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Capital: Bhisho
The Eastern Cape, a land of undulating hills, expansive sandy beaches, majestic mountain ranges and emerald green forests, is the second largest of the nine provinces by surface area. The region boasts a remarkable natural diversity, ranging from the dry, desolate Great Karoo; to the lush forests of the Wild Coast and the Keiskamma Valley; the fertile Langkloof, renowned for its rich apple harvests; and the mountainous southern Drakensberg region at Elliot. The Eastern Cape’s main feature is
its spectacular coastline lapped by the Indian Ocean. With its long
stretches of pristine sandy beaches, rocky coves, secluded lagoons
and towering cliffs, The graceful curve of Algoa Bay provides an ideal setting for the port of Port Elizabeth. East London offers equally favorable harbor facilities. The province is serviced by three airports situated in Port Elizabeth, East London and Mthatha. The architecture of many of its cities and towns reflects the rich heritage of its people. Important towns in the province include Bhisho, the capital; Uitenhage, which has important motor vehicle manufacturing and related industries; King William’s Town, rich in early settler and military history; Grahamstown, also known as the City of Saints because of its more than 40 churches; Graaff-Reinet, with its interesting collection of historic buildings; Cradock, the hub of the Central Karoo; Stutterheim, the forestry centre of the province; Aliwal North, famous for its hot sulphur springs; and Port St Johns, the largest town on the Wild Coast.
In the Eastern Cape, various floral habitats meet. Along the coast, the northern tropical forests intermingle with the more temperate woods of the south. This makes for an interesting forest habitat of various species endemic to this region.
Age-old forests occur at Keiskammahoek, Dwesa, Port St Johns and Bathurst; dune forests are found at Alexandria; and mangroves along the Wild Coast. Rolling grasslands dominate the eastern interior of the province, while the western central plateau is savanna bushveld. The northern inland is home to the aromatic, succulent-rich Karoo. The People
The Eastern Cape has almost seven million people living on 169,580 km2 of land. The majority of the people speak isiXhosa, followed by Afrikaans and English. The province has a number of HE institutions, including the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the University of Fort Hare and the Walter Sisulu University of Technology. Despite the high quality of education facilities, 22.8% of the population aged 20 years or older has never received any schooling, while 6.3% has completed some form of HE (Census 2001). In 2006, the unemployment rate of the province stood at 22.1% (Labor Force Survey, March 2006). The dominant productive sectors in the province at current prices are manufacturing (16.6% of GDPR), finance/real estate/business services (19.4% of GDPR), and wholesale/retail/trade/ hotels and restaurants (13.1% of GDPR). The province’s GDPR in 2003 represented just over 8.1% of national GDP. The province’s matric pass rate increased from 53.5% in 2004 to 56.7%, in 2005. Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry
The Eastern Cape has excellent agricultural and forestry potential. The fertile Langkloof Valley in the south-west has enormous deciduous fruit orchards, while the Karoo interior is an important sheepfarming area. Angora wool is also produced here. The Alexandria-Grahamstown 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. Extensive exotic forestry plantations in the high rainfall areas of Keiskammahoek provide employment for large numbers of the population. The province is a summer-rainfall region with high rainfall along the coast, becoming gradually drier behind the mountain ranges into the Great Karoo. 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. Ostrich exports are flourishing and the provincial Department of Agriculture has been hailed for the support it is giving this industry. Each ostrich-export establishment has a resident official veterinarian, which is a requirement for exporting ostrich products to the European Union. The game industry is enjoying unprecedented demand in the international market due to health conscious consumers increasingly demanding lean organic game meat.
Industry The metropolitan economies of Port Elizabeth and East London are based primarily on manufacturing, the most important being motor manufacturing. The province is the hub of South Africa’s automotive industry. Several of the world’s biggest motor manufacturers, such as Volkswagen, Ford (Samcor), General Motors (Delta) and Daimler Chrysler, have plants in the Eastern Cape. With two harbors and three airports offering direct flights to the main centers, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure, the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development. Environmentally friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative (SDI), the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones (IDZs), namely the West Bank (East London) and the Coega IDZs. The latter, 20 km east of the Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage metropoles, was the first IDZ to be earmarked, and is one of the biggest initiatives ever undertaken in South Africa. Plans for the development of the area as an export-orientated zone include the building of the Port of Ngqura. By February 2006, the R4.1-billion Ngqura Port was near completion and the two IDZs had concluded negotiations with their first investors (three at Coega and four at East London). The railway from Mthatha to East London was refurbished and the process of finding an operator for the line initiated.
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