Merafong City Local Municipality is a Category B municipality situated in the southwestern region of Gauteng Province and forms part of the West Rand District Municipality.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B2 (large town) |
| Province: | Gauteng |
| District: | West Rand |
| Municipal code: | GT484 |
| Seat: | Carletonville |
| Number of wards: | 28 |
| Total area: | 1,631 km² (630 square miles) |
| Population: | 225,476 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Nozuko Best |
About
Merafong City Local Municipality is geographically situated in the western and southern regions of the West Rand District Municipality.
Merafong City Local Municipality is situated about 65 kilometres from Johannesburg and is serviced by several major National Routes, including the N12 from Johannesburg to Kimberley via the towns of Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Bloemhof, Warrenton, and the N14, which is the main road between Gauteng Province, and Springbok in the Northern Cape Province via Ventersdorp, Vryburg, Kuruman, Upington, and Keimoes.
Merafong City Local Municipality covers an area of 1,631 km² (630 square miles) making it the largest local municipality in the Sedibeng District as it accounts for almost half of the district’s geographical area.
The administrative headquarters/seat of Merafong City Local Municipality is in Carletonville.
The municipality is divided into 28 wards in terms of Section 18 (3) of the local government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998), which constitutes 28 Ward Councillors and 27 Proportional Representative Councillors.
Merafong City Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Rand West City Local Municipality to the east
- Mogale City Local Municipality to the north
- Rustenburg Local Municipality in the Bojanala Platinum District in the North West Province to the north
- JB Marks Local Municipality in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District in the North West Province to the west and south
- Emfuleni Local Municipality in Sedibeng District Municipality to the southeast
The historical development of Merafong City Local Municipality is closely linked with the discovery of rich gold reefs in the early 1930s. The municipality’s boundaries enclose some of the richest gold mines in the world.
Merafong City Local Municipality was previously a cross-border municipality before it was entirely transferred to the North West Province following the abolition of cross-border municipalities by the Twelfth Amendment of the South African Constitution in 2005.
The municipality was a part of the North West Province from 2005 to 2009 when it was reincorporated into Gauteng by the Sixteenth Amendment of the South African Constitution in 2009. This transfer was necessitated as a result of often violent protests in the township of Khutsong.
The municipality has three main towns namely; Carletonville, Fochville, and Wedela.
Fochville is the oldest town in the municipality, it was established by two residents, Messer’s Wulfson and Horvitch, and was declared a town in 1951.
The town of Carletonville was named after Guy Carleton Jones, an engineer from the Gold Fields Ltd mining company, who played a prominent role in the discovery of the West Wits gold field, of which Carletonville forms a part. The mining company decided in November 1946 to establish the town. Carletonville was proclaimed in 1948 and attained Town Council Status on 1 July 1959.
Wedela is situated between Western Deep Levels and Kusasalethu Mine (previously known as Elandsrand). The town’s name is derived from the prefixes of the two mines: the “Wed-” from Western Deep Levels and the “-ela” from Elandsrand. Wedela was established as a mining village in December 1978 by Harry Oppenheimer, and municipal status was granted to the town on 1 January 1990.
Attached to Fochville and Carletonville are the towns of Khutsong, Kokosi, Greenspark, Welverdiend, and Blybank.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Merafong City Local Municipality has a population of 225,476 people, compared to 188,843 in 2016, and 197,520 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 1.29%.
According to the 2022 Census, 24.2% of the population is under the age of 15, 70.9% is between 15 and 64, and 4.8% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 86.5% of the population in Merafong City Local Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 11.8% as White, 1.1% as Coloured, and 0.3% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 24.9% of the population speaks isiXhosa as their first language, 21.4% speak Setswana, 19.3% speak Sesotho, 12.8% speak Afrikaans, and 21.6% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Merafong City Local Municipality are mining, trade, finance and business services, community services, and general government.
Municipal council and management
The municipality is under S139 administration, effective from September 2022.
The Merafong City municipal council is comprised of 55 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Twenty-eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 28 wards, while the remaining 27 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
The municipality has an Executive Mayor who is supported by 10 full-time Mayoral Committee members who are responsible for heading their respective portfolios.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 28 – DA: 9 – EFF: 9 – VF PLUS: 4 – MAOC: 2 – AIC: 1 – IFP: 1 – UDM: 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC |
| Executive Mayor | Nozuko Best |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | G M Sell |
| Speaker | Elvis Mphithikezi |
| Chief Whip | Thabo Mokuke |
| Other Council Members | – Endrew Mbaliso (MMC: Local Economic and Rural Development) – Nasiwe Mcetywa (MMC: Public Safety and Transport) – L Mganu (MMC: Electricity, Gas and Water, Energy) – Mcebisi Moyeni (MMC: Finance) – Vusi Nkwanyana (MMC: SRACH and LIS) – Ntomboxolo Sefako (MMC: Human Settlement and Land Development) – Dipuo Segakweng (MMC: Integrated Environmental Management) – Mogomotsi Sello (MMC: Corporate and Shared Services) – Disebo Tabane (MMC: Roads, Stormwater and Public Works) – Ernest Tibane (MMC: Health and Social Development) |
| Municipal Manager | Dumisani Donald Mabuza |
| Chief Financial Officer | Malusi Brian Dlamini |
| Senior Management | – Juan Evans Juan Evans (Acting Executive Director: Economic Development and Planning) – Slums Magodielo (Manager) – Ishmael Mahlatsi (Chief of Staff) – Benjamin Mazibuko (Acting Executive Director: Corporate Shared and Services) – Siyethemba Mdletshe – Malusi Brian Dlamini (Executive Director: Community Services) |
| Communications Officers | Bridgette Mkhontwana (Chief Communications Officer) |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Merafong City Local Municipality.
- Carletonville
- Blybank
- Fochville
- Khutsong
- Wedela
- Kokosi
- Welverdiend
- Greenspark
Contact details
The contact details of Merafong City Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | PO Box 3, Carletonville, 2500 |
| Physical address: | 3 Halite Street, Carletonville, 2499 |
| Telephone: | 018 788 9500 |
| Fax: | 018 787 1105 |
| Email: | info@merafong.gov.za |
| Website: | www.merafong.gov.za |
| Switchboard: | 018 788 9500 |
