| Ga-Rankuwa | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Ga-Rankuwa | |
|
Ga-Rankuwa
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Metropolitan municipality | City of Tshwane |
| Population | |
| • Total | 160,000 (estimated) |
| Time zone | South African Standard Time (SAST) (UTC+2) |
| ZIP codes | |
| Area code(s) | 012 |
Ga-Rankuwa is a township located about 37 km north of Pretoria. Provincially it falls under Gauteng province but it used to be under North West Province, as it once fell under Bophuthatswana region ruled by Lucas Mangope under the apartheid regime.
Contents |
The area around Ga-Rankuwa had been settled by Tswana people since at least the 17th century. Many of these communities were conquered by the invading Ndebele (or Matabele) under Mzilikazi in the early 19th century. When the Boers defeated and drove away the Matebele and claimed ownership of the land of that kingdom, they divided the area into farms and distributed the land among themselves, including the land of many Bakwena-Tswana villages that still existed there. In oral histories gathered among the Bakwena in the early 20th century, elderly Bakwena claimed that the Boers virtually enslaved them. In the mid-19th century, the Bakwena chief, Mamogale, and several German Lutheran missionaries began collecting cattle and money from Tswana in the area who were indentured to Boers in order to buy back land that had been taken away from them. Despite many obstacles, Chief Mamogale and the missionaries bought back several farms, and Ga-Rankuwa was one of these farms, and with these lands, Chief Mamogale was able to establish a chiefdom that came to be called the Bakwena Ba Magopa. Oral testimony and written records suggest that the local Veldkornet, Paul Kruger, who would become president of the Transvaal Republic or South African Republic, helped chief Mamogale and the missionaries acquire these lands. They also purchased land near Brits, where Chief Mamogale established his "capital" in the village of Bethanie. Chief Mamogale's descendants continued to be recognized as the chiefs of the Bakwena Ba Magopa and having jurisdiction over Ga-Rankuwa. Chief Mamogale's lands were included in the "Scheduled Native Areas", or "Reserves" under the 1913 Natives Land Act that divided South Africa into white areas and "Native" areas. For several decades of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these villages engaged in farming and raising livestock, and compared to Africans on white farms they were relatively affluent. In the 1960s, under apartheid, the "Reserves" or "Native Areas" came to be called "homelands," and Ga-Rankuwa was included into the homeland of Bophutatswana.
The area was proclaimed a township by Proclamation 448 of 1965 and was initially established to accommodate people who were displaced mainly from Lady Selborne. In other words, although Ga-Rankuwa had been purchased and the community established by the Bakwena Ba Magopa, because it was part of a "Reserve," the apartheid government proposed to use it to accommodate Black people removed from other areas. Ga-Rankuwa was developed in accordance with the Physical Planning Act of 1967 which hoped to divert industrial development away from the city centres to the border areas of the homelands. This would not only serve the purpose of attracting workers directly from the homelands and providing cheap labour to the factories but would also divert the labour flow away from the city, thereby reducing labour migrancy.[1] Situated 34 km north-west of Pretoria, Ga-rankuwa formed part of the Tswana homeland, Bophutatswana. The area provided housing for the Black labourers and their families and was meant to service the industrial area of Rosslyn, 10 km away. Apart from the state-built houses, Black people were permitted to buy plots and build their own houses. It was estimated that the township would eventually accommodate a population of 120 000 people.[2]
The early residents of Ga-Rankuwa were forcibly removed from fertile land in neighboring Lady Selborne, Bantule, Marabastad, Rama, Newclare, Eastwood and Sophiatown to mention but a few. The area was named after a Bakgatla headman, Rankuwa Boikhutso. Rankuwa means "we are taken". When they arrived in the area, which was infertile and unsuited for farming, they named it Ga-Rankuwa which means "We are not taken".[3]
Another explanation for the name of the town is that it was named after a prominent follower of Chief Mamogale, when these lands were being purchased from the Boers. The man's name was RraNkuwa (Father Nkuwa or Mr. Nkuwa), and his lands were often referred to as Ga-Rankuwa, or "at Mr. Nkuwa's."
Another meaning of the name came from the fact that the previous owner of the land had many sheep, and was known as the father of sheep (Rra-nku) 'Ga-Ranku' refers to the place of the father of sheep. 'We are taken' is not a likely meaning of the word since it derives from a Sotho word, while most Ga-rankuwa residents are Tswana
It is divided into 14 sections called zones, which are Zone 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,15,16,17,20 & 21.
Ga-Rankuwa is a diverse township whose residents speak many languages. The most commonly spoken language is Setswana. The other languages spoken in Ga-Rankuwa are:
A mixture of languages such as Afrikaans, Sesotho, English and isiZulu are sometimes fused together to form what is now a unique language-style of the township with a slight inclination to a slang known as Tsotsitaal. This gives it a unique language together with its neighbouring townships (Mabopane, Soshanguve, Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Temba & Hammanskraal.
Residents from this area provide the bulk of labour for the Rosslyn industrial area and also for the industrial park in Zone 15. Most of the inhabitants of Ga-rankuwa are middle class citizens working for the government.The dominant religion in Ga-Rankuwa is Christianity followed by other dominant african traditional religions and Islam. Ga-rankuwa has a promising future as most of its youth are currently in institutions of higher learning.
Ga-Rankuwa falls under the City of Tshwane municipality (Pretoria), which in fact is in the Gauteng province.Its municipal offices are based in Zone 5.[4]
A number of primary and secondary schools are spread throughout all the zones.[5]
Two major University Campuses are located in Ga-Rankuwa. A University of Limpopo campus is located in Ga-Rankuwa, it was formerly known as the Medical University of South Africa. A Tshwane University of Technology campus is located in Ga-Rankuwa. The campus was formerly known as Setlogelo and was renamed after merging with the then Pretoria Technikon and Technikon Northern Gauteng (TNG).
Ga-Rankuwa has the second largest hospital in Africa, Dr George Mukhari hospital (formerly known as Ga-Rankuwa Hospital). The hospital also serves as a teaching hospital as is shares its campus with the University of Limpopo Ga-Rankuwa campus(formerly known as the Medical University of South Africa) which continues to produces the largest number of Doctors in South Africa.
Transnet operates commuter and main line trains, through the Metrorail commuter service, that connects Ga-Rankuwa to Pretoria ending at the Pretoria Railway Station
Ga-Rankuwa is home to Ga-Rankuwa United Football club which is part of the Vodacom League. Their home stadium, Odi Stadium is situated in the neighboring township of Mabopane.
There are a number of points of interest in and around the township. Here are some of the most notable ones.