Seshego: an unexpected suburb

Abstract

In spite of substantial agreement on the need for urban integration in the South African urban development policy framework, there is also significant scholarly opinion that the outcomes have fallen short of the desired targets. The case of Seshego/Polokwane, however, suggests that some level of integration is possible given predisposing factors. The methodology used in this study included a desk top review and interviews which formed part of a larger study of the area. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with various officials within local government departments, property developers, business people, community leaders, NGOs, and local ward councillors. In-depth interviews were also held with five Seshego households. The paper found that, unlike other South African townships, Seshego remains a well-located, better developed (compared to the alternatives outside formerly white Polokwane), ‘suburb’ after the ending of influx control. The relatively favourable location and the directed efforts of the municipality led to subsequent (post-apartheid) developments having seen significant integration of Seshego and Polokwane.

Keywords:

• Seshego
• Polokwane
• integration
• location
• suburb

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge funding from the South African Cities Network that made the research possible. The cooperation of the Polokwane Local Municipality is also acknowledged. Thank you to Adriaan van der Walt for assistance with the map work.

Notes

1. This section makes use of ward delimited census (1996, 2001, and 2011) data from Statistics South Africa. Unless indicated otherwise, the areas of comparison are the Polokwane LM along with three subareas delineated according to the wards in the 2011 demarcation (reconciled by Statistics South Africa). ‘Seshego’ is identified as the urban area of historical Seshego (wards 11–13, 17, and 37). The ‘corridor’ comprises the area between the historical areas of Polokwane and Seshego that have seen targeted development to join the two areas (wards 8, 14, and 19). ‘Traditional Polokwane’ encompasses the (predominantly) traditional authority wards in the Polokwane LM (wards 1–5, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 24, 27–31, 33–36, and 38).

2. This section is based on data from Global Insight’s Regional Explorer Database using magisterial district (MD) demarcation. The ‘Pietersburg MD’ includes all of formerly white Polokwane (including the farming areas) along with what has been designated as the ‘corridor’ area elsewhere in the paper. The ‘Seshego MD’ includes urbanized Seshego as well as the traditional areas north-west of Polokwane. There are two problems for interpretation of data in this format for the paper: first, urbanized Seshego is conflated with the rural areas that are relatively undeveloped and remote from the economic opportunities of formerly white Polokwane; second, much of the post 1994 growth, that is otherwise centrally located between the historical areas of Seshego and Pietersburg/Polokwane, are conflated with growth in the historically (exclusionary) white area and the less accessible developments south-west of Polokwane. As this is however the only format in which economic data is available at sub-municipal level, its use is justified.

3. 2005 constant prices.

4. See note 3.

5. Population in Seshego MD stagnated between 1996 and 2013 (falling just below 1996 levels in 2013) while Pietersburg MD more than doubled its population.

6. See note 3.

7. Current (2013) prices.

8. The data on the number of rooms are drawn from place designated Census data from Statistics South Africa.