
ABOUT US | DEMOGRAPHICS | SERVICE DIRECTORY
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
The district lies at the heart of the Eastern Cape Province and is presently
home to about 1.7 million people. The economy of the district is dominated by
Buffalo City, which comprises the coastal city of East London, historical King
William’s Town, and the provincial administrative capital of Bhisho.Buffalo City
accounts for 42% of the district’s population, 83% of the district’s economic
output, and 72% of the district’s formal employment. The city is clearly
important to the growth and development fortunes of the district and critical to
realising an integrated district growth and development
agenda.
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Sectors that provide formal employment in the district are
public services (75,000 jobs), manufacturing (27,000 jobs), trade
(25,000 jobs) and agriculture (17,000 jobs). Over the last few years
the economic growth of the district has been slightly slower than the national
average.Two-thirds of the district previously fell under the two former
homelands of Transkei and Ciskei. This is where basic services backlogs, such as
domestic water, sanitation, mud schools, poor access roads and unavailable
electricity, are most acute. There is evidence that poverty has been increasing
in the district over the last few years, although there have been some gains in
the Human Development Index. | |  East
London Industrial Zone |
The district HIV-prevalence rate is similar to the provincial
rate. The problem of informal dwellings (shacks) is most acute in Buffalo City,
due to inward migration from the hinterland.The overwhelming dominance of
Buffalo City in the district economy points to the importance of strengthening
the city’s growth.Efforts to upgrade East London’s harbour are critical with
regard to the future competitiveness of the manufacturing industry (private
enterprises and co-operatives). AsgiSA initiatives around, for example,
biofuels, forestry and BPO (call centres) also hold promise for
the district.
The tourism sector is already showing good
(more than average) growth, linked to the various attractions: Wild Coast and
Sunshine Coast, mountains and small towns, the rich heritage of frontier wars,
crucibles of struggle against apartheid; and the close proximity of all these
attractions to each other (a tourism cluster) |