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Rescaling Municipal Governance in Gauteng: Competing Rationalities in Sedibeng’s Proposed Re-Demarcation and Metropolitanisation

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Abstract

A key achievement of South Africa’s democratic era is the restructuring of local government to amalgamate what were once racially segregated jurisdictions. Larger municipalities increase the coherence of governance and the scope for redistribution. However, the process of reform has created a distinction between two different configurations: single-tier metropolitan municipalities for the largest urban centres, and two-tier district and local municipalities for the rest of the country. Several district municipalities with mid-size urban centres are dubbed ‘aspirant metros’ because key actors argue that they should be reclassified as metropolitan municipalities in the future. This article examines arguments for and against the metropolitanisation of Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng following the Municipal Demarcation Board’s announcement in 2011 that it was considering this possibility. The arguments are organised into four themes: development and economy, governance, social cohesion, and party politics. They raise important considerations about the advantages and disadvantages of metropolitanisation in the abstract. However, the analysis shows the complex nature of this debate because of the entanglement of technical and party-political rationalities. The Democratic Alliance, a key opponent of metropolitanisation, governs Midvaal, a local municipality that would be dissolved in the event of Sedibeng’s restructuring. It accuses the African National Congress of promoting restructuring because it would further the ANC’s political interests in the first instance. Meanwhile, ANC-aligned commentators characterise Midvaal as both corrupt and resistant to social integration.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

(source: Mfaco, 2012)

Fig. 3

(source: Kotze, 2015)

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Notes

  1. After telephonically reaching out to the MDB in 2017, I was invited to several of their seminars, including the Categorisation of Municipalities into Metros (17/11/2017) seminar co-hosted by the MDB, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the South African Cities Network (SACN). At the seminar, I participated in the discussions and also chose the respondents from the audience in attendance, including the two whose interviews were used for this article. One was with a former Midvaal official (R1) and the other with the fourth and former MDB chairperson (R2).

  2. Following the 2016 municipal elections, the political terrain has changed significantly in Gauteng. The DA gained control of two metropolitan municipalities (Johannesburg and Tshwane), albeit via coalition with smaller opposition parties such as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Freedom Front Plus (FFP). The political landscape remains the same in Sedibeng.

  3. There were initially six Category A (metropolitan) municipalities in 2000; that figure has increased as a result of the recategorisation of Mangaung and Buffalo City municipalities in 2011.

  4. This move was in line with the 1996 Constitution and the Municipal Demarcation Act 1998. One of the reasons that incited it, other than prevention of future gerrymandering, was that one centralised Board system would be less costly than the multiple provincial Board system (Cameron, 2006).

  5. Savanna City is a mixed-income residential development outside of Meyerton which not only transcends municipal boundaries but has also attracted residents from Midvaal, Johannesburg and Emfuleni.

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  1. Gauteng City-Region Observatory, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Thembani Mkhize

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Correspondence to Thembani Mkhize.

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Mkhize, T. Rescaling Municipal Governance in Gauteng: Competing Rationalities in Sedibeng’s Proposed Re-Demarcation and Metropolitanisation. Urban Forum 32, 205–223 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-021-09427-7

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