Govan Mbeki Local Municipality 

Overview

The towns of Govan Mbeki Municipality are situated on an average of 160 km east of Johannesburg, on the proposed N17 to Richards Bay.

Govan Mbeki Municipality consists of fourteen formerly separate areas that have now been incorporated into one Municipality. The areas are Secunda, eMbalenhle, Evander, Kinross, Trichardt, Charl Cilliers, Bethal, Milan Park, eMzinoni, Lebohang, Eendrag and Leslie as well as the rural areas of the Highveld Ridge Transitional Local Council and Bethal TRC in between, as determined by the Demarcation Board.

SECUNDA:

The town Secunda was established in 1975 as a direct result of the establishment of the Suid-Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie (SASOL) plant to produce alternative fuel for South Africa during the height of international isolation of the previous Government. The town was established firstly to provide close accommodation for workers employed by SASOL and secondly to serve as a local centre for the sub-region. The first extension of Secunda was proclaimed in 1977 and the town has now grown to accommodate 46 522 people.

TRICHARDT:

The town is situated to the east of Secunda with the railway line to the SASOL plant forming a major constraint to the total spatial integration of the two urban nodes. Trichardt was established in the early 1900’s as an agricultural station. Trichardt had the tasted growth after the establishment of SASOL in 1975. After the establishment of SASOL however, the agricultural character of the town has gradually diminished and today Trichardt resembles a fully-fledged town with sufficiently well developed infrastructure. The town has however, not grown significantly in terms of spatial growth over the years and currently has a population of about 4305 people.

KINROSS:

Kinross was established as an agricultural service centre. It forms a linear stretch along the N17 and the railway line to the south of the town and is directly linked to Secunda and SASOL via a dual carriageway south of the town. The town is largely reliant on SASOL for employment and to a lesser extent, the surrounding Power stations and commercial farming activities. The area of Thistle Grove to the west of Kinross has provided an important dormitory to the majority of labour to both SASOL and the nearby Matla Power station. Economically, Kinross relies mainly on through traffic from Gauteng to Secunda and the N17 road is therefore very significant to the business activity of Kinross. Together with Thistle Grove, Kinross has a population of about 10 764 people.

EVANDER:

Evander was established in 1955 as a result of the discovery of gold in the Highveld Ridge area. It was established primarily to accommodate mining employees from “Gengold” and Kinross Gold Mines to the extent that even to date about 90% of the residents of Evander are employees of Harmony Mine Company. It is situated about 8km west of Secunda like Secunda; it is endowed with good infrastructure and other Engineering Services. The town was proclaimed in 1960 and obtained her full municipal status in 1972. Evander has a limited commercial service component and her 11 818 residents depend largely on Secunda for most of their commercial service needs and employment opportunities.

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