Key facts about the GCR
1. Gauteng City-Region (GCR) population and in-migration
Gauteng is the smallest, most densely populated and most economically important of South Africa’s nine provinces. The province covers an area of 18 179 km2, and according to StatsSA’s 2010 mid-year population estimates, Gauteng currently houses 11 191 700 people, or 22.4% of the total population of South Africa. The overall population change between the 2001 Census and 2007 Community Survey was 13.61% (adjusted to include Merafong), just under 2% per year. The surrounding areas of Rustenburg, Potchestroom, Sasolburg and Witbank/Middelburg/Secunda grew by 19%, while the displaced population in the former homelands to the north-east increased by only 5%.
This is an indication that population growth in the GCR as a whole is not only fuelled by natural births, but by in-migration to Gauteng and its surrounding areas.
Source: Statistics South Africa (StatsSA)
2. The GCR is home to the deepest mine in the world
The GCR is home to the deepest mine in the world: the Mponeng mine near Carletonville in western Gauteng at 4 kilometers. It is part of the Merafong municipality which is a local municipality in the West Rand District Municipality. Its boundaries enclose some of the richest gold mines in the world. Merafong's historical development is intertwined with the discovery of rich gold deposits in the early 1930s.
This municipality is notable for successfully re-incorporating itself into Gauteng from North West Province after cross-border municipalities were abolished in 2005. Violent protests in the township of Khutsong saw the municipality re-incorporated into Gauteng in 2009.
Mponeng, the deepest mine in the world, is among many mines in the world which are being deepened in order to extract gold deposits. Ultra deep mining holds great appeal as technology improves and the search for natural resources continue. As a result many mines are constantly being deepened. It is also increasingly being recognized that shallow gold reserves have been tapped and that greater resources have to be mined at greater depths.
Ultra deep mining is hazardous and despite improvements in safety practices, remains a significant safety concern. It is believed that ultra deep mining may precipitate tremors in the earth and due to the weight of the rocks, cause a phenomenon known as rock bursts, which account for many of the 250 deaths in South African mines every year. Massive increases in heat at such depths also pose a challenge for survival of miners at such depths.
Source: Ali, Saleem H. (2009) Treasures of the Earth: need, greed and a sustainable future. New Haven and London: Yale University Press; AngloGold Ashanti website http://www.anglogold.co.za; Merafong local municipality website http://www.merafong.gov.za/about/about.aspx
3. Transport
According to the 2009 'Quality of Life' survey, 67% of respondents in Gauteng use public transport on a daily basis to get to school or work. Taxis are by far the main form of public transport (95.6 %), followed by trains and buses. 20.9% use multiple modes of transport. Just over half (53.5%) of all people travelling to work, to look for work, or to a place of study within Gauteng, reach their destination within half an hour, with a further 41% spending up to an hour travelling.
According to the 2009 'Quality of Life' survey, 67% of respondents in Gauteng use public transport on a daily basis to get to school or work. Taxis are by far the main form of public transport (95.6 %), followed by trains and buses. 20.9% use multiple modes of transport. Just over half (53.5%) of all people travelling to work, to look for work, or to a place of study within Gauteng, reach their destination within half an hour, with a further 41% spending up to an hour travelling.
Source: GCRO 2009 'Quality of Life' survey
4. The Longest Cable Stayed Bridge in Southern Africa
Johannesburg has the distinction of building the Nelson Mandela bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in southern Africa. It has a total length of 284 meters. The Nelson Mandela bridge is part of a R300 million inner city renewal programme undertaken by Blue IQ, a Gauteng provincial economic development initiative. The bridge connects the Johannesburg inner city to Braamfontein and is also strategically positioned between two other major spatial developments in the city, the Newtown Cultural Precinct and the Constitutional Hill Precinct in Braamfontein. The bridge has popularly come to represent the new spirit of post-apartheid Johannesburg. The symbolism of linkage and unity provided by the bridge inspired its naming after Nelson Mandela and his role in reconciliation and nation-building in South Africa.
Source: Joburg Metro Council, The Passion Behind a City Joburg! Vol 2 2008, Affinity Publishing
5. Positive attitudes in the GCR
GCRO’s 2009 ‘Quality of Life' survey showed that 59% of Gauteng City-Region respondents believe that the country is on the right track. 62% of Africans hold this opinion, followed by more than half of coloured and Indian respondents. Whites, at 42%, remain the most skeptical about the future of the country. The finding that more than half of GCR residents believe that South Africa is going in the right direction indicates progress toward the prospect of a stable future shared by all races. This is probably one of the most positive findings emerging from the GCRO’s ‘Quality of Life' survey.
GCRO’s 2009 ‘Quality of Life' survey showed that 59% of Gauteng City-Region respondents believe that the country is on the right track. 62% of Africans hold this opinion, followed by more than half of coloured and Indian respondents. Whites, at 42%, remain the most skeptical about the future of the country. The finding that more than half of GCR residents believe that South Africa is going in the right direction indicates progress toward the prospect of a stable future shared by all races. This is probably one of the most positive findings emerging from the GCRO’s ‘Quality of Life' survey.
Source: GCRO 2009 'Quality of Life' survey
6. Gauteng is the birthplace of humankind over 3 million years ago and hosts 15 major fossil sites, including ‘Mrs Ples’ and ‘Little Foot’.
The Gauteng City-Region is richly endowed in the history of early humankind. Some of the world’s earliest hominid sites are located in Gauteng. Found in the provinces of Gauteng and North West, the fossil sites cover an area of 47 000 hectares. In 1947, the skull of an adult female Australopithecus Africanus known as Mrs Ples, was discovered in Sterkfontein. Mrs. Ples is estimated to be between 2.6 and 2.8 million years old. In 1997 a near complete skeleton of an early hominid was found in the caves, estimated to be 3.3 million years old. The complete yield of hominid sites is approximated at 500 and excavations are ongoing. In 1999 Unesco declared the Cradle of Humankind a World Heritage Site.
Source: South Africa info website http:///www.worldheritagesite.org
7. Economy
Today, Gauteng produces about 34% of national Gross Value Added. When the municipalities around Gauteng are included, the wider city-region makes up 42% of the South African economy. In various ways the region is also an international economic force, and is a ‘global' city-region. Johannesburg alone was estimated to have the 40th largest urban economy in the world in 2009 when measured on a purchasing power parity basis.
Despite its weight, the Gauteng City-Region’s economy presents many challenges. These include: very high unemployment levels; unbalanced growth, in the sense that jobs that are being created are often not matched to the skills that workers currently possess; unequal spatial access to economic opportunities; a weak ‘culture of entrepreneurship’; and the need to ensure that future growth is ‘green growth’ to ensure the region’s long-term sustainability. While much progress has been made by government to restructure the economy to address these challenges, there is still a long way to go.
Source: Quantec EasyData 2009; http://www.citymayors.com/economics/usb-purchasing-power.html
Today, Gauteng produces about 34% of national Gross Value Added. When the municipalities around Gauteng are included, the wider city-region makes up 42% of the South African economy. In various ways the region is also an international economic force, and is a ‘global' city-region. Johannesburg alone was estimated to have the 40th largest urban economy in the world in 2009 when measured on a purchasing power parity basis.
Despite its weight, the Gauteng City-Region’s economy presents many challenges. These include: very high unemployment levels; unbalanced growth, in the sense that jobs that are being created are often not matched to the skills that workers currently possess; unequal spatial access to economic opportunities; a weak ‘culture of entrepreneurship’; and the need to ensure that future growth is ‘green growth’ to ensure the region’s long-term sustainability. While much progress has been made by government to restructure the economy to address these challenges, there is still a long way to go.
Source: Quantec EasyData 2009; http://www.citymayors.com/economics/usb-purchasing-power.html
8. Cullinan: The Largest Rough Diamond in the World
The area of Cullinan, located 30 km to the east of Tshwane, is notable for producing the largest rough-cut diamond in the world. The Cullinan Diamond, or later known as Star as Africa, recovered at the Cullinan diamond mine in 1905, weighed 3 106 carats uncut. It was named after the owner of the mine, Sir Thomas Cullinan, bought by the Transvaal government and presented to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday. The largest polished gem from the stone was named the Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa. At 530.2 carats (106.0 g) it was the largest cut diamond until the Golden Jubilee from the same mine was cut to a weight of 545.7 carats (109.1 g) in 1985. (Cullinan has produced many famous gemstones, including the Hollywood romance diamond, the Taylor-Burton, and the well-known Niarchos Diamond, a gift from Stavros Nairchos, the Greek shipping magnate to his then wife, Charlotte Ford of the Ford family).
The Cullinan mine is the only significant source of blue diamonds in the world.
The mine is situated over the largest kimberlite pipes in the world. Kimberlite is an important source of mined diamonds. Kimberlite is a kind of potassic volcanic rock best known for carrying diamonds to the surface of the earth.
The Cullinan mine recently yielded a 507-carat white diamond said to be among the top 20 largest high-quality rough diamonds ever found worldwide. This historic find was made on Heritage Day of September 2009.
Source: Harlow, G. (eds) (1998) The Nature of Diamonds Cambridge Press; Mining Weekly website http://www.miningweekly.com
9. Housing
The majority of Gauteng residents (72%) live in houses or formal structures on a separate stand, but a large percentage (12.8%) live in informal settlements spread out across the city-region. The Gauteng Provincial Government and Gauteng municipalities face huge challenges providing housing and services for these ever-expanding informal settlements, and the high population growth in the GCR means that this is an ever moving target.
Source: GCRO 2009 'Quality of Life' survey
10. Vilakazi Street in Soweto is the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
The Vilakazi Street precinct in Orlando West, Soweto is richly steeped in South African struggle history. Vilakazi Street is famed for having housed two Nobel Peace Prize winners, former state president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Orlando West school, notable for its role in the Soweto riots of 1976, is located in Vilakazi Street. One of the 23 fatalities on 16 June 1976 was 12 year old Hector Pietersen, who was shot by police on the corner of Vilakazi Street. The iconic image of Hector Pietersen dying in the arms of a fellow student, captured the brutality of the apartheid government and the key role played by the youth in South Africa’s liberation struggle. Vilakazi Street has since become an important center of local economic development for Soweto and is widely known for its promotion of heritage tourism. Heritage tourism is a particular branch of tourism which is centrally focused on the development and preservation of historical and cultural resources.
Vilakazi Street itself was named after Dr BW Vilakazi, one of South Africa’s foremost black intellectuals. He has the distinction of being the first black lecturer at Wits University, although apartheid restrictions prohibited him from being officially titled a lecturer. He earned a PhD in literature whilst at Wits University. His intellectual legacy is the development and promotion of indigenous languages through poetry and literature, and he is often cited as part of the foundations of modern South African literature.
