Rescaling Municipal Governance in Gauteng: Competing Rationalities in Sedibeng’s Proposed Re-Demarcation and Metropolitanisation

A key achievement of South Africa’s democratic era is the restructuring of local government to amalgamate what were once racially segregated jurisdictions. Larger municipalities increase the coherence of governance and the scope for redistribution. However, the process of reform has created a distinction between two different configurations: single-tier metropolitan municipalities for the largest urban centres, and two-tier district and local municipalities for the rest of the country. Several district municipalities with mid-size urban centres are dubbed ‘aspirant metros’ because key actors argue that they should be reclassified as metropolitan municipalities in the future. This article examines arguments for and against the metropolitanisation of Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng following the Municipal Demarcation Board’s announcement in 2011 that it was considering this possibility. The arguments are organised into four themes: development and economy, governance, social cohesion, and party politics. They raise important considerations about the advantages and disadvantages of metropolitanisation in the abstract. However, the analysis shows the complex nature of this debate because of the entanglement of technical and party-political rationalities. The Democratic Alliance, a key opponent of metropolitanisation, governs Midvaal, a local municipality that would be dissolved in the event of Sedibeng’s restructuring. It accuses the African National Congress of promoting restructuring because it would further the ANC’s political interests in the first instance. Meanwhile, ANC-aligned commentators characterise Midvaal as both corrupt and resistant to social integration.