Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

About Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) is a metropolitan municipality on the Eastern Cape coast. It covers East London, Mdantsane, Qonce (formerly King William's Town) and the settlements around them. As a metro, it runs the services residents use every day, including water, sanitation, roads, housing and emergency services. Its customer care line is 043 722 0660.

These services depend on skilled people. Engineers keep infrastructure working, planners shape how the city grows, and finance staff protect public money. Therefore, the municipality supports local students who want to train in these fields.

How Buffalo City supports students

The main programme is the BCMM Mayoral Bursary Fund. The municipality has described it as a fund that leans towards underprivileged people. It also encourages students with disabilities to apply. In recent notices, the target age group was 14 to 35 years.

The fund concentrates on fields the metro needs. The 2024 notice listed four groups:

• Engineering: mechanical, electrical and civil
• Planning and the built environment: quantity surveying, town and regional planning, facilities management, building, architecture and land surveying
• Scientific fields: microbiology, biochemistry and analytical chemistry
• Finance: economics and accounting

Selection rests strictly on academic merit. Recent notices asked for at least a D in English and a C in Mathematics, Accounting and Physical Science, or an NCV Level 4 certificate that includes Mathematics. Awards can be renewed each year, but only if your results from the previous year are good enough.

What to know before you apply

Applicants must be South African citizens who live permanently in the metro. The municipality asks for proof of residence or a letter from the ward councillor. It also asks for household income documents and a certified copy of your latest academic record.

Application forms have been available at the Youth Advisory Centres inside the metro's Community Support Centres. These include the Mdantsane Library Complex, the King William's Town Civic Centre, the Duncan Village Art Centre and the Trust Centre Building in East London. Completed forms go to the Special Programs Unit on the seventh floor of the Trust Centre Building.

The published notice does not spell out what the bursary pays for, and it makes students responsible for winning a place at a tertiary institution themselves. Some third-party listings mention that recipients may be asked to give skills back to the community, but the municipality's own notice does not describe a work-back contract. Read any agreement carefully before you sign.

Closing dates change from year to year, and the most recent official notice we could confirm closed on 31 October 2023. Always check the Buffalo City website or call the municipality for the current round before you start gathering documents.