Nelson Mandela Metropole

Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality includes the city of Port Elizabeth as well as the neighbouring towns of Uitenhage and Despatch and surrounds.

Port Elizabeth, along the shores of Algoa Bay, is located in the Eastern Cape Province, and is a major tourist destination better known as the Friendly City and is considered the economic capital of the region.

It is a major seaport on the south eastern coast of Africa, midway between the ports of Durban and Cape Town, and a nine hour drive from Johannesburg.

In addition to being a port city, with a strong industrial base, the metropolitan municipality also adds an agricultural sector to their "basket of goodies".

The city is an important centre for the automobile industry boasting vehicle assembly plants of General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, Continental Tyres and many other automotive companies. It is a major transport hub with an airport, harbour and port linking southern Africa with other national and international destinations.

FAST FACTS

>> Municipal website
>> Nelson Mandela IDP

Population 2010:
1.139 million

Surface area covered:
over 1,958 km²

Personnel:
579 municipal staff per 100,000 population;
120 councillors.

Size of economy GDP 2010:
R83 billion

GDP 2010 per person:
R72,861

The actual founding of Port Elizabeth dates back to the arrival by sea of 4 000 British Settlers in 1820 to become the first permanent British residents in the country. On 6 June 1820, Sir Rufane Donkin, Acting Governor of the Cape Colony at the time, named the city after his late wife, Elizabeth.

Future plans by the municipality include: leveraging infrastructure investment at Coega IDZ and deepwater port of Ngqura; fostering a vibrant automotive manufacturing sector; harnessing the opportunity for wind energy generation; creating a popular tourism destination with rich biodiversity, Blue Flag Status beaches and sunny, temperate climate and magnificent game and wildlife; maintaining excellent schools and institutions of higher learning; and promoting its rich diversity of culture and languages.

Read more for an archive of news stories relating to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality.