Chris Hani District

The Chris Hani district is situated in the centre of the province. It covers part of the semi-arid karoo in the west to the hills of the Transkei in the east. Chris Hani is the second largest of the districts, and it has an area of 37, 111 square kilometers. Queenstown is the main town and it lies at the centre of the district. Other major towns are Craddock, Middleburg, Elliot and Engcobo. The district is classified as a rural district since most of the population is rural or semi-rural.
 
Chris Hani has a population of 822,891. Most of the people living in the district live in the former Transkei and Ciskei areas. Xhosa is the main language, and there is only a small percentage of coloureds and whites living this district.
 
The largest private sector activity in the Chris Hani District is agriculture, and livestock is the predominant activity. Around Middleburg and Craddock as well as Karoo farms are focusing on small stock, producing mohair, mutton and wool. The cattle trade is centered in Queenstown, and there are commercial black cattle farmers are situated around Cofimyaba and Egcobo. And in Cofimyaba there is also some forestry present. In the Chris Hani District there is irrigation which takes place around Craddock. The second most important private sector is manufacturing. Queenstown is the main manufacturing centre and it has a small furniture industry, dairy processing and wood products available. Although tourism is limited in Chris Hani, there is some development in farm tourism and tours are being operated through game farms. Another aspect of tourism is ‘stop over’ tourism when tourists pass through the Eastern Cape via the N6 and N10 national routes they can stay in farms and guest houses. There is beautiful scenery in the district which can be optimally viewed at places like the Mountain Zebra National Park, which is situated near Craddock.