Sedibeng District Municipality

Sedibeng
District municipality
Seal
Location in Gauteng
Coordinates: 26°30′S 28°15′E / 26.500°S 28.250°E / -26.500; 28.250
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
Seat	Vereeniging
Local municipalities	List Emfuleni Midvaal Lesedi
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Busisiwe Modisakeng
Area
• Total	4,173 km2 (1,611 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	1,039,908
• Density	250/km2 (650/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2021) [2]
• Black African	81%
• Coloured	1%
• Indian/Asian	1%
• White	17%
First languages (2021) [3]
• Sotho	46.7%
• Zulu	16.0%
• Afrikaans	15.2%
• Xhosa	7.1%
• Other	15%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	DC42

The Sedibeng District Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Setereke wa Sedibeng; Zulu: UMasipala wesiFunda sase Sedibeng; Afrikaans: Sedibeng-distriktsmunisipaliteit) is one of the districts of the Gauteng province of South Africa. The administrative seat of the district is Vereeniging. As of 2011, the most widely spoken language among its 794,605 inhabitants was Sesotho.

The total population of Sedibeng accounts for only 9% of the total Gauteng population of 8.84 million. This means that in 2001 Sedibengs's population was approximately 794 600 (Stats SA, 2001 CENSUS). The growth rate for Gauteng was 3.75% p.a and 2% p.a for Sedibeng during 2003 (Stats SA). In terms of the economy the district is dominated by manufacturing, which contributed roughly 32% to the local economy during 2001. Manufacturing in the district is dominated by the fabricated metal and the chemical sectors (Mittal Steel Company (previously ISCOR) and Sasol. The local economy has been stagnating for a number of years, with a net loss in formal job opportunities. Economic sectors which do present opportunities for further local development and economic growth include agriculture and tourism.^{[citation needed]}

Some of Sedibeng's natural resources are:

• The Vaal River. At times however, the river is polluted by untreated sewage from this municipality.^[4]
• Vaal Dam, a tourist attraction and source of water even beyond the boundaries of Sedibeng
• Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, a protected area in the Suikerbosrand Range
• Aquifers, which are an important source of water in rural areas

In 2020 the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) decided to act against council members who in 2018 approved a large raise in salary for their municipal manager Stanley Khanyile. In 2020 Khanyile was shot and killed in Meyersdal, Alberton,^[5] before he could appear on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering stemming from his term as the head of a department in the Eastern Cape.

In March 2024, facing a financial crisis, the council increased its capital budget by R700,000 to purchase a luxury car for the mayor, Lerato Maloka.^[6]

Sedibeng District Municipality consists of the three local municipalities, namely Lesedi, Midvaal and Emfuleni. The total number of households in Sedibeng is estimated at 224 307.

The following statistics are from the 2001 census.

Sedibeng is surrounded by:

• Johannesburg to the north
• Ekurhuleni (East Rand) to the north
• Nkangala in Mpumalanga to the north-east (DC31)
• Gert Sibande in Mpumalanga to the east (DC30)
• Fezile Dabi to the south (DC20)
• Dr Kenneth Kaunda in North West to the west (DC40)
• West Rand to the north-west (CBDC8)

• Sedibeng District Municipality