(Redirected from KwaZulu-Natal Province)
'KwaZulu-Natal', often referred to as "'KZN'", is a
province of
South Africa. Prior to
1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the
province of Natal and all pieces of territory that made up the
Bantustan of
KwaZulu.
In the
1830s the northern part was the kingdom of
Zululand and southern part was briefly a
Boer republic called
Natalia. In the
1840s the latter became the British
Colony of Natal, though Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) remained independent until
1879. It is called the garden province and is the home of the
Zulu nation. Located in the southeast of the country, it borders three other provinces and the countries of
Mozambique,
Swaziland, and
Lesotho, along with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean.
Geography
The province has three different geographic areas. The lowland region along the
Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province. The central region is the
Natal Midlands and is an undulating hilly plateau rising towards the west. Two mountainous areas, the
Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the
Lebombo Mountains in the north. The
Drakensberg is a solid wall of
basalt rising over 3000m skyward near the
Lesotho border, whilst the
Lebombo Mountains are ancient
granite mountains forming low parallel ranges running southward from
Swaziland. The
Tugela River flows west to east across the center of the province and is the region's largest river.
The coastal regions typically have
subtropical thickets and deeper ravines and steep slopes hosts some true
Afromontane Forest. The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of
Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist
savanna habitat, whilst the
Drakensberg region hosts mostly
alpine grassland.
The former
Eastern Cape enclave of the town of
Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the
Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province.
Climate
KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is
subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder.
Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28°C (min: 21°C), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23°C (min: 11°C). Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with
Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter.
Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30°C in the summer, but may drop below freezing on winter evenings. The
Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The
Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity.
Borders
KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho:
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Maputo Province, Mozambique - far northeast
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Lubombo District, Swaziland - northeast, east of Shiselweni
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Shiselweni District, Swaziland - northeast, west of Lubombo
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Mokhotlong District, Lesotho - southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka
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Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho - southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha's Nek
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Qacha's Nek District, Lesotho - southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
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Mpumalanga - north
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Free State - west
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Eastern Cape - southwest
Municipal structure
A map of South Africa showing the districts of KwaZulu-Natal province
Kwa-Zulu Natal is divided into 11
districts. One of these,
eThekwini is a
metropolitan municipality and the other 10 are
district municiplalities.
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Amajuba
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Zululand
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Umkhanyakude
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uThungulu
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Umzinyathi
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Uthukela
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Umgungundlovu
★
iLembe
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eThekwini ★
★
Ugu
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Sisonke
Coastline
The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern
Florida in the
United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of
Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as "The North Coast", while south is "The South Coast". The
Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board includes towns like
Margate,
Port Shepstone,
Scottburgh and
Port Edward in its definition of what constitutes the South Coast, while
Ballito,
Umhlanga and
Salt Rock are quintessentially North Coast resort towns. Superb beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province's extents. The beach at Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognized in 2002 as a
Blue Flag beach.
An extraordinary natural phenomenon that is witnessed annually on the KwaZulu-Natal coast during late autumn or early winter is the "
sardine run". Also referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of
sardines migrate from their spawning grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northwards along the
Eastern Cape coastline towards KwaZulu-Natal following a path close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches along the coast. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres and is followed and preyed upon by thousands of predators, including
game fish,
sharks,
dolphins and
seabirds. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around
Durban. Many questions surrounding this exceptional event remain unanswered.
Hilly interior
The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the
Valley of a Thousand Hills to the
Midlands. These have been the subject of literature.
Alan Paton, in the novel ''
Cry, the beloved country,'' said:
:''There is a lovely road that runs from
Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the
titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the
Umzimkulu, on its journey from the
Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and
East Griqualand.
''
History
Vasco da Gama of
Portugal saw the coast of Natal on
Christmas Day 1497. Christmas in
Portuguese is '
Natal', which gave rise to the original name for the region. Its territory was once part of a
short-lived Boer republic between
1839 and its annexation by Britain in
1843.
When the
Bantustan of
KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of
Apartheid in
1994, the province of
Natal which had existed between 1910 and 1994 was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy, and the majority population and language of the province is Zulu. It is also the only province in South Africa which includes the name of its dominant ethnic group in its name.
Provincial coat of arms
The supporters, the
lion and the
wildebeest, are symbols of the regions that were joined to create KwaZulu-Natal,
KwaZulu and
Natal Province respectively.
[1] The zig-zag stripe is representative of the
Drakensberg mountains.
1 The star represents the coastline being given the name "Natalia" by
Vasco da Gama on
Christmas day,
1497, as well as the Zulu myth that the Zulu people are "people of heaven" or "star people".
1 The
strelitzia flower on the shield is a symbol of the province's beauty.
1 The
assegai and
knobkerrie behind the shield represent peace and protection.
1 The crown base is a headring worn by Zulu elders, representing wisdom and maturity. The crown itself is a round grass hut built in the Zulu style. The motto is ''"Masisukume Sakhe"'', isiZulu for "Let Us Stand Up and Build".
1
Law and government
Main articles: Politics of KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Government
The KwaZulu-Natal's provincial government sits in the legislative buildings in
Pietermaritzburg. The site where the legislative buildings are situated was occupied by St Mary's Church, which was built in the
1860s. A new church was built at the corner of Burger Street and Commercial Road, and opened in
1884. The old building was demolished in
1887 to provide space for the legislative complex. The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on
21 June 1887, to commemorate
Queen Victoria's
Golden Jubilee. The building was completed two years later. On
25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir
Arthur Havelock, opened the first Legislative Council session in the new building.
When governance was granted to Natal in
1893, the new Legislative Assembly took over the chamber that was used by the Legislative Council since 1889. Further extensions to the parliamentary building were made. The building was unoccupied until
1902 when it was used without being officially opened, due to the fact that the country was engulfed in the
Anglo-Boer war. The war also affected the Legislative Assembly, which had to move the venue of its sittings when the chamber was used as a military hospital.
The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council buildings, both national monuments, formed a colonial Parliament of two houses: a Council of 11 nominated members and an Assembly of 37 elected members. The Natal Parliament was disbanded in
1910 when the Union of South Africa was formed, and the Assembly became the meeting place of the Natal Provincial Council. The Council was disbanded in 1986.
The
Provincial Legislature consists of 80 Members.
Current Composition of the Legislature
The
African National Congress (ANC) hold power in the provincial legislature, although they won the province by a very small majority in South Africa's 2004 elections. Their chief opponents were the
Inkatha Freedom Party, allied with the
Democratic Alliance.
Breakup of the 80-seat legislature from the 2004 elections:
:
African National Congress (ANC): 38
:
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP); 30
:
Democratic Alliance (DA): 7
:
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP): 2
:
Minority Front (MF): 2
:
United Democratic Movement (UDM): 1
Zulu Monarch
KwaZulu-Natal, as the name may suggest, is also the home to the
Zulu monarch, King
Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. Although not holding any direct political power, the Zulu king is provided a stipend by the government, and holds considerable sway over more traditionalist
Zulu people in the province.
To date the zulu king has thirteen wives, although each year a ceremony is performed in which the king receives another wife.
Economy
Durban is a rapidly growing urban area and is one of the busiest ports in
Africa with a good rail network linking into Southern Africa.
Sugar refining is the main industry.
Sheep,
cattle,
dairy,
citrus fruits,
corn,
sorghum,
cotton,
bananas, and
pineapples are also raised. There is an embryonic
KwaZulu-Natal wine industry. Industries, located mainly in and around Durban, include (besides sugar refineries)
textile,
clothing,
rubber,
fertilizer,
paper, vehicle assembly and food-processing plants, tanneries, and
oil refineries. There are large
aluminum-smelting plants at Richards Bay, on the central coast. The province produces considerable
coal (especially coke) and
timber. About 82% of the population is black. During apartheid, a large percentage were forced to live in Bantu homelands (Bantustans), which had a subsistence economy based on cattle raising and corn growing.
Education
As of the 2001 Census 22.9% of the population in KwaZulu-Natal aged 20 years or more have received no education, while only 4.8% have higher education.
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University of KwaZulu-Natal merger of the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville
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University of Zululand
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Durban University of Technology merger of ML Sultan Technikon and Natal Technikon
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Mangosuthu Technikon
Sport
Famous sports events
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Comrades Marathon - An annual marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban
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Midmar Mile - A mile long swimming race held annually at
Midmar Dam
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Dusi Canoe Marathon - An annual canoe marathon, starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban
Provincial sports teams
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Soccer
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Premier Soccer League (PSL), currently featuring the following teams from the province:
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AmaZulu, from Durban
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Golden Arrows, also from Durban
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Maritzburg United, from Pietermaritzburg
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Rugby
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The Sharks, who compete in the
Super 14 with four other South African teams, four teams from
Australia, and five from
New Zealand
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★
Natal Sharks (not to be confused with the Super 14 team), who compete in South Africa's domestic competition, the
Currie Cup
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Cricket
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Dolphins, the successor to
KwaZulu-Natal, who compete in South Africa's domestic
first-class competition, the
SuperSport Series
Controversies
In June 2007 the KZN parliament passed the Prevention of Slums Bill in the Provincial Parliament. The Bill compels landowners to evict shackdwellers on the threat of arrest and criminalises resistance to evictions. The provincial Department of Housing, that brought the Bill to the Provincial Parliament, has repeatedly stated that 'the slums will be cleared by 2010 in KwaZulu-Natal'. The Bill has been heavily criticized by academics, human rights organisations and civil society. The shack dwellers' movement
Abahlali baseMjondolo is planning mass mobilizing against the Bill and is also taking the matter to the Constitutional Court with support from a pro bono legal legal centre.
[2]
References
1. 2006, ''My Country South Africa - celebrating our national symbols and heritage'', Educational booklet released by the Department of Education, ISBN 1-77018-108-3
2. http://www.abahlali.org/node/1629
External links
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KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government homepage
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Zulu Kingdom - Official tourist information site
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Accommodation information for the KwaZulu-Natal National Parks
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KwaZulu-Natal Accommodation directory
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KwaZulu-Natal shack dwellers' movement
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