iLembe District Municipality is well positioned between two of the busiest ports in Africa, namely Durban and Richards Bay. In addition, the municipality’s proximity to King Shaka International Airport, new schools, hospitals, regional retail centres and multiple recreation options, as well as the temperate climate, are critical features of this north coast region.

iLembe consists of the following local municipalities: KwaDukuza, Mandeni, Maphumulo and Ndwedwe. The district is made up of 45 Traditional Authorities (TA) areas where settlement is controlled according to a traditional land tenure system.

The diverse culture of this region has been shaped by people from three continents; Africa, India, and Europe, offering a unique vibrancy to the municipality. iLembe District is committed to people’s development, building unity and a sense of belonging across racial and cultural barriers.

In KwaDukuza, Ballito is the central business hub for the rapidly growing economic corridor between Umhlanga and Richards Bay. The municipality has several well-established and popular tourism and residential developments including Brettenwood, Zimbali, Simbithi, Dunkirk, Seaward, Shortens, Umhlali Country Club, Caledon and Palm Lakes. Many others are under development.

Mandeni Local Municipality is located midway between Durban and Richards Bay, and lies on the development corridor on the north coast between these two major port cities in KwaZulu-Natal. The municipality is strategically located to provide service and derive economic benefits from this development corridor.

Industrial development is concentrated in KwaDukuza, iSithebe and Darnall, most notably the Gledhow and Darnall sugar milling operations at Stanger and the Sappi Paper mills at Mandeni. The commercial farming areas of KwaDukuza, Mandeni and Ndwedwe (31% of the iLembe District) are mainly under privately owned sugar cane.

The most distinguishable characteristic of the Maphumulo Local Municipality is its predominantly rural nature. Sugar cane cultivation is the main economic activity and land use in the municipality. Ndwedwe Local Municipality consists mainly of poor black communities whose livelihood depends on subsistence farming.

The northern areas of Ndwedwe, the central corridor of Mandeni and KwaDukuza Municipality are the commercial farming hubs of the district, which include forestry, fruit and vegetable farming, tunnel farming, and fresh cut flowers.

Village centres such as Maphumulo and Ndwedwe in the West, Nyoni and Mbizimbelwa in the north, comprise of commercial and service development in the rural areas. They largely exist in association with a magistrate’s court, clinic, pension pay point, health, education and welfare office or similar state service. Despite its strategic location, iLembe faces numerous economic challenges such as the high levels of poverty in the rural inland areas, which contrasts with rapid development along its coastal regions. The District has been proactive in developing Enterprise iLembe, a broad-based institution aimed at facilitating local economic development in response to its challenges of high rates of unemployment and correspondingly high levels of poverty.

CONTACT DETAILS
Physical Address: iLembe House, 59/61 Mahatma Gandhi Street, KwaDukuza, 4450
Postal Address: P.O. Box 1788, KwaDukuza, 4450
Tel: +27 (0)32 437 9300
Website: www.ilembe.gov.za