Bizana
Bizana is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Local Municipality.
This article is about the town. For the municipality formerly known as the Bizana Local Municipality, see Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Local Municipality.
Bizana
24.13 km2 (9.32 sq mi)
7,974
330/km2 (860/sq mi)
98.5%
0.6%
0.3%
0.2%
0.4%
90.3%
3.2%
2.8%
3.8%
039
Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, was born here in 1936. Oliver Reginald Tambo (popularly known as OR Tambo which the international airport in Johannesburg is named after) was also born and grew up in this town. The town has many surrounding villages. Bizana has a provincial hospital, named Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Regional Hospital. There is also a hospital called Greenville hospital in the eTyeni area of Imizizi Administrative area.
Education[edit]
Bizana has many primary and secondary schools to serve the community. Mr Clement Sandile Nteta, who is one of the unsung heroes of the struggle for liberation was a key incognito ANC operative. Nteta clandestinely ensured a safe passage for many of the ANC stalwarts into exile. During the periods of the 1970s and 1980s Clement Nteta continued his fight against apartheid by creating and instilling a culture of education in the region. He was instrumental in developing schools and an education system which delivered quality education to learners. Many of his students are prominent members of government as a consequence of the foundation he built. He was the Chairman of the Retired Teachers Association at the time of his death in 2017. He was leading the fight for teachers to be paid for their years of service and pensions they have not received since retirement. His influence has culminated in there being a new Further Education and Training institution called Ingwe TVET College (Sithetho Campus) located at Mhlanga, a small village in Bizana.
1986 bombing[edit]
On 18 April 1986, two people were killed and several others injured when a bomb, set up by Phumzile Mayaphi, exploded at the Wild Coast Casino near Bizana. Mayaphi was charged and convicted of murder and sabotage, and was sentenced to death on 12 May 1989. The African National Congress denied responsibility for the attack.
Transport[edit]
The R61 is the major route running through Mbizana, bypassing the town to the south. It runs roughly SE to S from Port Edward in KwaZulu-Natal to Flagstaff.