Ugu is one of the 11

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. ''Ugu'' is Zulu for "coast". It governs the

KZN South Coast KwaZulu-Natal South Coast (better known as the KZN South Coast or just the South Coast) is a region on the southern coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It stretches from Scottburgh in the north to Port Edward in the south and Harding in the w ...

and its seat is

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

. The majority of its 722,484 people speak

IsiZulu Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal of ...

(2011 Census). The district code is DC21. The largest towns in the municipality are

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

Umzinto Umzinto is a town, located in the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and falls under the uMdoni Local Municipality. It was a sugarcane growing area and the town was set up as the centre for a sugar mill. Etymology "Umzinto" is said to ...

Scottburgh Scottburgh () is a coastal resort town located on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It situated south of the mouth of the Mpambanyoni River ''(confuser of birds).'' History Named after Natal Colony Governor John Scott, in 186 ...

and Harding.

Geography

The boundaries of the Ugu District Municipality which covers an area of 5866 square kilometres, coincide with the boundaries of the geographical area of the

KwaZulu-Natal South Coast KwaZulu-Natal South Coast (better known as the KZN South Coast or just the South Coast) is a region on the southern coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It stretches from Scottburgh in the north to Port Edward in the south and Harding in the ...

. The municipality stretches 112 kilometres along the coast from

in the north to Port Edward in the south and Harding in the west (interior). The municipality is 84% rural and 16% urban which is the pillar of its successful economy. The municipality consists of eighty one (81) municipal wards, which are in its local municipalities, namely Ray Nkonyeni,

Umzumbe Umzumbe is a seaside resort situated at the mouth of the Mzumbe River ''(bad kraal)'' in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The name of the river is derived from a band of Hlongwa cannibals who occupied the valley. The Hlongwa was almost wiped out by ...

, Umdoni and Umuziwabantu . The region also includes forty two (42) traditional authorities.

Topography

Being a coastal strip, the topography generally falls towards the coast and is segmented by many water courses (streams/rivers) resulting in numerous hills and valleys as well as very flat areas along the coast.

Mismanagement

In 2020, the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) released a report in which various corruption-related matters in the municipality were addressed. In the wake of the report the municipal manager, mr D.D. Naidoo, was removed from his post. The municipality is suffering from poor service delivery as a direct consequence of its poor management and defective tender procedures.

Local municipalities

The district contains the following local municipalities:

Neighbours

Ugu is surrounded by: * Umgungundlovu to the north (DC22) * eThekwini to the north-east (Greater Durban) * the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

to the east *

Alfred Nzo Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo (19 June 1925 – 13 January 2000) was a South African politician. He served as the longest-standing secretary-general of the African National Congress. He occupied this position (ANC) between 1969 and 1991. He was also ...

to the south (DC44) *

Harry Gwala Themba Harry Gwala (30 July 1920 – 20 June 1995) was a revolutionary leader in the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP) in South Africa. Biography Early career and activism Harry Gwala trained as a teac ...

to the west (DC43)

Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2011

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

Languages

Gender

Ethnic group

Age

Politics

Election results

Election results for Ugu in the

South African general election, 2004 General elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004. The African National Congress (ANC) of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority. ...

. * Population 18 and over: 385 659 4.78% of total population* Total votes: 216 751 0.79% of total population* Voting % estimate: 56.20% votes as a % of population 18 and over

References

External links

Ugu DM Official website
{{Municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal District Municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal Ugu District Municipality KwaZulu-Natal South Coast