Cala is a town in Sakhisizwe Local Municipality, part of the

Chris Hani District Municipality The Chris Hani District Municipality () is a landlocked district municipality situated in the centre of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and is made up of eight local municipalities. Most of the communities are in rural areas. The land ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The town is located on the

Tsomo River The Tsomo River is a river in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is a tributary of the Great Kei River. Dams on the Tsomo River * Ncora Dam See also * List of rivers of South Africa This is a list of rivers in South Afric ...

, 28 km southwest of Elliot. The name is Xhosa for ‘adjacent to’, referring to its situation west of the

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...

, which here extends north and south.

Notable people

The following people were born in Cala: * Enoch Godongwana, trade unionist and politician *

Gwede Mantashe Samson Gwede Mantashe (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. He has been responsible for the mineral resources portfolio since Feb ...

, trade unionist and politician *

Wiseman Lumkile Nkuhlu Wiseman Lumkile Nkuhlu GCOB (born 5 February 1944 in Cala, Eastern Cape) is a South African chartered accountant, academic, and business leader. He became the first Black South African to qualify as a chartered accountant ( CA(SA)) in 1976. Nk ...

, chartered accountant *

Dumisa Ntsebeza Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza (born 31 October 1949) is a South African lawyer and political activist. He was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Ntsebeza was born in Cala, Eastern Cape in the former Transkei. He is the chairman of t ...

, lawyer and activist * Lungisile Ntsebeza, sociologist and activist * Ama Qamata, actress * Louis van Biljon, athlete

References

Populated places in the Sakhisizwe Local Municipality {{EasternCape-geo-stub