Wikipedia

Malamulele

Malamulelecan refer to the town of Malamulele or the area of Malamulele.[2]Both the town (approximately in the center of the area) and area are in theLimpopo provinceofSouth Africaand predominantly occupied byTsonga people.Malamulele town has one provincial road and one regional road; theR81toGiyaniand theR524toThohoyandou(and theKruger National Park's Punda Maria Gate) respectively. Malamulele is flanked by two rivers,Levubu River(Rivhubye) to the west andLetaba Riverto the east, meanwhile theShingwedzi Riverruns from Malamulele West to Malamulele East, joining theOlifantsinMozambiqueon its way to theIndian Ocean.Malamulele is the seat of theCollins Chabane Local Municipality.

Malamulele
Malamulele is located in Limpopo
Malamulele
Malamulele
Malamulele is located in South Africa
Malamulele
Malamulele
Coordinates:22°58′16″S30°40′25″E/ 22.97111°S 30.67361°E/-22.97111; 30.67361
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceLimpopo
DistrictVhembe
MunicipalityCollins Chabane
Established1960
Government
• MayorMoses Maluleke (assassinatedin July 2022)[1](ANC)
Area
[1]
• Total
9.57 km2(3.69 sq mi)
Elevation
167.9 m (550.9 ft)
Population
(2011)[1]
• Total
13,070
• Density1,400/km2(3,500/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
•Black African99.3%
•Coloured0.2%
•Indian/Asian0.1%
•White0.2%
• Other0.2%
First languages(2011)
[1]
•Tsonga93.7%
•Venda1.7%
•English1.2%
• Other3.5%
Time zoneUTC+2(SAST)
Postal code(street)
0982
PO box
0982
Area code015

There are between 100 and 120 villages in the Malamulele area, with an approximate population of half a million.[3][4]According to official Stats SA census 2011 results, some 82 Malamulele villages (excluding the township), were home to 206,646 people.[5]In 2001, Thulamela calculated the population according to some 16 main areas (again, excluding the township), supposedly representing the number of independent chiefs, which add up to 199,807 inhabitants.

TheMalamulele Areais situated betweenGiyanion the east, starting at Letaba river, andThohoyandouon the north-west, starting at Rivhubye river. To the west of Malamulele Area isWaterval,famous for the Elim Hospital. TheCahora BassaHVDCpower transmission line passes through Malamulele fromTete ProvincetoGauteng.The Malamulele Area formed its own municipality in August 2016, namedCollins Chabane,separated fromThulamelabut still under theVhembe District Municipality.[6][7]

Surrounding areas

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To the north-east ofMalamulele Townis theKruger National Park,where it is located 63 km away from the Punda Maria gate,[8]72 km from the Punda Maria Rest Camp,[9]99 km from the Shingwedzi Rest Camp,[10][11]108 km from the Pafuri Rest Camp[12][13]and 135 km from the Mopani Rest Camp.[14]

Malamulele Town is 243 km fromPolokwane(the capital of Limpopo Province), 453 km fromPretoriaand 508 km fromJohannesburg.

The shortest straight-line distance from Malamulele Town to theZimbabweborder is about 60 km and also 60 km to theMozambiqueborder. Its proximity to Zimbabwe and Mozambique makes Malamulele one of the northernmost towns inSouth Africa.

History

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Malamulele was borne out of the homeland settlement system imposed by the Apartheid government. The people of Malamulele come from both sides of the Rivhubye and were resettled on the eastern side. Most of the people in Phaphazela village come from Malonga in what is now Vuwani. Phaphazela used to be called Malonga in remembrance of their former lands. Some people of the Makhuvele lineage were removed from parts of what is now Thohoyandou. Thus some of the people of Malamulele are the Magwamba, who used to form the Xipilongo (Spelonken) Empire. There has also been communities that were moved from the Kruger National Park to settle in Malamulele. About 40,000 people were moved from west of Rivhubye and settled in Malamulele, whereas about 10,000[15][16]were moved from Malamulele and settled in what was to becomeVenda.

Malamulele was the first town to be built in the former Gazankulu homeland, prior toGiyani.It was named by Chief Risimati Chanyela Mulamula. It was one of the former 7 districts of Gazankulu, namelyNkowankowa,[17]N'wa-Mitwa,[17]Lulekani,[18]Mhala,[19]Hlanganani,[20]Giyani,[21]and of course, Malamulele.[22]At the end of apartheid, Malamulele was renamed to Levubu-Shingwedzi Transitional Local Municipality, after the two rivers. An amalgamation with Thohoyandou led to the Thulamela Local Municipality, which then centralised all administration and services in Thohoyandou.

The years 2000 to 2015 saw consistent objections to the merger with Thohoyandou. In the last few years, the objections went from peaceful applications to the Municipal Demarcation Board to violent protests with property being damaged. The protests were mired with accusations of tribalism and denial, claiming all South African municipalities face service delivery protests. The issue was demonstrated to be imbalanced services between Thohoyandou areas and Malamulele areas. Even with poor service delivery, Thohoyandou areas still enjoyed better service in comparison to Malamulele areas. In July 2015, the Municipal Demarcation Board announced that a new municipality would be formed to serve Malamulele.[23]In August 2016 the newCollins Chabane Local Municipalitystarted to operate in Malamulele, it also servesVuwaniandBungeniwhich were underMakhado Local Municipalitybefore.

Geography and climate

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Malamulele is a low-lying area at risk of flooding. There are a lot of hills, but no known mountains. The soil structure is mainly sandy grey soil (ntlhava), which the area is named after. Malamulele is approximately 1551.93 km2in land area. It has a perimeter of 178.283 km2.[24]The area is sparsely populated with a lot of bush between neighbouring settlements. The town has a very drysubtropical climate,specifically ahumid subtropical climate(Köppen climate classification:Cwa), with long, hot and rainy summers and short, cool and dry winters.

Political atmosphere

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Since 1994, the first time that the people of Malamulele and the rest of black South Africa were ever allowed to vote, the electorate has always voted for the ANC. A few voted for Ximoko xa Rixaka[25](Whip of the Nation), which has now morphed into XPP (Ximoko Progressive Party).[26]Since then, the majority of Malamulele has voted for the ANC by default, with around 80% of the votes going to the ANC, about 20% higher than the national average.

Demographics

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There are between 100 and 120 villages in the Malamulele area, with an approximate population of ± 500,000.[3][4]According to official Stats SA census 2011 results, some 82 Malamulele villages (excluding the township), were home to 206,646 people.[5]During the same period, Malamulele Town had a population of 13,070.[27]In 2001, or 10 years prior, Thulamela calculated the population according to some 16 main areas (again, excluding the township), supposedly representing the number of independent chiefs, which added up to 199,807 people. During this same period, Malamulele Town had a population of 11,299.[28]These main areas are: Gijana (Magona), Madonsi,Makuleke,Mavambe, Mhinga, Mphambo, Mtititi, Mudavula, Mukhomi, Gumbani,Mulamula,Mulenzhe, Ntlhaveni (Bevhula), Tshikonelo, Xigalo, Xigamane, and Xikundu, thereby recognising 14 Tsonga and 2Venda(Mulenzhe and Tshikonelo) chiefs. These places account for 1362 km2[29][circular reference]of Malamulele's 1552 km2[24]total land area.

For perspective, its northwestern neighbour, Thohoyandou, had a population of 69,453[30]in 2011, more than double its 2001 population of 32,730.[31]Its eastern neighbour, Giyani, rose from 22,725[32]to 25,954.[33]

References

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  1. ^abcd"Main Place Malamulele".Census 2011.
  2. ^Musa Baloyi (27 October 2013)."Malamulele Town".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-20 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ab"Zoutnet | News | Municipal status for Malamulele?".
  4. ^ab"POLICY BRIEF: MAKE MALAMULELE A MUNICIPALITY AND MAKE IT ECONOMICALLY VIABLE".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-11.
  5. ^ab"Census 2011 — Thulamela Local Municipality".census2011.adrianfrith.
  6. ^"SABC News - Malamulele to become a municipality:Saturday 4 July 2015".4 July 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2017-10-09.Retrieved2018-06-14.
  7. ^"Home".thulamela.gov.za.
  8. ^"South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations".sanparks.org.
  9. ^"South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations".sanparks.org.
  10. ^"Shingwedzi Restcamp - Kruger National Park| krugerpark".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-07-21.Retrieved2015-07-19.
  11. ^"South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations".sanparks.org.
  12. ^"South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations".sanparks.org.
  13. ^"Pafuri Camp - Kruger Park Reservations".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-09.Retrieved2015-07-19.
  14. ^"South African National Parks - SANParks - Official Website - Accommodation, Activities, Prices, Reservations".sanparks.org.
  15. ^"The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa".publishing.cdlib.org.
  16. ^"The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa".publishing.cdlib.org.
  17. ^abTeam, Maplandia."Ritavi Region Map: Dan — Serolorolo - South Africa Google Satellite Maps".maplandia.
  18. ^Team, Maplandia."Phalaborwa Region Map: Amanda — Welverdiend - South Africa Google Satellite Maps".maplandia.
  19. ^Team, Maplandia."Mhala Region Map: Acornhoek — Xanthia - South Africa Google Satellite Maps".maplandia.
  20. ^Team, Maplandia."Hlanganani (Gaz Region Map: Ha-Magoro — Shirley - South Africa Google Satellite Maps".maplandia.
  21. ^Team, Maplandia."Giyani Region Map: Bend — Zakeni - South Africa Google Satellite Maps".maplandia.
  22. ^Team, Maplandia."Malamulele Region Map: Gidjana — Xaswita - South Africa Google Satellite Maps".maplandia.
  23. ^"The troubles in Malamulele: An analysis - NEWS & ANALYSIS - Politicsweb".politicsweb.co.za.
  24. ^ab"Google Maps Area Calculator Tool".daftlogic.
  25. ^"Ximoko Party (XP)".People's Assembly.
  26. ^"Why Ximoko Party severed all its ties with the ANC - Capricorn Voice".15 April 2014.
  27. ^"Census 2011 — Search Results —" malamulele "".census2011.adrianfrith.
  28. ^"Census 2001 — Search Results —" malamulele "".census2001.adrianfrith.
  29. ^Thulamela Local Municipality
  30. ^"Census 2011 — Search Results —" thohoyandou "".census2011.adrianfrith.
  31. ^"Census 2001 — Search Results —" thohoyandou "".census2001.adrianfrith.
  32. ^"Census 2001 — Search Results —" giyani "".census2001.adrianfrith.
  33. ^"Census 2011 — Search Results —" giyani "".census2011.adrianfrith.
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  • [2]- Thulamela Municipality
  • [3]— Gazankulu facts
  • [4]- South African Student Radio Network
  • [5]- Matimu News
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