Nkandla is a town in the uThungulu district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the seat of the Nkandla Local Municipality, and the district in which the residence of the current President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma is located. Contrary to common perception, the residence is not located in the town of Nkandla, but rather 40 kilometres to the south beyond the Nkandla Forest and on the road to Kranskop.
The Nkandla region encompasses nearly 115,000 inhabitants, spread relatively sparsely over a large area. Nkandla is mainly a rural area and is in the top five of the poorest places in KwaZulu-Natal province. Poverty is prevalent, with 44% unemployment. The majority of the population are Zulus.
Nkandla is situated in a remote area of breathtaking mountainous beauty, which consists mainly of tribal lands and state-owned land. The area has a wealth of undisturbed forests, which boast many indigenous species. Nkandla has a claim to be the ‘cradle’ of Zulu history. From Malandela to Shaka, to Dingane and Cetshwayo, Nkandla has been at the centre stage of the Zulu nation’s history. The graves of King Malandela and Cetshwayo are at Nkandla.
Nkandla Town is the only urban area in Nkandla Municipality which offers the full array of urban development, albeit at a smaller scale compared to the majority of towns in KwaZulu-Natal, are found. This includes low density residential, active and passive open space, schools, commercial areas, service-industries, churches, offices, government buildings an services, financial services, etc.
The Provincial Growth and Development Strategy has identified the need to support growth in small towns to improve the delivery of services to rural areas. This needs be informed by the identification of appropriate emerging settlements where the greatest return on social and services investment could be achieved, as well as those emerging settlements that serve a substantial hinterland. Social infrastructure required includes community facilities such as clinics, sport fields and facilities, libraries, adult education facilities, pension payout points, etc.
The Nkandla Forest is located roughly seventy kilometers from Melmoth in KwaZulu Natal, and is the largest remaining indigenous forest in Zululand. The name Nkandla comes from the Zulu verb “khandla”, which means “to be tired”. The forest was named by King Shaka, when he reached the area, exhausted from his journey and decided to rest there a while. Throughout Zulu history the Nkandla Forest has been a place of mystery, and was regarded as a dwelling place for supernatural beings. The Chube people who were ironworkers associated with the Nkandla area, also used the forest as a stronghold, preventing themselves from being conquered by Shaka.
The Nkandla Forest is one of the most rare and outstanding examples of surviving mist belt forest in South Africa. The forest covers the crest and south-western slopes of the ridge lying above the Mhlatuze and Tugela rivers at an altitude of between 1100 and 1300 meters above sea level. Streams rising in the forest form deep gorges leading into the Nsuze river which runs along the base of the ridge.
Apart from being an area of immense natural beauty, the Nkandla forest also represents a rare type of high wet rain forest, of which very few examples survive. This type of forest is a remnant of a habitat from many years ago, which would have otherwise been extinct, but managed to survive. They are left surviving from times in the distant past when the climate was wetter, and even colder. The forest has an impressively high species diversity, and is home to many species that are associated with scarp forest habitats, indicating that Nkandla may be positioned in a transitional zone between mist and scarp forest. More than one hundred and fifty different bird species have been observed in the area and wildlife such as Bushbuck, Samango Monkey, Bushpig, Blue Duiker and Leopard can been seen occasionally in the forest.
There is also a massive variety of rare plants growing in the Nkandla forest, and this, combined with the rarity of the habitat type as a whole, provides enough reasons for conserving this rare forest type. There are currently no visitor facilities at Nkandla, though people who wish to hike or camp may do so with the prior permission of the Officer in Charge.
