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Sarah Baartman District Municipality First Female Municipal Manager Appointed
MUNICIPAL NEWS
WELCOME TO THE CITY OF SARAH BAARTMAN MATLOSANA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
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CITY OF PEOPLE ON THE MOVE FIRST FEMALE MUNICIPAL MANAGER APPOINTED
The City of Matlosana Municipality is situated approximately 164 km South West of Johannesburg, strategically located on the N12 Treasure Route, which is the North West Province’s primary tourism corridor.
The scenic N12 starts from Mpumalanga and is the gateway to the Western Cape Province. The route takes you from eMalahleni, to the vibrant Gauteng Province and the Sterkfontein Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, and continues to Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Kimberley, Beaufort West, up until George.
It is the Transformation of the N12 Treasure Route that has unlocked regional opportunities and resulted in massive activity and mobility along the Matlosana portion of the corridor. It has a multi-dimensional character that has created employment, enhanced commuter movement, enhanced investment opportunities, increased economic activity, etc.
This year, Women’s Month in August had special significance for Sarah Baartman District Municipality. Just two months earlier, on 1 June, the municipality named after a female South African and international icon, appointed Unati Daniels as its first female Municipal Manager - a milestone that had long been overdue. Making the announcement, the municipality called WHY VISIT THE CITY OF it a “landmark event in the history of the MATLOSANA? municipality”. Daniels was preceded by Ted Pillay who held the position of Municipal Manager for 20 years from 2002 to 2022. She is not entirely new to this demanding role, having acted in this position several times during her time as Director of Planning and Economic Development at the municipality. Daniel’s started her career in the municipality in 2003 when she was appointed as the Skills Development Facilitator by Cacadu District Municipality which was later renamed Sarah Baartman District Municipality. In 2005, Daniels was appointed as Manager of Capacity Building and Support, and in 2018 she was appointed as Director Planning and Economic Development. She is well-experienced in local government matters and holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the Nelson Mandela University. “Unati will be a valuable asset, and we are confident that she will take the municipality to new heights. Having a female leader is a first for our District and we are so proud of her,” says Exec Mayor Deon de Vos. Indeed – a significant achievement for both Daniels and the municipality.
Municipal Manager: Unati Daniels
Create unforgettable memories at our quality business and leisure accommodation venues which include conferencing, wedding and spa facilities. The City has a wealth of attractions for visitors: • Adventure tourism • Wildlife tourism • Medical tourism • Wellness tourism
About Saartjie Baartman
Create unforgettable The municipality itself is named after Sarah memories at our (Saartjie) Baartman, who is remembered and quality business and honoured as an icon, not only by her own leisure accommodation Khoikhoi people, but by all women who know venues which include oppression and discrimination in their lives - conferencing, wedding and her status is affirmation of the rightness and spa facilities.
of equal citizenship and dignity of all women. Born in 1789 and raised within the Gamtoos Valley in what is today the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Baartman became orphaned at a young age during a commando raid and was subsequently taken to Cape Town as a slave. In 1810, William Dunlop, a British ship’s doctor, took the young Baartman to England under the pretext that he was offering her a decent job in London. Instead, she was paraded in front of spectators in a state of semi-undress and sometimes caged. She was exhibited as an ‘ethnic pornographic object’. She was later sold to an animal trainer in France who used her as if she were a circus animal. She died of a respiratory illness in Paris in 1815 at the young age of 26, after which her body was dissected by a French scientist named George Cuvier, who was Napoleon’s surgeon-general. A body cast was made of her corpse, and her brain, skeleton and sexual organs remained on display in a Paris museum until 1974.
MATLOSANA AS A MEDICAL HUB
To us health care is of paramount importance as a healthy city is productive and constitutes prosperity. We boast well-developed medical facilities, which enhances and promotes the competitive advantage of Matlosana as a major Medical Hub in the North West Province. Services include: general and private medical fascilities, casualty/trauma and dental services. Most clinics focus on primary health care services. The city prides itself on having five private hospitals, two government hospitals, including the largest state hospital in the North West Province and 15 clinics including mobile clinics. It also boasts the only fully contained oncology unit in the North West Province, which offers a comprehensive service at four pathological laboratories and has the latest MRI scanner at the radiology unit.
(Sarah) Saartjie Baartman (1789-1815) PRIME LAND FOR DEVELOPMENT
N12 Development Route was identified by the municipality as a flagship project for golden opportunities in the following sectors: housing, business, industrial, heritage, mining, tourism, sport as well as recreation.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is one of the mainstays of Matlosana, which proudly boasts a region rich with agricultural potential. The emphasis is focused on field crops, such as maize, wheat, sorghum, sunflowers, etc... (climatically suitable with a 70% probability of production success).
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Aside from attracting investment, the N12 Treasure Route connects communities to the economic hub of Matlosana City. The improved road infrastructure changes the lives of the City’s citizens making it easier to access employment opportunities and other services.
SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
Sarah Baartman District Shoppers can also be spoiled for When the African National Congress (ANC) came to power in South Africa in 1994, President Nelson Mandela formally requested the return of her remains. After much legal wrangling in the choice between Matlosana Mall, City Mall, Flamwood Walk Shopping Mall, Tower Mall and other leading shopping French National Assembly, France acceded to the centres in Matlosana. request and her remains were repatriated on 9
August 2002 - National Women’s Day in South
Africa. She was reburied along the banks of the
Gamtoos River in the town of Hankey in the
Eastern Cape.
On 22 August 2002, then-president Thabo Mbeki declared Sarah Baartman’s grave a National Heritage
Site. On 1 September 2016, the Cacadu District
Municipality officially changed its name to Sarah
Baartman District Municipality.
The proverbial wheel has turned full circle for Saarah
Baartman, with the municipality bearing her name having appointed its first female Municipal Manager.
About the District Sarah Baartman District Municipality is situated in the western part of the Eastern Cape Province, covering an area of 58 242 square kilometres and a population of 527 062. It is the largest District in the province, making up approximately 34% of its geographical area and completely surrounds Nelson Mandela Bay. The coastal parts of the district have temperate winter rainfall, while the interior is mainly dry Karoo and grasslands comprised of commercial farms The district municipality includes seven local municipalities: Dr Beyers Naudé, Blue Crane Route, Makana, Ndlambe, Sundays River Valley, Kouga and Koukamma.
NATIONAL FRESH PRODUCE MARKET The Market is the property of the City of Matlosana and was established in 1980 and it is ranked 8th out of 17 Fresh Markets in the country according to turnover. With five Market agents, the market supplies customers as far as Botswana, Kimberly and Vryburg.
Address: Cnr Braamfisher & OR Tambo Streets, Klerksdorp Tel: 018 487 8000/ 018 487 8800 Email: communications@ klerksdorp.org CityofMatlosanaUpdates @MatlosanaCom Cityofmatlosanamunicipal
