The Sedibeng District Municipality (SDM) is a Category C municipality situated in the southern region of the Gauteng Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | District (Category C) |
| Province: | Gauteng |
| Municipal code: | DC42 |
| Seat: | Vereeniging |
| Local municipalities: | 3 |
| Total area: | 4,173 km² (1,611 square miles) |
| Population: | 1,190,688 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Lerato Maloka |
About
Still affectionately referred to as “the Vaal”, the Sedibeng District Municipality geographically covers the entire Southern part of Gauteng.
Sedibeng is a stone’s throw (a mere 30-minute drive) South of Johannesburg along the scenic Klip, Vaal, and Suikerbosrand Rivers and is easily accessible from the R59, which links the region to Johannesburg, the R82 linking Johannesburg to the northern region of the Free State Province, the N1, linking Johannesburg and Bloemfontein and the N3, linking Johannesburg to Durban.
The District is the only region in Gauteng situated on the banks of the Vaal River and Vaal Dam, covering the previously known as the Vaal Triangle.
The Sedibeng District is home to the historic townships of Boipatong, Evaton, Bophelong, Sharpeville, Ratanda, and Sebokeng, which have a rich political history and heritage.
The District has a variety of attractions that offer a vast cultural heritage and historical experience including, among others, the political breakthroughs that led to South Africa’s political turnabout.
The Sedibeng region boasts several Heritage Sites related to the South African War of 1899-1902 and the following World Wars.
The Sharpeville Memorial Precinct stands as a reminder of the Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960, when 69 people lost their lives while protesting the pass laws of the then apartheid South Africa.
The Sebokeng Massacre Monument is a reminder of the Sebokeng Massacre of 12 January 1991 where more than 30 people were gunned down whilst attending a funeral.
The District Municipality covers an area of 4,173 km² (1,611 square miles) and over 80% of the population is located within the Emfuleni Local Municipality.
The headquarters/seat of the District is in Vereeniging.
The District is divided into three local municipalities namely;
The Sedibeng District Municipality is bordered by:
- West Rand District Municipality to the northwest
- The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality to the north
- The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to the north
- Nkangala District Municipality in Mpumalanga to the northeast
- Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga to the east
- Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State to the south
- Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality in the North West to the west
Sedibeng has a well-developed national road network that cuts across it to all the other provinces ensuring that the District remains the industrial centre of Gauteng. The District is approximately 40 kilometres away from Johannesburg and 80 kilometres away from Pretoria.
The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and the North-West University‘s Vaal Campus offer a wide range of graduates that provide the bulwark of employees for businesses and industries that seek to set up operations in Sedibeng.
Sedibeng is also home to the Sasol refinery, the Emerald Resort & Casino in Meyerton, and the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, a protected area in the Suikerbosrand Range.
History
Sedibeng has its administrative headquarters in Vereeniging, the venue for the peace negotiations between the British and Afrikaners in 1902.
The negotiations led to the 31 May 1902 signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging, a peace treaty named after the town of Vereeniging. The treaty ended the Second Boer War paving the way for the exclusive white self-governance of Transvaal (South African Republic) and the Orange Free State as colonies of the British Empire.
Although the treaty is named after the town of Vereeniging, where the peace negotiations took place, the document was actually signed at Melrose House in Pretoria.
The region in varied periods is claimed by both the Basotho and Bapedi as an area that once formed their great nations.
Sedibeng is also the site of the Sharpeville Massacre where apartheid police opened fire and killed 69 protestors on Monday 21 March 1960, during the Pass boycott, which became a turning point in the liberation struggle. Consequently, the 21st of March is Human Rights Day in South Africa.
Also, in the build-up to democracy and during negotiations two separate acts of violence became turning points; the Saturday 12 January 1991 Sebokeng Massacre (where more than 30 people were gunned down by impis whilst attending a funeral) and the Wednesday 17 June 1992 Boipatong Massacre (where armed men gunned down 45 residents in the dead of night).
Consequently, because of its history, the District became the venue for the signing of the Constitution of South Africa on Tuesday 10 December 1996.
Sedibeng is also the iron and steel industrial hub for Gauteng housing Vanderbijlpark Steel (previously part of ISCOR (Iron and Steel Corporation), now part of the global company ArcelorMittal).
This all dates back to when Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl, a brilliant young scientist working in the United States at the time, was called back to South Africa in 1920 by then Prime Minister Jan Smuts to advise the government on planning South Africa’s industrial development.
Van der Bijl oversaw the Iron and Steel Corporation’s first plant in Pretoria. However, the steelworks began operating in 1947 in the town that was named after him, and the town was proclaimed in 1949. The town attained municipal status in 1952 when Governor-General Ernest George Jansen opened ISCOR’s second steel works.
Corruption
In 2020 the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) decided to take action against council members who in 2018 approved a large raise in salary for their municipal manager Stanley Khanyile.
Khanyile was later shot and killed in Meyersdal, Alberton, in 2020, before he could appear in court on charges of theft, fraud, and money laundering stemming from his term as the head of a department in the Eastern Cape Province.
While facing a financial crisis, the council increased its capital budget by R700,000 in March 2024, to purchase a luxury car for the mayor, Lerato Maloka.
Map
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, the Sedibeng District Municipality has a population of 1,190,688 residents, compared to 957,528 in 2016, and 916,484 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 2.54%.
According to the 2022 Census, 24% of the population is under the age of 15, 69.5% is between 15 and 64, and 6.5% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 81% of the population in the Sedibeng District Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 17% as White, 1% as Coloured, and 1% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 46.7% of the population speaks Sesotho as their first language, 16% speak isiZulu, 15.2% speak Afrikaans, 7.1% speak isiXhosa, and 15% speak other languages.
Economy
The Sedibeng District Municipality is the fourth-largest contributor to Gauteng’s economy. The main economic sector in the District is the manufacturing of fabricated metal and chemicals.
In the metal sector, the ArcelorMittal steel plant (previously known as Iscor), the Cape Gate Davsteel wire and steel plant, and the Ferromanganese plant of Samancor are the three main large baseline plants in the district, while DCD-Dorbyl Heavy Engineering is the biggest manufacturer of engineered products in Southern Africa.
Other major economic sectors in the District are trade, government, and business services.
District council and management
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 8 – DA: 7 – EFF: 3 – VF PLUS: 1 – PAC: 1 |
| Controlling Party | n/a |
| Executive Mayor | Lerato Maloka |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | n/a |
| Speaker | Moipone Modikeng |
| Chief Whip | Mamohale Moloi |
| Other Council Members | – Lulama Shirley-Ann Gamede (MMC: Local Economic Development and Tourism) – Vincent Mncedisi Jones – Mmadisebo Lucia Khomoeasera (MMC: Development Planning and Human Settlements) – Y.J Mahommed (Chairperson: Sec 79 Municipal Public Accounts Committee) – Bheki Mkhize (MMC: Administration) – Nkubi Frances Mokoena (MMC: Health and Social Development) – Nkosinathi Ndwandwe (MMC: Transport and Infrastructure) – Mamokete Radebe (MMC: Environment and Clean Energy) – Busang Joshua Tsotetsi (MMC: SRACH and Public Safety) |
| Municipal Manager | Motsumi Mathe |
| Chief Financial Officer | Xolani Malindi (Acting) |
| Senior Management | – Nomvula Khalo (Director) – David Maranda (Director: Facilities) – Athalia Mbulaheni (Manager: Administration) – Jabulile Medupe (Executive Director: Community Safety) – Thami Mgudlwa (Acting Director: Office of the Chief Whip) – Refilwe Mhlwatika (Acting Executive Director: Corporate Services) – Samuel Mokako (Acting Director: Office of the Speaker) – Mncedisi Mpontshane (Director: Municipal Systems) – Tebogo Mutlaneng (Acting Executive Director: SPED) – Bheki Ngobese (Acting Executive Director: TID) – Sipho Nhlengethwa (Assistant Manager: Ntirhisano Service Delivery Programmes) – Cliff Ramotsedisi (Director: HR) |
| Communications Officers | Saviour Kgaswane (Acting Head: Communications and Stakeholder Relations) |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in the Sedibeng District Municipality.
- De Deur/Walkerville
- Devon
- Eikenhof
- Evaton
- Heidelberg
- Vanderbijlpark
- Meyerton
- Nigel
- Sebokeng
- Vaal Marina
- Vaal Oewer
- Vereeniging
- Vischkuil
Contact details
The contact details of the Sedibeng District Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | PO Box 471, Vereeniging, 1930 |
| Physical address: | Cnr Beaconsfield Avenue and Leslie Street, Vereeniging |
| Telephone: | 016 450 3000 |
| Fax: | 016 455 2573 |
| Website: | www.sedibeng.gov.za |
| Emergency: | 10177 |
