DISTRICT MPUMALANGA...2020/06/26 · With a GDP of R 101 billion in 2018 (up from R 48.2 billion in...
Transcript of DISTRICT MPUMALANGA...2020/06/26 · With a GDP of R 101 billion in 2018 (up from R 48.2 billion in...
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 1
Gert Sibande, the largest District in Mpumalanga, covering almost half of the province's geographic area. Apart from featuring the largest land area within the Province, the District has diversified economy that has a largest undermining complex in world and largest agricultural sector, and is home to major industrial complexes associated with the petro-chemical industry (SASOL).
GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT MPUMALANGA
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PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 2
CONTENT
1. Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 4
2. Intoduction: Brief Overview ......................................................................................... 6
2.1 Location ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Historical perspective ..................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Spatial Status ................................................................................................................. 7
3. Social Development Profile ......................................................................................... 9
3.1 Key Social Demographics .............................................................................................. 9
3.1.1 Population ........................................................................................................... 9
3.1.2 Race, Gender and Age ..................................................................................... 10
3.1.3 Households ....................................................................................................... 11
3.2 Health profile ................................................................................................................ 11
3.3 COVID-19 .................................................................................................................... 12
3.3.1 Quarantine Facilities Available and Assessed ................................................... 13
3.3.2 Community Screening and Testing ................................................................... 14
3.4 Poverty Dimensions ..................................................................................................... 14
3.4.1 Distribution ........................................................................................................ 14
3.4.2 Inequality .......................................................................................................... 15
3.4.3 Employment/Unemployment ............................................................................. 15
3.4.4 Crime ................................................................................................................ 16
3.4.5 Education and Skills profile ............................................................................... 17
4. Drivers of the Economy ............................................................................................. 18
4.1 Structure of the economy ............................................................................................. 18
4.1.1 Primary Sector .................................................................................................. 19
4.1.2 Secondary Sector ............................................................................................. 19
4.1.3 Tertiary Sector .................................................................................................. 19
5. Service Delivery ......................................................................................................... 20
5.1 Water and sanitation .................................................................................................... 20
5.2 Human settlements ...................................................................................................... 21
5.3 Electricity...................................................................................................................... 21
5.4 Waste Management ..................................................................................................... 21
5.5 Transport...................................................................................................................... 22
6. Governance and Management .................................................................................. 23
6.1 Municipal performance ................................................................................................. 23
6.2 Municipal Capacity ....................................................................................................... 24
6.3 Traditional Affairs Governance ..................................................................................... 24
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 3
7. Projects to Diversify and Grow People and the Economy ...................................... 25
7.1 Social Development Projects........................................................................................ 25
7.2 Spatial Development .................................................................................................... 25
7.3 Infrastructure Projects .................................................................................................. 27
7.4 Economic Projects ....................................................................................................... 28
7.5 Environmental forecast................................................................................................. 28
8. Key Recommendations .............................................................................................. 29
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 4
1. Executive Summary
INFOGRAPHIC ABOUT THE DISTRICT ON THIS PAGE
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 5
Gert Sibande District Municipality is (GSDM) one of the three district municipalities located in the Mpumalanga Province. It is bordered by the Ehlanzeni District Municipality to the north-east and Nkangala District Municipality to the north, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State Provinces to the south, Swaziland to the east, and Gauteng Province to the west. The District is the largest of the three Districts in the Mpumalanga Province at 31 841 km², covering 40% of the Mpumalanga Province’s total land mass of 76 495 km². It is comprised of seven local municipalities: Govan Mbeki, Chief Albert Luthuli, Msukaligwa, Dipaleseng, Mkhondo, Lekwa and Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme.
The district has strategic economical national roads that pass through it, including the
N11, which goes through to the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal, the N17 from Gauteng passing
through to Swaziland, and the N3 from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal.
The size of the population in the district was estimated at 1 122 590 in 2019, with an
average grown rate of 1.1% per annum between 2009 and 2019. This makes the
District the smallest amongst the three in terms of population size.
In Gert Sibande, the share of the population below the lower-bound poverty line has
deteriorated over the last couple of years to 45.1% in 2017, making it the second
highest of the 3 Districts in the province. The total number of people below the lower-
bound poverty line was high at 496 921 in 2017, with Mkhondo having the highest
number.
Govan Mbeki is the largest contributor to the economy of the GSDM at 49% of the total
GDP followed by Msukaligwa and Lekwa at 15.5% and 10.5%, respectively. The
mining and manufacturing sectors are strong economic drivers in the District and have
a significant presence in Govan Mbeki LM. The service-related sectors of trade,
transport, finance and community services are dominant economic drivers in Lekwa
and Msukaligwa.
Across the Mpumalanga Province, there are 271 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases
as at 13 June 2020, with 116 recoveries and one death. Gert Sibande District recorded
its first positive case in the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality on 17 March 2020. As at
12 June 2020, GSDM had reported 81 positive cases with 40 recoveries.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 6
2. Intoduction: Brief Overview
2.1 Location
Gert Sibande District Municipality (GSDM) is one of the three District Municipalities
that constitute Mpumalanga Province. GSDM is bordered by the Ehlanzeni District
Municipality to the north-east and Nkangala District Municipality to the north, KwaZulu-
Natal and the Free State to the south, Swaziland to the east, and Gauteng to the west.
It is one of the districts with the highest number of local municipalities, which total
seven in number. The district comprises the local municipalities of Chief Albert Luthuli
LM, Dipaleseng LM, Dr. Pixley Isaka Ka Seme LM, Govan Mbeki LM, Lekwa LM,
Mkhondo LM and Msukaligwa LM.
MAP OF THE DISTRICT
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 7
2.2 Historical perspective
Gert Sibande is the largest district in Mpumalanga, covering almost half of the
province's geographic area. Apart from featuring the largest land area within the
Province, the district has a diversified economy with the largest undermining complex
in the world. It also has the largest agricultural sector, and is home to major industrial
complexes associated with the petro-chemical industry (SASOL). The area between
Carolina, Bethal and Ermelo produces the most sheep and wool in South Africa.
Gert Sibande District Municipality was named after Richard Gert Sibande (born 1907
near Ermelo, Mpumalanga, died in 1987) who was a South African political activist.
He was one of the co-accused to stand trial in the treason trial of 1956-61 alongside
Nelson Mandela and 154 others. Richard Gert Sibande was born in the district and
spent a large part of his life there.
2.3 Spatial Status
Spatially, the district covers an area of 31 841 km2 and has several urban centres
spread across the seven local municipalities as follows:
• Chief Albert Luthuli LM: Carolina, Badplaas, Eerstehoek, Lochiel;
• Dipaleseng LM: Balfour, Dasville, Greylingstad, Grootvlei, Val, Willemsdal;
• Govan Mbeki LM: Secunda, Bethal, Bethel East, Bethelrand, Charl Cilliers,
Evander, Kinross, Leandra, Leslie, Roodebank, Springbokdraai, Trichardt,
Winkelhaak;
• Lekwa LM: Standerton, Bettiesdam, Elmtree, Holmdene, Maizefield, Meyerville,
Morgenzon, Platrand, Roberts Drift, Stanfield Hill;
• Mkhondo LM: Piet Retief (Mkhondo), Amsterdam, Anysspruit, Berbice, Bergen,
Braunchweig, Commondale, Dirkiesdorp, Iswepe, Moolman, Panbult, Wittenberg;
• Msukaligwa LM: Ermelo, Bankkop, Breyten, Camden, Chrissiesmeer, Davel,
Estancia, Holban, Kafferspruit, Lothair, Sheepmoor, Warburton;
• Dr. Pixley ka Seme LM: Volksrus (Seme), Amersfoort, Latemanek, Perdekop,
Wakkerstroom.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 8
The western portion of the district mostly comprises typical highveld vegetation and
climate, with the eastern end of the district being more mountainous and characterised
by extensive forestry and rural settlements and villages (Albert Luthuli and Mkhondo
Local Municipalities). The concentration of conservation and protected areas also
increases towards the east. Apart from the east-west orientated N17/N2 corridor
running through the GSDM, there are also two main north-south routes running
through the District, namely; the N3 freeway to the west, and the N11 route running
through the central part of the District.
Gert Sibande District Area
The majority of land under state ownership (excluding conservation areas) is
concentrated within the north-eastern extents of the district, and generally coincides
with former homeland area of KaNgwane. Many of the other state owned land parcels
in the other parts of the district comprise nature reserves and in some instances land
belonging to Eskom for electricity generation purposes (current or future).
There are seventeen Traditional Councils in the Gert Sibande District. Out of these, a
total of seven Traditional Leaders participate in the Municipal Councils. The district
has ensured that all matters relating to Traditional and Cultural Affairs are budgeted
for in order to maintain and strengthen the relationship between the District
Municipality and the Local House of Traditional Leadership and has undertaken to
support Ummemo and other traditional and cultural events held annually hosted by
Amakhosi.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 9
3. Social Development Profile
3.1 Key Social Demographics
3.1.1 Population
The population trends and population growth directly and indirectly impact on the
demand for services rendered by government. Gert Sibande’s population grew from
1 012 069 people in 2009 to 1 122 590 people in 2019.
Source: IHS Markit Regional eXplorer version 1803
The table below shows population growth trends in Gert Sibande District over a ten
year period between 2009 and 2019. The graph shows a population growth rate of
1.1% per annum over the ten year period.
Source: IHS Markit Regional eXplorer version 1803
0,3%
0,8%0,9% 1,0% 1,0% 1,1% 1,1% 1,1% 1,1% 1,1% 1,1%
0,0%
0,5%
1,0%
1,5%
2,0%
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Gert Sibande Population growth: 2009-2019
National Total Mpumalanga Gert Sibande
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 10
3.1.2 Race, Gender and Age
Black Africans constitute 92% of the total population in the Gert Sibande District in
2016. The remaining 8% was made of Whites (7%) and Coloureds and Indians/Asian,
who constituted 1% each. Females constituted 50% of the population in the district.
Race and Gender Distribution in Gert Sibande
The Median age of the population in the district is 25 years old, with those aged
between 0-19 years of age constituting 39% of the total population. The working age
population of the district (20 – 59 years of age) constitute a further 53% of the
population. This means that Gert Sibande District has an extremely young population
overall as those aged 60 years old and beyond constitute less than 10% of the
population in the District.
Age Distribution in Gert Sibande District
The 2019 Population structure (pyramid) below confirms statistics that the Gert
Sibande District has an extremely young population overall.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 11
3.1.3 Households
The number of households in Gert Sibande has increased from 273 490 in 2011 to
333 811 households (almost 60 000 households increase) in 2016, representing 27%
of the total number of households in the province. Household size declined from 3.8
to 3.4 people during the same period.
In 2016, a total of 2 088 households were child-headed households in Gert Sibande
District, constituting one quarter of child-headed households in Mpumalanga province
overall. Slightly more than 10% of the child-headed households lived in informal
dwellings (shacks) according to the Community Survey 2016.
A total of 130 567 (39.1%) of the households in Gert Sibande were women-headed
households. This is about the same across the province.
3.2 Health profile
In total, the Gert Sibande District had a total of 90 Health care facilities in 2017, which
include 57 clinics, 19 Community Health Facilities, 9 District and Regional hospitals
and 5 “other” hospitals. The largest number of facilities are concentrated in the Chief
Albert Luthuli LM, with a total of 18 clinics, 4 Community Health Centres, and 2 district
hospitals. Dipaleseng LM had the lowest number of health facilities, totalling only 3
clinics and 2 community health centres. It was also the only locality without a hospital.
8,0% 6,0% 4,0% 2,0% 0,0% 2,0% 4,0% 6,0% 8,0%
00-0405-0910-1415-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-6465-6970-74
75+
Population structure, Total, 2019DC30 Gert Sibande vs. National
DC30 Gert Sibande
South Africa
Male Female
Source: IHS Markit Regional eXplorer version 1946
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 12
As a result, the residents of Dipaleseng access level 1 services from Heidelberg in the
Gauteng province, which is located 30 km away.
Source: Gert Sibande District Municipality (DC30) District Health Plan 2019/20-2021/22
The leading cause of death amongst the 25-64 age group is HIV and Tuberculosis,
being the cause of death for 40% of the people in the age group during the period
2011 – 2015. Among those aged 15-24, injury was the leading cause of death at 35%
during the same period.
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) was the leading cause of death among the 65+
age group being the cause of death for 73% during the 2011 – 2015 period. Overall,
NCD (37%) and HIV and TB (29%) were the two leading causes of death in the district
during this period.
Source: Gert Sibande District Municipality (DC30) District Health Plan 2019/20-2021/22
3.3 COVID-19
As at 17 June 2020, the Gert Sibande District had a total 106 positive cases, of which
58 were still active cases, 48 were recoveries and zero deaths.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 13
• As at 17 JUNE 2020, MP had 345 diagnosed cases of COVID-19.
• MP had 138 recovered cases (40%; 138/345).
• Gert Sibande District had the second highest number of cases in MP (31%;
108/345).
• MP had 1 COVID-19 related death (in Ehlanzeni District).
3.3.1 Quarantine Facilities Available and Assessed
District Quarantin
e site Number of beds
Number of people
quarantined
Number of people
tested positive
Total no remaining
Number released
from quarantine
Gert Sibande DM
Aventura Resort Badplaas
160 104 0 55 49
TOTAL 160 104 0 55 49
• There is only 1 quarantine facility assessed and available for use in the Gert
Sibande District.
• In total, 160 beds are available in the district.
• A total of 104 people have been quarantined.
• A total of 49 have been released and 55 remain in the quarantine facility.
345
108 106131
206
4758
101
138
6048
30
1 1 0 00
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Mpumalanga Ehlanzeni Gert Sibande Nkangala
Num
ber
of
cases
District
Cases
Active cases
Recoveries
Deaths
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 14
3.3.2 Community Screening and Testing
Gert Sibande
District
Number of
screening
and
testing
teams
Number
of people
screened
for the
day
Average
people
screened
per team
Cumulative
number of
people
screened
Number of
people
tested/
referred for
testing for
the day
Cumulative
number of
people
tested/
referred
Test
Results
(Number
Positive)
Chief Albert 20 840 42 110 605 0 0 0
Dipaleseng 2 120 60 25 024 0 0 0
Govan Mbeki 0 0 0 134 067 0 0 0
Lekwa 0 0 0 60 689 0 0 0
Mkhondo 0 0 0 102 410 0 0 0
Msukaligwa 14 1618 116 77 813 0 0 0
Dr Pixley ka
Isaka Seme 0 0 72 75 899 0 0 0
GSDM TOTAL 36 2578 290 586 507 0 0 0
There are 36 screening teams across the Gert Sibande District. These are only in
three of the seven local municipalities. In total, 586 507 people were screened in the
district.
3.4 Poverty Dimensions
3.4.1 Distribution
The share of the population below the lower-bound poverty line has deteriorated over
the last couple of years to 46.5% in 2019 in the district, making it the second highest
of the 3 districts in the province. The total number of people below the lower-bound
poverty line was high at 496 920 in 2017, with Govan Mbeki having the highest number
at 111 815 persons.
Poverty rate per municipal area
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 15
3.4.2 Inequality
According to IHS Markit, The Gini coefficient for Gert Sibande District (2019) is 0.60,
indicating that there are severe levels of inequality or severe income gap.
3.4.3 Employment/Unemployment
Mpumalanga’s unemployment rate was the second highest (worst) among the 9
provinces. Gert Sibande’s unemployment rate was the lowest among all the districts
in Mpumalanga at 27.5% in 2019. Youth unemployment rate was at 38.4% in 2016
according to the Community Survey (2016).
In 2018, Msukaligwa had the lowest unemployment rate in the district with a record of
25.1%. Dipaleseng had the highest unemployment rate of 37.9% with the smallest
population.
Average annual employment growth was high in the 2011-2014 period and it
decreased in the 2015-2018 period resulting in the number of unemployed people
increasing in the district.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 16
In 2019, the three leading industries (mining, manufacturing and community services)
in terms of providing employment accounted for a combined 59%% of the employed
population. The pie-chart below provides details of employment by industry in Gert
Sibande District
In the Ehlanzeni District, the economic sectors that recorded the largest number of
employment in 2019 were mining (26%), manufacturing (18%), community services
(15%) and trade (14%). As can be seen from the graph, the mining sector with a total
of 102 000 (22.2%) employs the second highest number of people relative to the rest
of the sectors. The electricity sector with 3 100 (0.7%) is the sector that employs the
least number of people in Ehlanzeni District Municipality, followed by the mining sector
with 7 760 (1.7%) people employed.
3.4.4 Crime
Within the Gert Sibande District, overall crime decreased at an average annual rate of
2.85% during the period 2007/2008 to 2017/2018,. Violent crime decreased by 3.69%
since 2007/2008, while property crimes increased by 1.14% between the 2007/2008
and 2017/2018 financial years.
1 Agriculture3%
2 Mining26%
3 Manufacturing18%
4 Electricity6%
5 Construction3%
6 Trade14%
7 Transport7%
8 Finance8%
9 Community services
15%
GVA-R Sectoral compositionDC30 Gert Sibande, 2019
Source: IHS Markit Regional eXplorer version 1946
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 17
From the chart above, it is evident that property crime is a major problem relative to
violent crime. The crimes included in this index are as follows: arson, malicious
damage to property, crimen injuria, burglary at residential premises, burglary at
business premises, theft of motor vehicle and motorcycle, theft out of or from motor
vehicle, stock-theft, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crime,
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, all theft not mentioned elsewhere,
commercial crime and shoplifting.
3.4.5 Education and Skills profile
In 2019, the total number of people without any form of schooling in Mpumalanga
province was 550 600 and those considered functionally literate (grade 7 and higher)
were 2 530 607. This makes the total percentage of literacy 82.1% of the total
population.
In the Gert Sibande district, the total number of illiterate people was 140 766 in 2019.
Those considered functionally literate were 621 415, or 81.5% of the total population
of the district. Those with matric or higher totalled 258 674, or 41.6% of the total
functionally literate population.
The following table indicates the number of schools and learners registered in the
municipality in 2017. There were 245 015 learners across 492 schools and 9 677
educators across the district in 2017.
0
50
100
150
200
250
Overall, Violent and Property Crime Index Gert Sibande, 2007/2008-2017/2018
OverallCrime Index Violent Crime Index Property Crime Index
Source: IHS Markit Regional eXplorer version 1750
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 18
Schools Educators Learners
Gert Sibande 492 9 677 245 015
MP 17 68 37 225 962 148
SA 19 559 317 152 7 877 173
Gert Sibande’s grade 12 pass rate has been on a steady incline since 2017 improving
from 76.5% in 2017 to 79,3% in 2019. The 2019 results placed the district at the third
position out of the 4 education districts in Mpumalanga. Lekwa had the highest grade
12 pass rate in the District and Mkhondo the lowest. The biggest improvement among
the 7 municipalities in 2019 was achieved by Govan Mbeki with a 6.8% improvement
compared to 2018. Chief Albert Luthuli also improved from 77.7% in 2018 to 81.6% in
2019. Mkhondo is the only municipality in the Mpumalanga that achieved below 70%
and the lowest pass rate in the province.
Only one public tertiary institution exists in the district, namely; the Gert Sibande TVET
College. There are, however, six campuses of this institution located in the towns of
Standerton, Perdekop, Evander, Balfour, Ermelo, Sibanesetfu.
4. Drivers of the Economy
4.1 Structure of the economy
With a GDP of R 101 billion in 2018 (up from R 48.2 billion in 2008), the Gert Sibande
District Municipality contributed 27.68% to the Mpumalanga Province’s total GDP of
R 363 billion in 2018. The District ranked lowest relative to all the regional economies
in the Mpumalanga Province.
The Gert Sibande District Municipality contributed a meagre 2.06% to the GDP of
South Africa, which had a total GDP of R 4.87 trillion in 2018 (as measured in nominal
or current prices).
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 19
Source: IHS Markit Regional eXplorer version 1750
In 2018, the Gert Sibande District achieved an annual growth rate of 0.32%, which is
a very similar GDP growth rate of the Mpumalanga Province at 0.12%, but lower than
that of South Africa, where the 2018 GDP growth rate was 0.79%. Similar to the short-
term growth rate of 2018, the longer-term average growth rate for Gert Sibande
(1.23%) is also slightly lower than that of South Africa (1.50%). The economic growth
in Gert Sibande peaked in 2010 at 4.30%. It is expected that Gert Sibande District
Municipality will grow at an average annual rate of 1.75% from 2018 to 2023, which is
comparable to the average annual growth rate of Mpumalanga Province and South
Africa, expected to grow at 1.40% and 1.50%, respectively.
4.1.1 Primary Sector
Mining is the biggest contributor to the economic growth of the District. It was,
however, on the decline between the 2014 and 2017 period, declining from 27.6% in
2014 to 26.8% in 2017.
4.1.2 Secondary Sector
In the secondary sector, manufacturing, which is also the second biggest contributor
to the District’s economy has been on a decline, reducing its contribution to the GVA
of the Districts from 19.3% to 18.8% between 2014 and 2017.
4.1.3 Tertiary Sector
The service related sectors of trade, transport, finance and community services are
dominant economic drivers in the local municipalities of Lekwa and Msukaligwa within
the Gert Sibande District.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 20
Economic contribution per Local Municipality
5. Service Delivery
5.1 Water and sanitation
According to the Community Survey 2016, 88.8% of the population in Gert Sibande
access water from a regional or local service provider. Of these, about half (49%)
access piped water from inside the yard.
About two-thirds of the population have access to flush or chemical toilets in the
District. On the other hand, 2.6% do not have access to any toilet facilities. Flush toilets
constitute the largest proportion of toilets among those that have access to toilets in
the District.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 21
5.2 Human settlements
According to the Community Survey 2016, 13.4% of the total number of households
in the district (333 811) live in informal dwelling or shacks. Houses rather than flats in
the backyard or traditional huts constitute the largest proportion of type of dwelling at
67% in the district.
5.3 Electricity
According to the Community Survey 2016, only 9.6% of the population in the district
does not have access to electricity. Among those with access to electricity, more than
three-quarters (76%) make use of in-house prepaid meter system. Another significant
percentage of the population makes use of in-house conventional meters. One of the
challenges recorded is that the municipalities in the district are exceeding their Notified
Maximum Demand (NMD), which is the highest level of electrical demand monitored
in a particular period, usually for a month.
5.4 Waste Management
According to the Community Survey 2016, 57.4% of the population in the Gert Sibande
District are getting refuse removal from either a local authority, private company or by
community members. The largest proportion (52%) are serviced by a service provider
on a regular basis.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 22
5.5 Transport
The district roads are in a bad state due to high volumes of coal haulage trucks that
transport coal to the four power stations within and beyond its jurisdictional area, thus
inflating the maintenance expenditure of all three spheres of government on roads
across the district. National, provincial and municipal roads construction and
maintenance is joint effort from three spheres of government, hence the significance
of a joint alliance to be established towards addressing matters of common interest.
The National Roads like N17, N11 and N2 have undergone reconstruction which
improves the mobility of transport as the link for the District with the neighbouring
provinces and Swaziland.
The following are some of the key issues that need to be addressed with regards to
the road conditions in the District:
• Introduction of ring roads in order to link the national roads without affecting the
Municipal roads.
• SANRAL to take over the National roads passing through towns since the
Municipality has minimal funds on maintenance.
• Reconstruction of roads instead of pothole patching to increase the life span of
roads and to do road overlays to protect the existing surfacing.
• Upgrading of gravel roads to paved roads.
• Construction of foot bridging in order to connect functional areas and prevent
accidents.
• Provision of drop-off points for public transport to prevent traffic jam and accidents.
• Mobilise assistance from local corporates for maintenance and reconstruction of
road infrastructure.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 23
6. Governance and Management
6.1 Municipal performance
Gert Sibande District’s overall audit performance over the last 4 financial years has
been mixed, ranging from Qualified with findings in 2015/16 Financially Unqualified in
the 2015/16 Financial Year to Unqualified with no findings in 2018/19. The District
Municipality itself has been very consistent with Unqualified audit utcomes since
2016/17.
Major challenges are in the local municipalities of Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme,
Dipaleseng and Lekwa. These municipalities have in the most recent audit period
obtained disclaimed audit opinions. Msukaligwa received adverse audit opinion while
Govan Mbeki’s was still outstanding at the time of this report.
MUNICIPALITY 2018-19 2017-18 2016-17 2015-16
Gert Sibande
District
Unqualified with
no findings
Unqualified with
no findings
Unqualified with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Chief Albert
Luthuli
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Dr Pixley Ka
Isaka Seme
Disclaimed with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Dipaleseng Disclaimed with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Lekwa Disclaimed with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Mkhondo Qualified with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Msukaligwa Adverse with
findings
Adverse with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Qualified with
findings
Govan Mbeki Outstanding AFS Disclaimed with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
Unqualified with
findings
In terms of revenue sources, only 4.39% of the District’s revenue is generated locally,
while the overall 95.61% is received from the National Government in the form of
Equitable Share and other Grants from the National Government.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 24
6.2 Municipal Capacity
Many municipalities across the country have simply not been able to perform their
functions adequately. In the worst-case scenario, Section 139 of the Constitution has
had to be invoked as part of provincial government’s intervention in these
municipalities. Three municipalities in the district are currently under Section 139(5)(a)
which provides for the development of Financial Recovery Plans. The affected
municipalities are Lekwa, Govan Mbeki and Msukaligwa
From a financial capacity point of view, it is critical to note that the Gert Sibande District
Municipality is currently 98% dependent on grants for operational income. Chief Albert
Luthuli and Mkhondo LMs also have the highest levels of dependency for operational
income, with 62% and 58% dependency, respectively. Lekwa LM has the lowest level
of dependency at 14%, followed by Govan Mbeki at 18%.
6.3 Traditional Affairs Governance
The Province of Mpumalanga has a total of 2 Kings, but none of them are located in
the Gert Sibande District. Within the district, however, there are 17 Senior Traditional
Leaders (Chiefs) and 107 Headmen and Headwomen.
Province District Locals Senior Traditional
Leader Headman /
Headwomen
Mpumalanga
Kings = 2
Gert
Sibande
Chief Albert Luthuli LM 12 79
Mkhondo LM 4 25
Pixley Ka Seme LM 1 3
Total 17 107
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 25
7. Projects to Diversify and Grow People and the Economy
7.1 Social Development Projects
Working together with a variety of stakeholders in the sports, arts and cultural sector,
the Gert Sibande District has developed and is continuously implementing Sport and
Recreation Strategy. This is the primary guiding document for District Programmes,
and includes the following:
• GSDM Mayoral Cup (SAMSRA Games)
• GSDM Gert Sibande Cup
• Promotional Play Off
• Municipal Official Games
• Regional School Championship (Athletics)
• GSDM Marathon (Road Running, Track & Field and Cross Country)
• Cultural Festival
• Disability Sport
The district, however, does have a challenge with facilitating the support for Youth to
be able to safely and effectively participate in Sports, Arts and Cultural activities. The
major challenge is with regards to inadequate and dilapidated facilities within the
communities. The Sector Department responsible for promotion and support of these
programmes has very limited capacity and resources. The Local Municipalities within
the District also have huge backlogs in terms of provision of basic services, hence little
is provided for development and upgrading of these facilities.
7.2 Spatial Development
The Spatial Development Framework of the Gert Sibande District is represented in the
Map below:
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 26
In terms of the Map, The spatial economy of the district may be broadly divided as
follows:
• Evander in the north-west has been identified as a primary Industrial Cluster.
Mining focus areas are mainly around Evander, Secunda and Leandra; around
Standerton; along the belt between Carolina-Breyten-Ermelo-Sheepmoor and
south of Amsterdam.
• The area around eMkhondo (formerly Piet Retief) town is home to large-scale
forestry activity and was identified as a Forestry Cluster.
• Balfour, Bethal, Standerton and Ermelo were identified as Agricultural Clusters.
• Generally, the western extents of the District were earmarked for extensive
commercial agriculture.
• The eastern extents of the District comprise a number of nature reserves and
conservation areas, as well as proposed conservancies. Accordingly, the area from
Carolina, Chrissiesmeer and Daggakraal eastwards up to the Swaziland border
was earmarked as the primary tourism corridor.
• The rural area to the south of Nkomazi Wilderness and Songimvelo Nature
Reserve in Albert Luthuli LM was earmarked as a subsistence farming focus area.
• Chressiesmeer-Heyshope-Wakkerstroom precincts are utilised as tourism
anchors around which to develop and promote the eastern parts of the District
(around route R33) as a Primary Tourism Corridor.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 27
• Development of industry specific Special Economic Zones/Economic Clusters
throughout the District in order to unlock the industrial development potential of
existing towns. In line with the Mpumalanga SDF and the Mpumalanga Vision 2030
Strategy, this will be done in accordance with the following sectors:
o Agricultural Cluster
o Forestry Cluster
o Industrial Cluster
o Enhancement of business activities (formal and informal) in the Central
Business Districts. There are certain identified nodal points in the District,
with consolidation of business activities around Thusong Centres and modal
transfer facilities in rural area.
7.3 Infrastructure Projects
Gert Sibande District’s Infrastructure projects are reflected in the Table below:
Project Details
The Upgrading and
Refurbishment of Balfour /
Siyathemba Bulk Water Supply
Scheme Phase 2a
• The scheme will improve the security of water supply to residents
of the greater Balfour area. “Balfour, Siyathemba, Greylingstad,
Willemsdal, Nthorwane and Grootvlei
Construction of Bulk Water
Scheme of Sheepmoor Bulk
Water Supply Scheme Phase 2
• The project goal is to provide safe and sustainable water for the
residents of Sheepmoor community, using creative ideas in
creating jobs to benefit the community.
Lusushwane Bulk Water Supply
Scheme Phase 2 and 3
• The project is aimed to increase potable water supply to
communities in Lusushwane area to benefit Bettysgoed, Lochiel,
Aankomst, Harteeskop and Houtbosch communities.
Lusushwane Bulk Water Supply
Scheme Electrification Phase
4a&4b
• The aim of this project is to provide the bulk electrical supplies to
the main pump station and upgrades in bulk electrical supplies at
the two booster pump stations.
Upgrading of the Balfour
WWTW
• The primary objective of the project is to upgrade the Balfour
WWTW to be capable of handling effluent produced by the
existing waterborne sewerage system serving Balfour and future
requirements analysed to the 2038 demand horizon.
Construction of Reservoirs at
Redhill and Glenmore
• The construction of these reservoirs forms part of a scheme
intended to serve the current population of 47 884 and 24 095 at
Empuluzi and Methula respectively by providing adequate
storage for purified water.
Refurbishment of Methula WTW • The primary objective of the project is to refurbish the Mayflower
WTW to be capable of purifying the water and producing clean
water for the communities that benefit from this WTW. The
current population to benefit is 47 884 and 24 095 at Empuluzi
and Methula respectively by providing purified water.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 28
7.4 Economic Projects
Details of Gert Sibande District’s Economic projects are as follows:
• The Mkhondo Agri-Hub in Gert Sibande is completed and partially operational.
The Agri-Hub will be fully operational in the next financial year. The focus of the
Agri-Park is primarily the processing of ‘agricultural products’ (and the mix of ‘non-
agricultural’ industries may be low or non-existent). The Agri-Park approach will
include the selection and training of smallholder farmers, as well as selecting farms
per province for the placement, incubation and training of unemployed agricultural
graduates and other agro-entrepreneurs.
• Retiefville Integrated Human Settlement is planned for the Mkhondo Local
Municipality and will yield approximately 620 housing opportunities.
• Secunda West Integrated Human Settlement in Govan Mbeki Municipality will
yield approximately 9 000 housing opportunities.
7.5 Environmental forecast
The impact of climate change is a reality in the district, and it cuts across all climate-
sensitive sectors including the agriculture and water sectors. The changes in the
climate have led to a decrease in food production and therefore putting pressure on
the existing sectors.
The recent severe drought has meant that the traditional sources of water, i.e., dams
and underground water cannot suffice. In the Sheepmoor and Warburton areas,
boreholes have dried up and only mud was being pumped out. There is a need to plan
for recurrence of such severe phenomenon in the future. Budgets must be made
available for water carting and other means of conveying water to communities.
The changing climate patterns (i.e. Climate change) have also increased hazard levels
to the extreme. This has severe impact to human lives, animal species, economy and
the environment. The impact of these incidents also stretches disaster relief resources
and efforts to the extreme and the municipalities alone cannot cope using their own
resources, hence the need for frequent external support.
The following are some of the hazards prevailing within the district:
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 29
• Veld and structural fires
• Flash floods
• Motor Vehicles Accidents
• Hazmat incidents
• Lightning and storm incidents
The following are some challenges which are existing within the district:
• Non-establishment of the disaster management function by local municipalities
within their administration
• Insufficient capacity, poor coordination and implementation of the Disaster
Management Key Performance Areas and Enablers at local municipality’s level.
• Limited funding allocation for the disaster management functions at local
municipalities.
• Key Strategic approach / issues to be addressed to improve the Disaster
Management function within the district:
The following are key strategic and sustainable approaches that need to be addressed
by the district and local municipalities, respectively, in order to improve the disaster
management function throughout the district.
• Capacitating the district municipality to be able to support local municipal disaster
management centres.
• Identify and implement capacity building programmes.
• Establishment and capacitating local municipal disaster management centres/
function by local municipalities.
• Develop and enter into agreements with local municipalities on specific
deliverables regarding the disaster management function.
8. Key Recommendations
In order to support the development of the Gert Sibande District, it is recommended
that the whole of government and the private sector must support the municipalities
across the district in the following strategic areas:
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 30
• Strengthen the IDP to prioritise projects that are immediate and implementable in
the short to medium term. The current IDP lists a number of projects that may not
add to the bigger picture, may not lead to broader district development zone.
• Improve bulk infrastructure investment.
• Leverage on the investor and sponsorship opportunities that exist in the areas of
mining, forestry and agriculture.
• Sharing of lessons from districts with similar areas of economic development.
• Develop of viable strategies to attract investments.
PROFILE: GERT SIBANDE DISTRICT 31