Umzinyathi District Municipality
Custodians
of History and Culture
uMzinyathi
means 'home of the buffalo'.
uMzinyathi
District has a total area of 8 079 square kilometers and is located in the
north central areas of KwaZulu-Natal.
The District lies between the main N3 corridor between Durban
and Gauteng
and the Coastal Corridor, running along the east coast.
uMzinyathi
includes some of the poorest and most underdeveloped rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, most notable the Msinga and Nquthu Municipalities.
The population of the municipality numbers about 456 454 people. Of the
population, 93% are rural and 7% are urban.
The
more developed urban areas include Dundee, which is the administrative seat of uMzinyathi District Municipality,
and Greytown. Greytown can be viewed as a strong regional centre with
substantial commercial and agricultural activity. In Nquthu and Msinga there is
a dominance of the three peri-urban settlements of Tugela Ferry, Pomeroy and
Keates Drift. The population densities of these three areas are higher than
those of the rest of the area.
The
District has 17 Tribal Authorities. Endumeni is the only B Municipality that
does not have any tribal land.The majority of the land (60%) is under the
control of the Ingonyama Trust, situated mainly in Nquthu and Msinga.
In
general, the District has a temperate climate. Frost occurs only in parts of
uMzinyathi in winter. Rainfall varies throughout - from more than 800 mm in
Endumeni and Umvoti, to less than 400 mm in parts of Msinga. The topography is
undulating, although some areas are steeper than others. uMzinyathi is bisected
by several significant rivers, including the Tugela, Mooi, Umvoti, Blood and Buffalo.
Economy
The main contributions to
the economy come from the agriculture, mining, construction, services and trade
sectors. Dundee and Glencoe have well
established and serviced areas for light to medium industry.
