Matatiele Municipality is a Local Municipality, category B. It is within the within the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, nestled in betweenKwa-Zulu Natal, Lesotho and the Eastern Cape. It adjoins Lesotho to the North, Elundini to the South-West, Greater Kokstad to the East, with Free State Province to the West. Matatiele, is a charming Town with a rich History. The Town invites you to explore its best-kept secret, the Matatiele Museum. This Museum is housed in a converted Dutch Reformed Church. This sandstone gem showcases an impressive collection, from vintage photos chronicling the Town of Matatiele, with its transformation from antique household items, to post boxes, and an array of fossils. Step inside and embark on a Historical journey, uncovering the past of Matatiele and its neighbouring Regions, as well as the cultures of the Xhosa,Sotho, San, and Zulu peoples.
This Provincial Heritage Site and National Monument, offer a captivating experience for History enthusiasts and the curious minded alike!
It is the largest of four Municipalities in the District, making up almost half of its geographical Area. The Matatiele Municipal Area is composed of the commercial Farmlands surrounding the Town of Matatiele, the Town of Cedarville and the R293 leads to the Township of Maluti. The Municipality is predominantly rural in nature. Matatiele Town serves as the main economic hub for Matatiele Municipality and beyond. The Settlement pattern is characterised by dispersed rural Settlements surrounded by Subsistence Farmlands, in the former Transkei region. The R56 road is a major arterial and trade route running through the Municipality in an East-West direction, linking Matatiele with Kokstad to the East and Mount Fletcher to the West. It links the Municipality with KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape which are located South of Matatiele Municipality. The Western parts of the Area are mainly Commercial Agricultural Farms. They form part of the high production potential land stretching from Matatiele and Kokstad in the South, through to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands to the North-Western parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
As this Area is located at the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains. It adjoins this World Heritage Site, along its Western boundary and was included in the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation and Development Project (MDTP). The latter was a collaborative initiative between South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho, to protect the exceptional biodiversity of the Drakensberg and Maloti Mountains. This is done through: Conservation of sustainable Resources and Land using Development planning. On the 6 December 2023, Matatiele Township changed its name to Willie Jones. 103 Geographical name changes have occurred in the Eastern Cape since 2019.
PC, as Jones was affectionately known, was the right-hand man of Struggle icon and father of Black Consciousness Movement, Steve Bantu Biko. Jones was an unassuming freedom fighter who, at the height of apartheid repression in the late 1960's and throughout the 1970's, he was a prominent and a constant thorn in the side of the white minority regime.