Emfuleni Tivas |
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Local municipality | ||
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Location of Emfuleni Local Municipality within Gauteng |
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Coordinates: 26°40′S 27°45′E / 26.667°S 27.750°ECoordinates: 26°40′S 27°45′E / 26.667°S 27.750°E | ||
Country | South Africa | |
Province | Gauteng | |
District | Sedibeng | |
Seat | Vanderbijlpark | |
Wards | 45 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Municipal council | |
• Mayor | Greta Hlongwane | |
Area | ||
• Total | 966 km2 (373 sq mi) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• Total | 721,663 | |
• Density | 750/km2 (1,900/sq mi) | |
Racial makeup (2011) | ||
• Black African | 85.4% | |
• Coloured | 1.2% | |
• Indian/Asian | 1.0% | |
• White | 12.0% | |
First languages (2011) | ||
• Sotho | 52.5% | |
• Zulu | 13.1% | |
• Afrikaans | 12.5% | |
• Xhosa | 7.8% | |
• Other | 14.1% | |
Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) | |
Municipal code | GT421 |
The Emfuleni Local Municipality is one of three local municipalities comprising the Sedibeng District in Gauteng, South Africa. It is the westernmost local municipality in the District, and covers an area of 987 km².
Emfuleni shares boundaries with Metsimaholo Local Municipality in the Free State to the south, Midvaal Local Municipality to the east, the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality to the north and Westonaria and Tlokwe (Potchefstroom) Municipalities to the west.
The Emfuleni Local Municipality is rich in history: it encapsulates the Anglo-Boer War, the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, and the 1996 signing of the Constitution of South Africa in Sharpeville.
Emfuleni is a largely urbanised municipality, with high population concentrations and density compared to other municipalities making up the Sedibeng District. In fact, the municipality houses around 80% of the district's total population.
The municipality is strategically located with access to a well-maintained road network – e.g. the N1 national route. The Vaal River forms the southern boundary of the municipality; its strategic location affords it many opportunities for tourism and other forms of economic development.
Emfuleni has two main town centres: Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark. Sasolburg is 10 kilometers to the south, across the provincial boundary. The municipality forms the heartland of what was formerly known as the Vaal Triangle, renowned for its contribution to the iron and steel industry in South Africa. It also contains six large townships (Evaton, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Boipatong, Bophelong and Tshepiso), which currently lack the facilities generally associated with towns of their size.