Chapter 2 REVISED ANALYSIS 2010/11 Our Area, Our People, Our Institution and Service delivery © Sedibeng District Municipality 2010 - All Rights Reserved 15 2.1 OUR AREA 2.1.1 Demographics • Ekurhuleni (East Rand) to the North-East; The Sedibeng District Municipality is a Category C • Nkangala (Mpumalanga) to the North-East; municipality found in the Gauteng Province. It is the only area of the Gauteng Province that is situated • Gert Sibande (Mpumalanga) to the East; on the banks of Vaal River and Vaal Dam in the • Northern Free State (Free State) to the Southern-most part of the Province, covering the South; area formerly known as the Vaal Triangle inclusive of Nigel and Heidelberg. It includes the towns of • Southern District (North-West) to the West ; Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Meyerton and and Heidelberg as well as the historic townships of • West Rand to the North-West. Evaton, Sebokeng, Boipatong, Bophelong, Sharpeville, and Ratanda, which have a rich political history and heritage. With the N1, N3, and R59- highways intersecting the District, it is seen as one of the most accessible regions in the country and Southern Africa. With the massive improvements to the road network,this accessibility has improved even more, making the district an ideal site for investors to focus on export via (1) the N3 and Durban Port and (2) the N1 and the R59 and OR Thambo International Airport. The R59-corridor and the northern parts of the Midvaal Local Municipality Map 1: Sedibeng Municipal Boundary seem to be the primary areas of over-Flow From Source: Municipal Board (Demarcation 2007) Central Gauteng and further afield into the district. 2.1.2 Development Nodes and Corridors Total size of geographical area(km 2) The higher order development nodes within SDM are Sedibeng Emfuleni Midvaal District Local Local Lesedi Local experiencing urban decay for instance the CBD’s Municipality Municipality Municipality Municipality 4,185 968 1,728 1,489 with decentralized centre’s which is poorly structured (Source: Global Insight, 2009) and defined. There is a lack of properly designed The SDM covers the entire southern area of higher order development nodes within historically Gauteng Province, extending along 120 km axis disadvantaged areas. Urban areas such as from East to West. The total geographical area of Sharpeville/Bophelong are located in areas with the municipality is 4,185 square kilometres (km). medium potential access to economic activity. The The SDM comprises of three Category B Vereeniging/Vanderbijlpark node does not have a Municipalities, namely, Emfuleni, Lesedi and significant link with the central economic core area Midvaal Local Municipalities and is surrounded by (Johannesburg). the following municipalities: • City of Johannesburg (Johannesburg ) to the North; Our Area, Our People, Our Institution and Service delivery © Sedibeng District Municipality 2010 - All Rights Reserved 16 2.1.3 Major Provincial and Arterial Roads Meyerton and northwards towards Alberton (Development Corridors) in Ekurhuleni. The district has an extensive road network at both • Provincial Route R82 – a secondary North- the national and regional level, including the N1 toll- South link, linking Vereeniging with De Deur road, the R59 in the West and the N3 in the Eastern and Walkerville and Johannesburg towards section of the district, which traverse the district and the North. connect with the Ekurhuleni and City of • Provincial Route R54 – the main link Johannesburg Metropolitan. All major routes are between Sebokeng, Vereeniging and Vaal predominantly on a North-South axis and tend to Marina in the South. converge on the City of Johannesburg. Regional • main roads operating on a district tend to radiate out Provincial Route R553 – [Golden Highway] from or converge on the commercial centres of – an important North-South link between Vereeniging and Heidelberg. The R42 provides the Vanderbijlpark through Sebokeng/Evaton main East-West linkage across the district. The towards Johannesburg in the North. highest concentration of roads is situated in the • R57 from the N1 Southwards – towards West, in Emfuleni in accordance with the high Metsimaholo Local Municipality. population density, extensive residential areas, • R28 linking North-West Province from the proximity to large services centre (for example, West with Vereeniging. Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark). It also provides connectivity to Johannesburg and the Free State Province (SDM, 2003a). The following identified roads provide important linkages and should be optimized to link historically disadvantaged communities to areas of major employment. These include: • Provincial Route R29 – main East-West linkage running parallel to the N17 in the North-Eastern part of the study area, linking Devon/Impumelelo with Vischkuil/Endicott and further West with Springs in Ekurhuleni. • Provincial Route R42 – this is the main Map 2: Major Provincial and Arterial Roads East-West linkage through the region, Source: Municipal Board (Demarcation 2007) stretching from the N1 at Loch Vaal in the 2.1.4 Spatial Composition and Land Use South-West through Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging, Heidelberg, and Nigel to The main land use within the Sedibeng District is Vischkuil/Endicott in the North-Eastern part briefly discussed hereunder. of the study area and onwards towards 2.1.4.1 Urban Residential Areas Delmas in Mpumalanga. Residential land uses include both formal and • Provincial Route R59 – the main North- informal residential suburbs. The defined residential South linkage through the study area, areas within Emfuleni include the areas of Evaton, linking Vereeniging/Vanderbijlpark with Our Area, Our People, Our Institution and Service delivery © Sedibeng District Municipality 2010 - All Rights Reserved 17 Sebokeng, Bophelong, Boipatong, Tshepiso, and 2.1.4.2 Industrial/Commercial Development Sharpeville, which are all previously disadvantaged Industry in Sedibeng takes up a relatively large township areas, as well as the previous white amount of land, which demonstrates the significance suburbs of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. A of industrial activities, especially in Emfuleni. These number of informal settlements occur in and around industrial activities are mainly around Vanderbijlpark the previously disadvantaged township areas. and Vereeniging and relate to the steel and petrochemical industries. The residential areas in Midvaal include Risiville, Meyerton and extensions and Henley-on- Klip, There is also a line of industrial activity along the which are all situated along the eastern side of the R59 from Kliprivier (Heineken Development) to the R59 freeway. Some informal settlements occur Meydustria area. The most important industry in this along the western side of the R59 freeway in area is Samancor. Most of the industries in the Midvaal. Residential development in Lesedi is Meyerton/Vereeniging/Vanderbijlpark area are confined to Heidelberg/Ratanda and heavy/noxious industries and thus potentially have a Impumelelo/Devon. high environmental impact on the residential areas in the proximity. Formal housing development in the previously disadvantaged township areas has in the past The only other significant industrial activity in the consisted almost entirely of mass housing projects district takes place in Heidelberg, consisting of the driven by government with public funding, and it is BAT cigarette manufacturing plant, the Eskort meat not foreseen that this trend will change in the processing plant and some other lesser industrial foreseeable future. Due to the depressed local concerns. economy, private sector housing development has been slow during the last decade, consisting mostly Commercial activity [which can be defined as of small housing schemes within or abutting the warehousing, distribution and transport businesses] existing medium and high-income residential areas. is found interspersed with industries in all the major industrial areas. In view of the above it is submitted that the majority The total area taken up by industrial/commercial land of new housing development in the study area over uses in the district has also risen from ±3 920 ha to ± the short to medium term will be subsidy-linked 4 014 ha [0,8% to 0,9%]. housing schemes initiated with state funding – to ± 4 014 ha [0,8% to 9%]. private sector housing development will play an insignificant role in respect of generating additional 2.1.4.3 The economy infrastructural and community services demands. Introduction to the Sedibeng Economy The total area of residential development since The economy of Sedibeng District Municipality has 2004 has risen from ± 13 392 ha to ± 16 921 ha for the largest part of its existence been dominated (from 2,9% to 4,6%) due to the large areas of by heavy manufacturing and still is. There are two residential developments in the entire district, min sub-sector of manufacturing, namely (1) especially in the Emfuleni locality. This growth fabricated metal and (2) chemicals. In the metal shows a sign of positive growth and provides sector, the ArceloMittal (formerly ISCOR) steel plant, investment opportunities. the Cape Gate Davsteel wire and steel plant and the ferromanganese plant of Samancor, are the three Our Area, Our People, Our Institution and Service delivery © Sedibeng District Municipality 2010 - All Rights Reserved 18 main large baseline plants in the region, while DCD- 2.1.4.5 Retail/ Business Dorbyl Heavy Engineering is the biggest Retail/business is mostly concentrated in and around manufacturer