Sedibeng is one of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The administrative seat of Sedibeng is

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly si ...

. The most widely spoken language among its 794,605 inhabitants is

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free ...

(2001

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

Socioeconomic situation

The total population of Sedibeng accounts for only 9% of the total

population of 8.84 million. This means that in 2001 Sedibengs's population was approximately 794 600 (Stats SA, 2001 CENSUS). The growth rate for Gauteng was 3.75% p.a and 2% p.a for Sedibeng during 2003 (Stats SA). In terms of the economy the district is dominated by manufacturing, which contributed roughly 32% to the local economy during 2001. Manufacturing in the district is dominated by the fabricated metal and the chemical sectors (

Mittal Steel Company Mittal Steel Company N.V. was an Indian company and one of the world's largest steel producers by volume and turnover. After a merger in 2005, it is now part of ArcelorMittal. History Mittal Steel Company was formed as Ispat International in 19 ...

(previously ISCOR) and

Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...

. The local economy has been stagnating for a number of years, with a net loss in formal job opportunities. Economic sectors which do present opportunities for further local development and economic growth include agriculture and tourism.

Environmental

Some of Sedibeng's natural resources are: *The

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...

. At times however, the river is polluted by untreated sewage from this municipality. *

Vaal Dam The Vaal Dam in South Africa was constructed in 1938 and lies 77 km south of OR Tambo International Airport. The lake behind the dam wall has a surface area of about and is 47 meters deep. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River, which is one ...

, a tourist attraction and source of water even beyond the boundaries of Sedibeng *

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve is a protected area in the Suikerbosrand Range, South Africa. It is one of Gauteng’s most frequented ecotourism destinations. Set just a short distance from Johannesburg, an hour's drive from Johannesburg Internat ...

, a protected area in the Suikerbosrand Range *

Aquifers An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

, which are an important source of water in rural areas

Corruption

In 2020 the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) decided to act against council members who in 2018 approved a large raise in salary for their municipal manager Stanley Khanyile. In 2020 Khanyile was shot and killed in Meyersdal, Alberton, before he could appear on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering stemming from his term as the head of a department in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Local Municipalities

Sedibeng District Municipality consists of the three local municipalities, namely Lesedi, Midvaal and Emfuleni. The total number of households in Sedibeng is estimated at 224 307.

Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

Gender

Ethnic group

Age

Neighbours

Sedibeng is surrounded by: *

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

to the north *

Ekurhuleni The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng. The municipality itself is a large suburban region east of Johannesburg. The name ''Ekurhuleni'' m ...

(

East Rand The East Rand is the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation in South Africa. The region extends from Alberton in the west to Nigel in the east, and south down to Nigel. It includ ...

) to the north * Nkangala in Mpumalanga to the north-east (DC31) *

Gert Sibande Richard "Gert" Sibande (born 1907 near Ermelo, Mpumalanga, died 1987) was a South African political activist. He was one of the ANC co-accused to stand trial in the treason trial of 1956-61 alongside Nelson Mandela and 154 others. Sibande played ...

in Mpumalanga to the east (DC30) * Fezile Dabi to the south (DC20) * Dr Kenneth Kaunda in

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

to the west (DC40) *

West Rand The West Rand is the name of the urban western part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef discovered in 1886 and sparked the gold ...

to the north-west (CBDC8)

References

External links

Sedibeng District Municipality
{{Sedibeng District Municipality District municipalities of Gauteng Sedibeng District Municipality