Matatiele

Matatiele
Matatiele
Coordinates	30 ° 20 ′  S , 28 ° 48 ′  E Coordinates: 30 ° 20 ′  S , 28 ° 48 ′  E
Basic data
Country	South Africa
province	Eastern Cape
District	Alfred Nzo
local community	Matatiele
Residents	12,466 (2011)
Ongeluksnek border crossing near Matatiele

Matatiele is a town in the Matatiele municipality , Alfred Nzo District , Eastern Cape Province in South Africa . In 2011 it had 12,466 inhabitants.

The city and municipality name is derived from the Sesotho term for the ducks have flown , a reference to the large number of wetlands in the area, which serve as a habitat for the ducks.

It was founded by the Griqua , whose capital was Kokstad , 70 kilometers away . At the end of the 19th century, the city and its surroundings were a focal point for horse thieves and smugglers who used the nearby Drakensberg as a retreat. In 2005, the city came from the KwaZulu-Natal Province to the Eastern Cape Province against resistance from many residents. As a result, the protest party African Independent Congress was founded in Matatiele , which won three of the 400 seats in the National Assembly in the 2014 elections .

Today the city is the center of the surrounding agricultural production facilities (corn and dairy products as well as horse breeding). Matatiele is the closest town to Qacha's Nek in Lesotho .

Personalities

• Innocent Mdledle (* 1985), soccer player

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 22, 2013
2. ↑ Meaning of the name municipalities ( Memento from August 29, 2019 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
3. ↑ Griqualand Tourism Website ( Memento of December 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)