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Merafong City Local Municipality

Merafong City
Local municipality
Official seal of Merafong City
Seal
Location of Merafong City Local Municipality within Gauteng
Location of Merafong City Local Municipality within Gauteng
Coordinates: 26°25′S 27°25′E / 26.417°S 27.417°E / -26.417; 27.417Coordinates: 26°25′S 27°25′E / 26.417°S 27.417°E / -26.417; 27.417
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
District West Rand
Seat Carletonville
Wards 28
Government
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor S.M Mogale-Letsie (ANC)
Area
 • Total 1,631 km2 (630 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 197,520
 • Density 120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African 86.5%
 • Coloured 1.1%
 • Indian/Asian 0.3%
 • White 11.8%
First languages (2011)
 • Xhosa 24.9%
 • Tswana 21.4%
 • Sotho 19.3%
 • Afrikaans 12.8%
 • Other 21.6%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code GT484

Merafong City Local Municipality is a local municipality in West Rand District Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. Its boundaries enclose some of the richest gold mines in the world. It is situated about 65 km from Johannesburg and is serviced by a number of major roads, including the N12 from Johannesburg to Cape Town and the N14 (the main road between Gauteng and Mafikeng via Ventersdorp).

Formerly a cross-border municipality, the entire municipality was transferred to the North West province following the abolition of cross-border municipalities by an amendment to the South African Constitution in 2005. The municipality was part of the North West Province from 2005 to 2009, when it was reincorporated into the Gauteng Province by another amendment to the Constitution, following often violent protests in the township of Khutsong.

Merafong's historical development is closely knit with the discovery of rich gold deposits in the early 1930s.

Fochville is the oldest town in the region, and was declared a town in 1951.

The town Carletonville was named after Guy Carleton Jones, an engineer from the Gold Fields Ltd mining company, who played a prominent role in the discovery of the West Wits gold field, of which Carletonville forms a part. The mining company decided in November 1946 to establish the town. Carletonville was proclaimed in 1948 and attained Town Council Status on 1 July 1959.

Wedela is situated between Western Deep Levels and Elandsrand mine. The town's name is derived from the prefixes of the two mines: the "Wed-" from Western Deep Levels and the "-ela" from Elandsrand. Wedela was established as a mining village in December 1978 by Harry Oppenheimer, and municipal status was granted to the town on 1 January 1990.


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