| Bushbuckridge Bosbokrand Mapulaneng |
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Bushbuckridge
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Mpumalanga |
| District | Ehlanzeni |
| Municipality | Bushbuckridge |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Executive mayor | Milton Morema (ANC) |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 2,590 km2 (1,000 sq mi) |
| Population (2001)[2] | |
| • Total | 509,970 |
| • Density | 196.9/km2 (510/sq mi) |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
| Website | www.bushbuckridge.gov.za |
Bushbuckridge is a city and municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The name was given because of the large herds of antelope that were found there in the 1880s. The town grew around a trading store which opened in 1884. Tobacco, cotton and vegetable farming takes place in the surrounding countryside.
In 1994, when South Africa was divided into nine new provinces, the Bushbuckridge area was included in Limpopo province. The citizens of the town and surrounding areas were in a dispute with the government because they wanted to be part of Mpumalanga province, since Nelspruit (the capital of Mpumalanga) is much closer to them than Polokwane (the capital of Limpopo). In 2006 the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa transferred the area to Mpumalanga.