Tshwane sign, with the former logo depicting the Union Buildings in Pretoria, with slogan "We are the same" (photo 2005).
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (Tswana: Mmasepala wa Toropokgolo ya Tshwane; Afrikaans: Stad Tshwane Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; Northern Sotho: Mmasepala wa Toropokgolo ya Tshwane), also known as the City of Tshwane (/tswɑːnɪ/), is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng in South Africa. The metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pretoria with surrounding towns and localities included in the local government area.
History
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality was established on 5 December 2000,[4] comprising 13 former city and town councils and managed under an executive mayoral system.
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality's land area increased from 2,198 square kilometres (849 sq mi)[6] in 2010 to 6,368 square kilometres (2,459 sq mi) after the incorporation of Metsweding, making it the largest Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa.[7]
There were around 2,921,500 (2011 census)[9] people living within the borders of Tshwane: 75.40% black, 20.08% white, 2.01% coloured and 1.84% Indian or Asian.[9]
The political head of the municipality is the executive mayor. As of March 2023, Cilliers Brink of the Democratic Alliance serves as mayor.[13] The mayor appoints a mayoral committee to assist with him/her with the functioning of the municipality.
Services
Water and sanitation
As of 2016, City of Tshwane receives 72% of its bulk water from Rand Water, which utilizes the Integrated Vaal River System. The remaining 28% of Tshwane's water is sourced from its own treatment plants and boreholes. Water restrictions are implemented during drought, heat waves or other seasonal changes.
The city of Tshwane hosted the 10th World Choir Games, organised by the Interkultur Foundation, between 4–14 July 2018.[14] Various locations across the city were used as venues to host concerts and ceremonies for the event, including the Musaion and Aula theatres at the University of Pretoria, the ZK Matthews Great Hall at the University of South Africa, and the Pretoria State Theatre.[15] The event was the first of its kind on the African continent.[14]
The city is home to the Tshwane Suns who compete in South Africa's highest basketball division, the Basketball National League.[16][17]
There are two Premier Soccer League teams, Mamelodi Sundowns and Supersport United. Pretoria University, known as Tuks plays in the second-tier league. Tshwane is also home to the Blue Bulls rugby team.
Logo of City of Tshwane depicting the Union Buildings in Pretoria, with slogan "We are the same".
Tshwane[tsʰwane] is the Setswana name of the Apies River, which flows through the city. The origin of the name of the river is unclear. It may mean "place -e of the black cow, tshwana, from ceremonies where a black cow was sprinkled with water from the river to end a drought.[18]
Two other common explanations are demonstrably untrue. One is that it is the Tswana for the motto of Tshwane Municipality, "We are the same". However, this appears to be promoted only for its emotional value; if anything, it would mean "we are not the same" in Tswana (ga re tshwane).[18] Another common misunderstanding is that it is the Tswana word for "little monkeys"; although "Tshwane" resembles tshwene (the Tswana word for baboon), baboons are not little and the words are not the same. "Little monkeys" is actually a translation of the Afrikaans name "Apies".[citation needed]
In 2005, politicians in the South African capital voted to rename the city Tshwane and retain the name Pretoria for the city centre only.
The Sunday Times used the word Tshwane to refer to the Pretoria area for a short period in 2005. The state-controlled SABC also started using the term in its evening news broadcasts, for a period, but by 2010, had reverted to "Pretoria". Private media outlets continued to refer to the metropolitan area as Pretoria. The Pretoria News, the main newspaper in the metropolitan area did not appear to have plans to change its name as of early 2006, although it has adopted the slogan "The paper for the people of Tshwane".[19]
On 21 May 2005, the Pretoria Civil Action Committee, a group consisting of business, labour, cultural, civil and political leaders opposed to the name change organised a protest in the Pretoria city centre.[20] They marched to the office of Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan and handed him a petition signed by 3,000 University of Pretoria students as well as other petition documents. Former president FW De Klerk, a Nobel prize winner and the last president under apartheid, also raised concerns about the change.[21]
In November 2005, the Advertising Standards Authority found that advertising proclaiming that Tshwane, rather than Pretoria, was the capital of South Africa was misleading.[citation needed]
Proposed renaming of Pretoria
On 5 December 2000, a number of former Pretoria municipalities, as well as others that fell outside the Greater Pretoria area, were combined into one area called the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.[6] The city of Pretoria remained largely intact in this municipality. [clarification needed] On 26 May 2005, the South African Geographical Names Council unanimously approved a recommendation by the Tshwane Metro Council that the name Pretoria be changed to Tshwane, but approval from the Geographical Names Council is only a preliminary step in the process.[22]
Council approves/rejects recommendation (approved 26 May 2005).
Council gives its recommendation to the Arts and Culture Minister.
Minister approves/rejects recommendation.
Approved/rejected name is published in the Government Gazette.
Any person or body unhappy with the name change can complain within one month of above.
The minister can consult the Geographical Names Council with concerns raised.
The minister's decision, along with the reasons for it, are published
The minister will then take the matter before parliament where the central government will decide on whether to change the name or not based on the information before it.
Some groups attached themselves to the Pretoria name change issue, including the trade union Solidarity, which,[23] along with the Pretoria Civil Action Committee, threatened legal action should the name change be recommended by the minister. In early August 2007, it was reported in the press that the municipality, after consulting with the Gauteng provincial government had withdrawn the application to change the name, and was instead contemplating a plan to change all road signs pointing to "Pretoria" to "Tshwane" or the "City of Tshwane" across the country. This plan raised threats of legal action from both political groupings opposed to the renaming, and concerns from municipal officials about the possibility of vandalism to the proposed signs.[24][25]
In 2010, the Ministry of Arts and Culture prepared to publish the registration of Tshwane as a place name, in the Government Gazette. However, the registration was withdrawn at the last minute, which was explained by the minister. [clarification needed][why?] Although it was too late to remove the name from printing in the Government Gazette, the retraction of the name registration was published the following week in the gazette.[26] In November 2011, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, who had been elected mayor earlier that year, vowed to push forward with the renaming in 2012.[27]
Management and corruption
As in other parts of the country, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality experiences high levels of corruption. Significant resources of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) were dedicated to this region since 2010.[28][29][30] The screening of applicants for management positions has also been criticized.[31]
When, by November 2020, businesses and residents owed the metro R12 billion,[32] the metro outsourced its credit management to 34 debt collecting agencies after normal means were ineffectual. This was expected to increase the metro's income levels, cash flow and capacity for service delivery. In 2021, its debt with Eskom stood at over R200 million, and the utility labeled it as a municipality with a poor payment record.[33] When in August 2022 its debt stood at R1.152 billion, Eskom warned that the city's electricity may be disconnected.[34]
In February 2022, its debtors book stood at R17 billion[35] and Tshwane implemented the Tshwane Yatima project to disconnect the power and/or water supply to 420 businesses, besides that of some state departments (Public Works and Infrastructure owing R355 million[36]) and embassies, SARS, the Navy and SAPS headquarters and Hatfield Gautrain station due to non-payment of their electricity or municipal accounts.[37][38] The University of Pretoria paid the bill of its Hillcrest campus under protest at the last minute.[35]
^"City to become largest in SA". South African Cities Network News. BUANews. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011. The City of Tshwane will become the largest metropolitan municipality in the country after the local government elections when it incorporates the Metsweding District Municipality.
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