Sedibeng's Proposed Re-Demarcation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GCRO OCCASIONAL PAPER # NO. 18 Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation AUGUST 2021 Author: Thembani Mkhize a The GCRO comprises a partnership of: RESCALING MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE AMIDST POLITICAL COMPETITION IN GAUTENG: SEDIBENG’S PROPOSED RE-DEMARCATION Publishers: Gauteng City-Region Observatory Author: Thembani Mkhize (GCRO), a partnership of the University of Design: Breinstorm Brand Architects Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, Typesetting: Lumina Datamatics Johannesburg, the Gauteng Provincial Government Production manager: Simon Chislett and organised local government in Gauteng (SALGA). Copyeditor: Lee Smith © 2021 Gauteng City-Region Observatory Cover image: Photograph © GCRO DOI: 10.36634/2021.op.3 ISBN: 978-1-990972-15-7 (XML) ISBN: 978-1-990972-16-4 (web pdf) GCRO OCCASIONAL PAPER # NO. 18 Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation AUGUST 2021 Author: Thembani Mkhize RESCALING MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE AMIDST POLITICAL COMPETITION IN GAUTENG Contents Figures and table ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................iii Acronyms and abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................................................................................iv About the author ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 2 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................... 6 Setting the scene: Inspiration for the study ............................................................................................................................................................6 Background: Sedibeng’s proposed restructuring.................................................................................................................................................7 Demarcation changes and controversies in Gauteng: A brief overview ....................................................................................................10 Objectives ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................18 Research questions .............................................................................................................................................................................................................18 Argument and theoretical lens ......................................................................................................................................................................................19 Methodology ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................19 SEDIBENG’S MORPHOLOGY, HISTORY, CHALLENGES AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS .................. 22 DEMARCATION IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA ....................................................................... 32 Local government reform in post-apartheid South Africa ..............................................................................................................................33 Challenges, controversies and commitments ........................................................................................................................................................40 Municipal Demarcation Board......................................................................................................................................................................................44 PARTY POLITICS IN SEDIBENG, EMFULENI AND MIDVAAL ................................................................ 48 Impetus for political competition and party politics in Emfuleni and Midvaal ...................................................................................48 Conflicted interests in Sedibeng’s demarcation drama: Politics, particularities and peculiarities ..........................................52 Events since 2016.................................................................................................................................................................................................................57 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 60 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE .................................................................................................. 62 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................63 ii RESCALING MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE AMIDST POLITICAL COMPETITION IN GAUTENG Figures and table FIGURES Figure 1: MDB’s proposed re-demarcation and recategorisation of Sedibeng District Municipality ...................................................7 Figure 2A: Midvaal residents picket outside the municipal offices in Meyerton in protest against the proposed Emfuleni–Midvaal merger and recategorisation ...............................................................................................................9 Figure 2B: Social media poster urging Midvaal residents to oppose the Emfuleni–Midvaal merger ...................................................9 Figure 3A: Gauteng’s local and provincial boundaries, 2000–2005 ......................................................................................................................11 Figure 3B: Gauteng’s local and provincial boundaries, 2006 ....................................................................................................................................12 Figure 3C: Gauteng’s local and provincial boundaries, 2009 ....................................................................................................................................13 Figure 3D: Gauteng’s local and provincial boundaries, 2011 .....................................................................................................................................14 Figure 3E: Gauteng’s local and provincial boundaries, 2016 .....................................................................................................................................15 Figure 3F: Proposed further changes to Gauteng’s local boundaries ....................................................................................................................17 Figure 4: Proposed ‘Greater Vaal Metropolitan River City’ relative to Gauteng..............................................................................................23 Figure 5: Local municipalities within Sedibeng District Municipality ...............................................................................................................24 Figure 6: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela ‘fishing’ for votes for the ANC in Midvaal ........................................................................................49 Figure 7: ‘Conflicting rationalities’: Opposing views on Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation ...............................................................52 TABLE Table 1: Comparison of Mangaung, Buffalo City and Emfuleni/Midvaal ...........................................................................................................38 iii RESCALING MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE AMIDST POLITICAL COMPETITION IN GAUTENG Acronyms and abbreviations ANC African National Congress CoGTA Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs DA Democratic Alliance EFF Economic Freedom Fighters FF+ Freedom Front Plus GIS geographical information system GPG Gauteng Provincial Government IEC Electoral Commission of South Africa IFP Inkatha Freedom Party ISCOR Iron and Steel Corporation MDB Municipal Demarcation Board MEC Member of the Executive Council MFSI Municipal Financial Sustainability Index MMC Member of the Mayoral Committee NP National Party SALGA South African Local Government Association SAMWU South African Municipal Workers’ Association iv RESCALING MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE AMIDST POLITICAL COMPETITION IN GAUTENG About the author Thembani Mkhize | Thembani Mkhize has wide research interests, including urban regeneration and sublocal governance, social cohesion, city branding and large-scale city politics as well as the role of youth subcultures in shaping urban governance and politics. A researcher at the Gauteng City-Region