City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality

City of Tshwane
Metropolitan municipality

Seal

Location in Gauteng
Coordinates: 25°40′S 28°20′E / 25.667°S 28.333°ECoordinates: 25°40′S 28°20′E / 25.667°S 28.333°E
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
Seat Pretoria
Wards 105
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Kgosientsho 'Sputla' Ramokgopa
 • Acting City Manager Oupa Nkoane[2]
Area
 • Total 6,298 km2 (2,432 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
 • Total 2,921,488
 • Density 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[3]
 • Black African 75.4%
 • Coloured 2.0%
 • Indian/Asian 1.8%
 • White 20.1%
First languages (2011)[4]
 • Northern Sotho 19.9%
 • Afrikaans 18.8%
 • Tswana 15.0%
 • Tsonga 8.6%
 • Other 37.7%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code TSH

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality i/ˈtswɑːneɪ/ (also known as the City of Tshwane) is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa and includes the capital city of South Africa; Pretoria.

History

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality was established on 5 December 2000[5] When founded, it was made up of 13 former city and town councils and managed by an executive mayoral system.

Incorporation of additional neighboring areas

The Metsweding District Municipality was incorporated into the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality,[6] with effect from 18 May 2011 (the date of the 2011 municipal elections). The municipality also controversially sought to incorporate Midrand, which is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality to offset the costs of absorbing Metsweding, amid a financial crisis in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.[7]

Geography

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality's land area increased from 2,198 square kilometres (849 sq mi)[8] in 2010 to 6,368 square kilometres (2,459 sq mi) after the incorporation of Metsweding.[9]

The Tswaing crater is in the northwest of Soshanguve.

Subdivisions

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality consists of the following areas:[10]

Main places

The 2011 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[11]

Place Code Area (km2) Population Most spoken language
Akasia 79903780.8459,455Tswana, Afrikaans
Atteridgeville 7990569.8464,425Northern Sotho, Ndebele
Baviaanspoort 79904513.852,456Afrikaans
Bon Accord 79903615.852,270Afrikaans
Boschkop 79906729.28623Ndebele, Afrikaans
Bronkhorstspruit 79907234.0012,470Afrikaans
Bultfontein 79901392.482,147Afrikaans
Centurion 799059394.88236,580Afrikaans
Cullinan 79904955.668,693Afrikaans
Dilopye 7990257.453,874Tswana
Donkerhoek 79905122.333,472 Northern Sotho
Eersterus 7990476.0529,676Afrikaans
Ekangala 79905446.0548,493Zulu, Ndebele
Ga-Rankuwa 79903452.1890,945Tswana
Haakdoornboom 799020101.604,309Afrikaans
Hammanskraal 7990127.6021,345Tswana, Ndebele
Hebron 7990331.022,321 Tswana
Kameeldrift 79904332.766,727Northern Sotho, Afrikaans
Kekana Garden 7990102.6115,709Northern Sotho
Kungwini Part 2 7990658.608,738Afrikaans, English
Laudium 7990586.0719,102 English
Mabopane 79908042.2110,972Tswana
Majaneng 7990045.799,972Tswana, Northern Sotho, Tsonga
Mamelodi 79904645.19334,577Northern Sotho, Zulu, Tsonga
Mandela Village 7990113.727,305Tswana, Tsonga, Northern Sotho
Marokolong 7990096.6517,455Tswana, Northern Sotho, Tsonga
Mashemong 7990055.5514,118Tswana, Northern Sotho, Tsonga
Mooiplaas 79905256.6914,979Northern Sotho, Other, Tsonga
Nellmapius 79905313.0356,111Northern Sotho, Zulu
New Eersterus 79902323.6435,059Tswana, Northern Sotho, Tsonga
Olievenhoutbos 79907811.3970,863Northern Sotho
Onverwacht 7990281.241,518Afrikaans, Northern Sotho
Pretoria 799035687.54741,651Afrikaans
Ramotse 7990026.0015,760Tswana, Northern Sotho, Tsonga
Rayton 799050145.998,166Afrikaans
Refilwe 7990482.2219757Northern Sotho
Rethabiseng 7990551.7510,964Zulu, Ndebele, Northern Sotho
Roodepoort B 79906224.331,915Afrikaans
Saulsville 7990578.66105,208Northern Sotho
Soshanguve 799021126.77403,162Northern Sotho
Soutpan 79902212.752,157Tsonga,Tswana, Northern Sotho
Stinkwater 7990240.1339201Tswana, Tsonga, Northern Sotho
Suurman 799007126.7711,071Tswana, Tsonga, Northern Sotho
Temba 79900821.8158,431Tswana, Northern Sotho, Tsonga
Thembisile 7990381.981,809Southern Ndebele
Tierpoort 79907532.141,167Afrikaans
Tsebe 7990324.342,702Tswana, Southern Ndebele
Tshwane NU 7990263126.3716,831Southern Ndebele, Afrikaans
Vaalbank 79906450.981,458Afrikaans, Southern Ndebele
Waterval 79901962.992,517Afrikaans
Winterveld 799029104.52120,826Tsonga, Tswana, Zulu
Zithobeni 7990383.8622,434Southern Ndebele
Zwavelpoort 79906637.501,148Afrikaans

Demographics

There were around 2,921,500 (2011 census)[11] people living within the borders of Tshwane: 75.40% black, 20.08% white, 2.01% coloured and 1.84% Indian or Asian.[11]

Ethnic group 2011 census

Ethnic group Population %
Coloured 58 788 2.01%
Black African 2 202 847 75.40%
White 586 495 20.08%
Indian/Asian 53 744 1.84%
Other 19 614 0.67%
Total 2 921 488 100.00%

Ethnic group 2011 census (age 0-4)

Ethnic group Population %
Coloured 5 802 2.12%
Black African 225 111 82.20%
White 36 860 13.46%
Indian/Asian 4 280 1.56%
Other 1 814 0.66%
Total 273 867 100.00%

Politics

The municipal council consists of 210 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. 105 are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 105 wards, while the remaining 105 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 18 May 2011 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of 118 seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[12][13]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
African National Congress 391,954 408,413 800,367 55.3 68 50 118
Democratic Alliance 278,998 280,288 559,286 38.7 37 45 82
Freedom Front Plus 12,485 11,511 23,996 1.7 0 4 4
Independent 16,833 – 16,833 1.2 0 – 0
Congress of the People 6,661 6,432 13,093 0.9 0 2 2
African Christian Democratic Party 4,880 4,267 9,147 0.6 0 1 1
African People's Convention 2,529 3,335 5,864 0.4 0 1 1
Pan Africanist Congress 2,014 1,813 3,827 0.3 0 1 1
Azanian People's Organisation 1,495 1,308 2,803 0.2 0 1 1
United Christian Democratic Party 894 1,085 1,979 0.1 0 0 0
Inkatha Freedom Party 907 848 1,755 0.1 0 0 0
Christian Democratic Party 925 774 1,699 0.1 0 0 0
African Christian Alliance 1,002 633 1,635 0.1 0 0 0
United Democratic Movement 426 648 1,074 0.1 0 0 0
Independent Ratepayers Association of SA 358 674 1,032 0.1 0 0 0
Christian Front 458 301 759 0.1 0 0 0
National Freedom Party 119 491 610 0.0 0 0 0
Black Consciousness Party 244 353 597 0.0 0 0 0
Movement Democratic Party 290 244 534 0.0 0 0 0
Total 723,472 723,418 1,446,890 100.0 105 105 210
Spoilt votes 10,091 9,213 19,304

Transport

Railway

The main rail station is in Pretoria.

The Gautrain runs through parts of the municipality, with stations in Centurion and Pretoria, ending at a station in the suburb of Hatfield.

Airports

OR Tambo International Airport in neighbouring Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality serves Tshwane. Wonderboom Airport in the north of Tshwane serves light aircraft.

Military

AFB Swartkop

Air Force

The South African Air Force military bases AFB Waterkloof and AFB Swartkop are in Tshwane.

Thaba Tshwane Military Base

Although the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality was only created in 2000, before that a military base in the city (formerly called Voortrekkerhoogte after the Voortrekkers and before that Roberts Heights after Lord Roberts), was renamed Thaba Tshwane.

Memorials

The SANDF memorial is at Fort Klapperkop and the South African Air Force memorial is at AFB Swartkop.

Society and culture

Museums

There are a large number of museums, many of them in Pretoria.

Education

The front part of the Theo van Wyk Building on the Main Campus of UNISA
University of Pretoria's Old Arts Building

Tertiary education

The Tshwane municipality is home to the Tshwane University of Technology, and the largest distance education university (the University of South Africa, more commonly known by its acronym, UNISA). The University of Pretoria, one of South Africa's leading research and teaching universities, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus) (formerly known as Medical University of Southern Africa) a medical school in the north of Tshwane and the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are also in the municipal area.

Sport

Stadiums

The name Tshwane and associated controversies

Logo of City of Tshwane depicting the Union Buildings in Pretoria, with slogan "We are the same".

Tshwane [tsʰwane] is the Setswana name of the Apies River, which flows through the city. The origin of the name of the river is unclear. It may mean "place -e of the black cow, tshwana, from ceremonies where a black cow was sprinkled with water from the river to end a drought.[14] Another claim is that it was named after Tshwane, son of Chief Mushi, an Ndebele leader who settled near the Apies River about a century before the arrival of the Voortrekkers in the early 19th century.[14] However, some Ndebele kings claim to have never heard of a chief named "Tshwane".[15]

Two other common explanations are demonstrably untrue. One is that it is the Tswana for the motto of Tshwane Municipality, "We are the same". However, this appears to be promoted for its emotional value; if anything, it would mean "we are not the same" in Tswana (ga re tshwane).[14] Another common misunderstanding is that it is the Tswana word for "little monkeys"; although it resembles the Tswana word for baboon, tshwene, "little monkeys" is actually the translation of the Afrikaans name "Apies".

The name Tshwane is sometimes used as an alternate name for the city of Pretoria itself. Following the city council's vote of March 8, 2005, it could become the city's new name if approved by the central government. Should the change take place, "Pretoria" would continue to refer to the city's central business district, as proposed by the current municipality. By November 2007 the change of the name from Pretoria to Tshwane had not been finalized, and controversy over the name change continues. The change is seen by many as a way to recognize that peoples of non-colonial origins represent a majority in the city. The controversy, however, says that the city was originally established under the name Pretoria, little evidence has been provided for the origin of the name “Tshwane”, and no form of jurisdiction for the area existed before Pretoria’s creation.

The Sunday Times used the word Tshwane to refer to the Pretoria area for a short period in 2005. The state-controlled SABC also started using the term in its evening news broadcasts, for a period, but by 2010, had reverted to "Pretoria". Private media outlets continued to refer to the metropolitan area as Pretoria. The Pretoria News, the main newspaper in the metropolitan area did not appear to have plans to change its name as of early 2006, although it has adopted the slogan "The paper for the people of Tshwane". The newspaper refers to the capital city as Tshwane and sometimes Pretoria. This, with the public backing of the name change by the editor of the Pretoria News, Philani Mgwaba,[16] has led to the independence of the editorial team being called into question. Currently, the only news media that refers to the capital city as Tshwane is the Pretoria News, SocietyNews.co.za.

The proposed name has evoked a strong negative reaction from some South Africans. Many businesspeople do not want to change their stationery and many feel that the cost of the name change would be better spent dealing with the country's high poverty rates and AIDS crisis. There is also an argument that whereas the name "Pretoria" is recognized worldwide, "Tshwane" is not.

Road signs erected at the boundaries of the Tshwane Metropolitan area have been consistently defaced, with the word Tshwane replaced with the word Pretoria, presumably by South Africans opposed to the name change. The letters PTA, which are an abbreviation of "Pretoria", have also been stencilled on a number of speed limit signs.

On 21 May 2005, the Pretoria Civil Action Committee, a group consisting of business, labour, cultural, civil and political leaders opposed to the name change organised a protest in the Pretoria city centre.[17] They marched to the office of Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan and handed him a petition signed by 3000 University of Pretoria students as well as other petition documents. Former president FW De Klerk, a Nobel prize winner and the last president under apartheid, also raised concerns about the change.[18]

In November 2005, the Advertising Standards Authority found that advertising proclaiming that Tshwane, rather than Pretoria, was the capital of South Africa was misleading.[19] The reason being that no city named Tshwane has yet been registered as a geographic place name, and Pretoria has not yet been renamed.

The Pretoria name change process

On 5 December 2000 a number of old Pretoria municipalities as well as others that fell outside the Greater Pretoria area were combined into one area called the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The city of Pretoria remained largely intact in this municipality. The debate around the possible name change raged ever since.

On the 26 May 2005 the South African Geographical Names Council unanimously approved a recommendation by the Tshwane Metro Council that the name Pretoria be changed to Tshwane.[20]

The legal process involved is as follows:

  1. Recommendation to the Geographical Names Council.
  2. Council approves / rejects recommendation (approved 26 May 2005).
  3. Council gives its recommendation to Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan.
  4. Minister approves / rejects recommendation.
  5. Approved / rejected name is published in the Government Gazette.
  6. Any person or body unhappy with the name change can complain within one month of above.
  7. The minister can consult the Geographical Names Council with concerns raised.
  8. The minister's decision, along with the reasons for it, are published
  9. The minister will then take the matter before parliament where the central government will decide on whether to change the name or not based on the information before it.

Some controversial groups have attached themselves to the Pretoria name change issue, including the trade union Solidarity.[21] Solidarity and the Pretoria Civil Action Committee have threatened legal action should the name change be recommended by the minister.

As of November 2007 the name change has not yet been approved or rejected by the minister (step 4 above).

Early August 2007, it was reported in the press that the municipality, after consulting with the Gauteng provincial government had withdrawn the application to change the name, and was instead contemplating a plan to change all road signs pointing to "Pretoria" to "Tshwane" or the "City of Tshwane" across the country. This plan raised threats of legal action from both political groupings opposed to the renaming, and concerns from municipal officials about the possibility of vandalism to the proposed signs.[22][23] Later reports appeared to contradict these claims, to some extent.[24]

In 2010, the Ministry of Arts and Culture prepared to publish the registration of Tshwane as a place name, in the Government Gazette. However, the registration was withdrawn at the last minute, and this was explained by the minister. Although it was too late to remove the name from printing in the Government Gazette, the retraction of the name registration was published the following week in the gazette.[25]

In November 2011, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, who had been elected mayor earlier that year, vowed to push forward with the renaming in 2012.[26]

Corruption

As in other parts of the country, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality experiences high levels of corruption. Significant resources of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) are dedicated to this region since 2010.[27][28][29] The screening of applicants for management positions has also been criticized.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Office of the Executive Mayor". City of Tshwane. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Table: Census 2011 by district council, gender, age in 5 year groups and population group". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Table: Census 2011 by district council, gender, language and population group". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Structure and Roles of the City of Tshwane". City of Tshwane. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  6. ↑ "Tswane property tariff hike shock : Property News from". IOLProperty. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  7. ↑ "Fight for Midrand". Times LIVE. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  8. ↑ "Tshwane Metropolitan Profile" (PDF). City of Tshwane. 2004. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  9. ↑ "City to become largest in SA". South African Cities Network News. BUANews. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011. The City of Tshwane will become the largest metropolitan municipality in the country after the local government elections when it incorporates the Metsweding District Municipality.
  10. ↑ "Areas constituting the City of Tshwane". City of Tshwane. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Statistics South Africa: data reworked by Adrian Frith Tshwane - Census 2011
  12. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Tshwane" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Tshwane" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Meanings of place names in South Africa: Tshwane". Africanlanguages.com. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  15. ↑ "Forum policy - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source". Mg.co.za. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  16. ↑ "Pretoria News". Pretoria News. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  17. ↑ "Forum policy - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source". Mg.co.za. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  18. ↑ "Forum policy - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source". Mg.co.za. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  19. ↑ http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=qw113267034143B232
  20. ↑ "Forum policy - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source". Mg.co.za. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  21. ↑ "Solidarity trade union South Africa - Solidariteit - Ons beskerm ons mense! / We protect our people!". Solidaritysa.co.za. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  22. ↑ "Down with Pretoria signs!: News24: SouthAfrica: Politics". News24. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  23. ↑ Independent Online. "News - Politics: Moves afoot to make Tshwane the capital". Iol.co.za. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  24. ↑ Independent Online. "News - South Africa: 'Pretoria' signs to stay". Iol.co.za. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  25. ↑ "Pretoria is Pretoria again - for now - News - Jacaranda 94.2". Jacarandafm.com. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  26. ↑ Tshwane it will be – mayor
  27. ↑ du Toit, Pieter (2011-04-04). "LP’s hoor vloed van korrupsie spoel oor SA". Beeld. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  28. ↑ Claassen, Cobus (2011-04-07). "Groot aankoopbedrog in Tshwane onthul, 65 in sop". Beeld. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  29. ↑ Pretorius, Gerhard (2012-11-07). "‘Maak korrupsieverslag bekend’". Beeld. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  30. ↑ Claassen, Cobus (2012-08-26). "‘Tshwane bekyk nie kandidate deeglik’". Beeld. Retrieved 24 September 2013.

External links