Sharpeville is one of the townships that feature prominently in apartheid politics of South Africa. Situated in the vaal triangle the town was named after John Lillie Sharpe, who was the mayor of the area between 1934 and 1937.
The main reason for the establishment of Sharpeville was the relocation of people from ‘Top location” to an area away from Vereeniging because it was felt black people were too close to Vereeniging for comfort.
Of the “Top Location” residents, Blacks were moved to Sharpeville, Coloureds to Rus-ter-vaal and Indians to Roshnee. The Indians were the last ethnic group to leave “Top Location”, the last residents being moved to Roshnee in 1974.
However, there isn’t much of all that, that is remember about the place. The ruthless Sharpeville massacre is what immediately comes to mind at the mere mentioning of the vaal triangle township. On the fateful 21-March-1960 day, police opened fire on unarmed protesters who were protesting against apartheid laws. 69 lives, including those of eight women and ten children, were lost and more than 180 people were injured.
In 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found that the police actions had constituted “gross human rights violations in that excessive force was unnecessarily used to stop a gathering of unarmed people.”
Since 1994, 21 March has been commemorated as Human Rights Day in South Africa. Sharpeville was the site selected by then-President Nelson Mandela for the signing into law of the Constitution of South Africa on 10 December 1996.
On 21 March 2002, on the 42nd anniversary of the massacre, a memorial was opened by former President Nelson Mandela as part of the Sharpeville Human Rights Precinct.
More than 37 000 make the Sharpeville population with the majority being Sotho-speaking people.
Town: Sharpeville
City: Johannesburg
Municipality: Emfuleni Local Municpality / Sedibeng District Municipality
Population: 37,599
Emfuleni Local Municipality
Emfuleni is a largely urbanised municipality, with about 80% of the population in the Sedibeng District. There are two major economic nodes: Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark, which together contributed 4.6% to the Gauteng GDP in 2004.
The ArcelorMittal steel mill at Vanderbijlpark is the largest inland steel mill in sub-Saharan Africa, producing 3 million tonnes of liquid steel per annum, and employing 4 500 permanent staff. The plant at Vereeniging produces 400 000 tonnes of liquid steel per annum and has 900 permanent employees.
The primary economic sector consists of agriculture and mining. Agriculture’s contribution to the Emfuleni GGP has decreased to 1.5%, with a very little growth. The contribution made by mining is even smaller, at 0.2 %, and is declining quite sharply.
Secondary economic activities in Emfuleni include manufacturing, electricity, gas, water and construction. Manufacturing, the dominant sector in Emfuleni, is dominated by metals, metal products, machinery and equipment industries. Iron and steel is the dominant industry, and the biggest steel sector agglomeration in the country. The metals industry has undergone major restructuring in recent years, resulting in job shedding. It has been growing relatively slowly, at 1.2 % per annum. However, ArcelorMittal have plans for major expansion. The petrochemical industry, by contrast, has been growing relatively quickly. While the GGP of construction activities has declined slightly, the contribution of electricity, gas and water continues to grow.
The tertiary sector, consisting of trade, transport, financing and public services, tourism and entertainment contributes over half of the Emfuleni GGP, and continues to grow.
The Emfuleni workforce is young, well educated and highly productive. Two universities in the area provide scientific research and teaching facilities, also offering vocational training courses to meet the needs of local industry.
Employment by Industry (% of Labour force)
Agriculture………………………………………………….2,691 (0.6%)
Mining / quarrying………………………………………. 1,886 (0.4%)
Manufacturing…………………………………………..36,658 (7.9%)
Electricity / gas / water supply……………………… 2,435 (0.5%)
Construction……………………………………………….8,758 (1.9%)
Wholesale / retail trade……………………………….25,766 (5.5%)
Transport / storage / communication………………5,908 (1.3%)
Financial / insurance / real estate………………… 25,700 (3.8%)
Community / social / personal services…………26,139 (5.6%)
Private households / other…………………………. 54,546 (8.0%)
Population by Monthly Income (incl Social Grants) (% of Population)
R 204 801 or more…………………………………………. 485 (0.1%)
R 102 401 – R 204 800………………………………….616 (0.1%)
R 51 201 – R 102 400……………………………………761 (0.1%)
R 25 601 – R 51 200…………………………………..3,621 (0.5%)
R 12 801 – R 25 600…………………………………10,782 (1.6%)
R 6 401 – R 12 800…………………………………..24,991 (3.7%)
R 3 201 – R 6 400……………………………………. 42,493 (6.2%)
R 1 601 – R 3 200……………………………………….49,831 (7.3%)
R 801 – R 1 600……………………………………….. 83,649 (12.2%)
R 401 – R 800……………………………………………. 32,108 (4.7%)
R 1 – R 400……………………………………………….. 23,784 (3.5%)
No income………………………………………………361,156 (52.7%)
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