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DONATE
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Any Donations to help us in our fight against HIV/Aids will be most welcome
Our Banking Details
Bank: First National Bank
Branch: Bela-Bela
Branch Code: 260347
Account Name: HIV/Aids Prevention Group
Account Number: 54201158308
Our NPO Registration Number 033 - 419
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FLASH NEWS
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General Meeting: monthly meeting with all staff and community stakeholders, conducted by Management Committee
Annual General Meeting conducted by Board of Directors
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THE COMMUNITY AND TOWN OF BELA-BELA
Long before the mineral waters at Bela-Bela were used therapeutically, they were discovered by the Tswana in the 1800s and named Bela- Bela, meaning ‘the water that boils on its own’.
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Bela-Bela is the main centre in the Bela-Bela Municipality. Its warm springs were well known in Voortrekker times, but the town came into being only in 1882 at the location of a hot spring, Het Bad. It was originally named Hartingsburg, but the name was soon changed to Warmbaths, and more recently to Bela-Bela.
The Bela-Bela Local Municipality is situated within the municipal jurisdiction of the Waterberg District Municipality and is located within the Southern part of the Limpopo Province bordering the provinces of Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga.
Bela-Bela is Northern-Sotho for “ Boiling-Boiling” and the name of the town is synonymous with the town’s world famous hot water springs, which were discovered in the 1800’s. The town was previously also known by the name of Warmbaths.
Bela-Bela is one of the most popular health and holiday resort town in South Africa, which owes its origin to the hot mineral springs that bubble at about 22 000 liter’s per hour with a temperature of around 53ºC. The natural hot water is rich in sodium chloride, calcium carbonate and other salts that are believed to have healing properties. The area has pleasantly mild climate during the winter months and an average of 286 sunny days every year and this adds to the popularity of the destination. During the summer months, the temperatures ranged between 15,7ºC - 29ºC and during the winter months the temperature ranges between 6,7ºC - 24,0ºC.
South Africa’s National Route (N1) runs through the municipality and the town’s main Central Business District (CBD) area is only 10km away from this major route.
The Municipality is situated within very close proximity of three major cities in South Africa. Bela-Bela is 144km from the provincial capital Polokwane (used to be called Pietersburg), 170 km from Johannesburg, the capital city of Gauteng which is also one of the biggest cities in Africa and 100km from the administrative capital of South Africa, Pretoria. The Johannesburg International Airport is 150 km from Bela-Bela.
Current Situation
The Municipal area stretches about 93 km from East to West, 58 km from North to South, with a corridor of 15 km stretching Eastwards to Rust de Winter. The total municipal area is 3 376 km.
Bela-Bela Municipality is the largest contributor to the GDP of the District Municipality in terms of its tourism, which constitutes the economic mainstay of the area, however, the economy of Bela-Bela Municipality has experienced an economic decline of some 40% since 1980 as a result of the decline in agricultural related activities.
The urban area of Bela-Bela town is the growth point of the Municipal area, with a potential for further economic growth and development. It incorporates Warmbaths, Spa Park, Bela-Bela township and Jinnah Park. The rural area consists of the settlements of Settlers, Rust de Winter, Pienaarsrivier, Radium and Mabula, as well as farms and smallholdings.
The total population of the municipality is 47 619, of which 19 336 are economically active. The formal sector employs 47,6% of the economically active sector, while the informal sector employs 37% of the sector. The unemployment rate is 19,45 of economically active persons.
The total number of households in the municipality is 11 161 and the average household income is R19 300 per year. However, a large percentage of the population lives on or below the poverty line.
Bela-Bela consists also of a thriving agricultural region and has some well-stocked game reserves and resorts in the area. Most of the resorts offer excellent conference, sport, accommodation, recreation and restaurant facilities. Some of the reserves boast the Big Five and countless other Savannah species against a backdrop of very scenic Bushveld countryside.
Tourism is by far the main sector and contributor to the economy and the economic growth of Bela-Bela.
The primary and fundamental objective and vision of the Bela-Bela Municipality is to create conditions that will attract sustainable investment in the area that will seek to promote local economic development, create job opportunities for the people and most importantly that investment partnerships must contribute towards the eradication of poverty in the community and create a better life for all our people
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