Vhembe District Municipality
Vhembe is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. Vhembe consist of all terrotories that were part of the former Venda Bantustan, however, districts of northern and Western Gazankulu Bantustan were also incorporated into Vhembe, hence the ethnic diversity of the District. The seat of Vhembe is Thohoyandou, the former Capital of the former Venda Bantustan. According to 2001 census, 800 000 of Vhembe residents speak Venda as their mother language, 300 000 speak Tsonga and 27 000 speak Northern Sotho. The district code is DC34.
History
Vhembe was originally settled by now-expired tribes of Khoisan peoples. It was later settled by the Venda people (recently migrated from what is now Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe), who constitute a majority of the population of Vhembe today. The Dzata ruins in Thulamela local municipality once served as the main settlement and capital of the Venda empire which had dominated the area during the 18th century.
Boer settlement of the territory began in the late 18th century and gradually upsurged throughout the 19th century. By the turn of the century, the Soutpansberg was taken by the Boers from the Venda rulers, making it one of the last areas in the future republic of South Africa to come under white rule. During the apartheid era, the bantustan of Venda (declared independent in 1979) was established in the eastern part of the Vhembe area, and was reintegrated into the country in 1994. The former bantustan capital, Thohoyandou (named after a chief that had led the expansion of the Venda empire in the 18th century) is the current capital of the Vhembe district.
On December 11, 2008, Vhembe was declared a disaster zone by the Limpopo government due to the spread of cholera across the Zimbabwean border to the district[2].
Geography
The main geographic feature of the district is the Soutpansberg mountains.
Neighbours
Vhembe is surrounded by:
Local municipalities
The district contains the following local municipalities:
Demographics
The following statistics are from the 2001 census.
Gender
| Gender |
Population |
% |
| Female |
662 815 |
55.24% |
| Male |
537 041 |
44.76% |
Ethnic group
| Ethnic group |
Population |
% |
| Black African |
1 181 672 |
98.48% |
| White |
13 625 |
1.14% |
| Indian/Asian |
2 911 |
0.24% |
| Coloured |
1 648 |
0.14% |
Age
| Age |
Population |
% |
| 000 - 004 |
138 819 |
11.57% |
| 005 - 009 |
168 212 |
14.02% |
| 010 - 014 |
172 151 |
14.35% |
| 015 - 019 |
158 249 |
13.19% |
| 020 - 024 |
112 396 |
9.37% |
| 025 - 029 |
86 070 |
7.17% |
| 030 - 034 |
66 722 |
5.56% |
| 035 - 039 |
61 542 |
5.13% |
| 040 - 044 |
50 114 |
4.18% |
| 045 - 049 |
39 894 |
3.32% |
| 050 - 054 |
30 735 |
2.56% |
| 055 - 059 |
21 051 |
1.75% |
| 060 - 064 |
20 919 |
1.74% |
| 065 - 069 |
22 289 |
1.86% |
| 070 - 074 |
22 201 |
1.85% |
| 075 - 079 |
11 353 |
0.95% |
| 080 - 084 |
10 429 |
0.87% |
| 085 - 089 |
3 682 |
0.31% |
| 090 - 094 |
1 880 |
0.16% |
| 095 - 099 |
750 |
0.06% |
| 100 plus |
398 |
0.03% |
Politics
Election results
Election results for Vhembe in the South African general election, 2004.
- Population 18 and over: 621 522 [51.80% of total population]
- Total votes: 386 629 [32.22% of total population]
- Voting % estimate: 62.21% votes as a % of population 18 and over
References
External links
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District
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Municipalities |
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