Merafong City Local Municipality

Merafong City Local Municipality
—  Municipality  —
Location of Merafong City Local Municipality within Gauteng
Coordinates: 26°21′S 27°24′E / 26.35°S 27.4°E / -26.35; 27.4Coordinates: 26°21′S 27°24′E / 26.35°S 27.4°E / -26.35; 27.4
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
District municipality	West Rand District Municipality
Seat	Carletonville
Government
- Mayor	P Molokwane
Area
- Total	1,630 km2 (629.3 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- Total	215,865
- Density	132.4/km2 (343/sq mi)
- Households	88,156
Time zone	SAST (UTC+02)
Municipal code	GT484
Website	merafong.co.za

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 65km 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^[1] following the abolition of cross-border municipalites 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

Attached to Fochville and Carletonville are the towns of Khutsong, Kokosi, Greenspark, Welverdiend, and Blybank.

See also

• Carletonville
• Fochville
• Khutsong

References

1. ^ Integrated Development Plan. Merafong City Local Municipality. Retrieved on Oct 6, 2009.
2. ^ "NCOP Passes Merafong Bills." Press release. Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Retrieved on Oct 15, 2009.
3. ^ ^{a b c} About Merafong. Merafong City Local Municipality. Retrieved on Oct 6, 2009.