Peter was voted in as Executive Mayor at the inaugural meeting of the new council following the municipal elections.
The2011 census divided the municipality into the followingmain places:
Note:Only the most populated places are reported
The municipal council consists of one hundred members elected bymixed-member proportional representation. Fifty councillors are elected byfirst-past-the-post voting in fiftywards, while the remaining fifty are chosen fromparty lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In theelection of 1 November 2021 theAfrican National Congress (ANC) won a majority of seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.[5]
| Buffalo City local election, 1 November 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Seats | ||||||
| Ward | List | Total | % | Ward | List | Total | ||
| African National Congress | 105,038 | 109,080 | 214,118 | 59.4% | 43 | 18 | 61 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 35,195 | 35,139 | 70,334 | 19.5% | 7 | 13 | 20 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 21,165 | 22,301 | 43,466 | 12.1% | 0 | 13 | 13 | |
| Independent candidates | 8,383 | – | 8,383 | 2.3% | 0 | – | 0 | |
| United Democratic Movement | 1,476 | 1,990 | 3,466 | 1.0% | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 1,499 | 1,884 | 3,383 | 0.9% | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| African Transformation Movement | 1,667 | 1,603 | 3,270 | 0.9% | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| African Independent Congress | 806 | 1,756 | 2,562 | 0.7% | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 991 | 1,020 | 2,011 | 0.6% | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 914 | 934 | 1,848 | 0.5% | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 18 other parties | 2,895 | 4,558 | 7,453 | 2.1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 180,029 | 180,265 | 360,294 | 50 | 50 | 100 | ||
| Valid votes | 180,029 | 180,265 | 360,294 | 98.2% | ||||
| Spoilt votes | 2,936 | 3,571 | 6,507 | 1.8% | ||||
| Total votes cast | 182,965 | 183,836 | 366,801 | |||||
| Voter turnout | 185,525 | |||||||
| Registered voters | 406,486 | |||||||
| Turnout percentage | 45.6% | |||||||
The following hospitals are located in the municipal area:[6]
Buffalo City'stown twins are:
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