Umgungundlovu District Municipality

The region has a rich and complex natural environment with numerous resources accounting for 13.5% of KwaZulu-Natal’s Gross Geographical Product and 14.5% of the province’s formal employment.

There is a high concentration of services and job opportunities in the urban centres, such as Pietermaritzburg/Msunduzi, the seat of the Municipality administration. This city is the centre of the district’s economic activity and tertiary education, boasting a university, two Technikons, four technical colleges and six other training institutions. A large proportion of the municipality is rural, with little social and physical infrastructure.

The most pressing need is to provide access to social facilities and physical infrastructure to people in the rural areas. Catering for the needs of the young is indicated as about half the population is under 20 years. Unemployment is high at 60% or more in four of the District’s seven municipalities.

Close to 70% of households have incomes less than R1 500 per month. Most of the economic activity is concentrated in Pietermaritzburg, which contributes 75% of uMgungundlovu’s gross geographic product.

Manufacturing activity includes the production of shoes, leather, aluminium products, chemicals, food and furniture. The agricultural sector is dominated by commercial farming for sugar cane, animal products and forestry. In the rural settlements there is subsistence farming.

The District has an excellent infrastructure. A key feature is the N3 national road, which traverses the entire length of uMgungundlovu and offers substantial opportunity for a development corridor of national significance. The efficient network of roads and railways links the rural areas with urban centres.

The District is close to Durban International Airport and served by the regional Oribi Airport in Pietermaritzburg. Fixed line operator Telkom’s network is accessible throughout the District. Three cellphone operators also cover the region, while access to e-mail and the Internet connects all the District’s local municipalities with the global marketplace.

A system of dams supplies urban centres and rural areas with water. The District has embarked on an aggressive rural water delivery programme that will improve both quality of life and development potential. Similarly, the electricity supply grid is being expanded.