Bushbuckridge | ||
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Local municipality | ||
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Location in Mpumalanga |
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Coordinates: 24°28′S 31°32′E / 24.467°S 31.533°ECoordinates: 24°28′S 31°32′E / 24.467°S 31.533°E | ||
Country | South Africa | |
Province | Mpumalanga | |
District | Ehlanzeni | |
Seat | Bushbuckridge | |
Wards | 37 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Municipal council | |
• Mayor | Renias E. Khumalo (ANC) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 10,250 km2 (3,960 sq mi) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• Total | 541,248 | |
• Density | 53/km2 (140/sq mi) | |
Racial makeup (2011) | ||
• Black African | 99.5% | |
• Coloured | 0.1% | |
• Indian/Asian | 0.1% | |
• White | 0.2% | |
First languages (2011) | ||
• Tsonga | 56.9% | |
• Northern Sotho | 24.5% | |
• Swazi | 7.8% | |
• Sotho | 5.4% | |
• Other | 5.4% | |
Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) | |
Municipal code | MP325 |
Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is a third-level administrative division in the Ehlanzeni District of Mpumalanga in South Africa.Tobacco, cotton and vegetables are farmed in the municipality's countryside. The municipality includes part of Kruger National Park. It is the biggest local municipality in Mpumalanga, in terms of land mass and by population.
The name Bushbuck Ridge was given because of the large herds of bushbuck found there in the 1880s, and the prominent WNW-ESE ridge in the southeastern part of the municipality. The town of Bushbuckridge grew around a trading store that opened in 1884. Prior to the colonial and apartheid era, the land known today as Bushbuckridge was known as Mapulaneng, it has been home to the Mapulana people for centuries before the Tsonga and the Swazi invaded the area. Mapulaneng was replaced during the white conquest and named Bushhbuckridge by British and Boer Colonialists.
In 1994, when the Transvaal Province was dismantled and divided into four Provinces, the area from Bushbuckridge to Hazyview was included in Limpopo province. The decision was based on the fact that most of the Bushbuckridge area had been part of three separate bantustans — Gazankulu, Lebowa and KaNgwane — but the bigger sector fell within Gazankulu, which was incorporated into Limpopo. The citizens of Bushbuckridge became embroiled in a dispute with the government, demanding inclusion of the area in Mpumalanga province. They were concerned that should the area be included into Limpopo, they would be marginalised and suffer poor service delivery since Polokwane, the Capital city of Limpopo Province, is more than 300 km away, whereas Nelspruit, the capital of Mpumalanga is 58 km away. For more than two years the government refused to allow Bushbuckridge to fall under Mpumalanga, leading to violent protests and resistance from the community, which included stay-aways, road blockage with burning tyres and destruction of property.