Sasolburg

Sasolburgis the third largest city (after Bloemfontein, Welkom) within theMetsimaholo Local Municipalityin the far north of theFree Stateprovince of South Africa and is further sub-divided into three areas: Sasolburg proper, Vaalpark (a more affluent cluster of suburbs located about 5 km north of the Sasolburg CBD) and Zamdela (atownships).

Sasolburg city
Sasolburg city Sasolburg city Sasolburg city
Coordinates:26°48′51″S27°49′43″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Free State
District	Fezile Dabi
Municipality	Metsimaholo
Area
• Total	58.6 km2(22.6 sq mi)
Population (2023)
• Total	76,349
• Density	1,300/km2(3,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
•Black African	31%
•Coloured	1.6%
•Indian/Asian	1.0%
•White	66.1%
• Other	0.3%
First languages(2011)
•Afrikaans	64.0%
•Sotho	16.4%
•English	9.0%
•Zulu	2.8%
• Other	7.8%
Time zone	UTC+2(SAST)
Postal code(street)	1947
PO box	1947
Area code	016
Website	http://www.metsimahololoLocalMunicipality.gov.za

The city is located only 13km south of the province of Gauteng and forms part of theVaal Triangle(Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging, and Sasolburg) regions. It is only an hour's drive from Johannesburg. Mostwhiteresidents of Sasolburg speakAfrikaansas a first language, while most black people who live in Zamdela speakSesothoas afirst language.TheSasolcorporation has sponsored infrastructural developments in Sasolburg, such as an Olympic size swimming pool named afterPenelope Heyns.

History

The town was established in 1954 to provide housing and other facilities forSasolemployees. The initial installation (Sasol 1) was a pilot plant to refine oil from coal, due to the lack of petroleum reserves. The coal reserves of the country were and still are extensive. The political developments of the late 1960s and early 1970s (specifically the trade embargoes against theapartheidgovernment) made the operation of the pilot plant a priority to the government. Plans were made for a production plant to be built in theEastern Transvaalto produce approximately 25% of the national fuel requirements. The new town ofSecundawas built to house the construction and operations staff of what became known as SASOL 2 and SASOL 3 (Secunda CTL).

Sasol One was one of the first places to be designated as a National Key Point under theNational Key Points Act, 1980,which legislation protected areas so designated from "loss, damage, disruption or immobilisation (that) may prejudice the Republic".(now Sasolburg has the city called Amelia

Bombing

On 2 June 1980, Sasolburg was attackedbyUmkhonto we Sizwe(MK), theAfrican National Congress's (ANC) military wing.They bombed two strategically important SASOL (oil-from-coal) plants and an oil refinery.This event was depicted in the 2006 filmCatch a Fire.

Kader Asmal,founder of theIrish Anti-Apartheid Movement,claimed in his memoirs,Politics in my Blood,that the ANC had recruited volunteers from theProvisional Irish Republican Army(IRA) to do reconnaissance on the refinery.

The attack proved to be largely ineffectual in terms of sabotaging the manufacturing processes of the Sasol plant. However the propaganda impact of the attack was significant:the South African government presented the event as the result of a foreign,communist onslaughtagainst South Africa, and not a domestic reaction to the country's racial policies.Police MinisterLouis le Grangeclaimed that the then-exiledJoe Slovo,of the bannedSouth African Communist Party,was a key figure. Newspapers that supported the rulingNational Partyclaimed that, in fact,Muammar Qaddafihad masterminded the sabotage, and that Russians had been training terrorists inLibya.

October 1987 strike

On 1 October 1987, Sasol 1's management called in police and vigilantes to break up a workers’ strike resulting from a wage dispute. Over the following weeks, 77 workers died, and the 2 400 jobs were retrenched without their due compensation.The ex-workers took SASOL to court as result and, in 1989, theLabour Courtruled in favour of the ex-workers; however, as of 2014, they have yet to receive compensation. SASOL still denies responsibility and, as a result of the refinery's designation as a National Key Point, the actions taken against workers remain secret until today.

Demarcation riots

In January 2013, residents of Sasolburg's Zamdela township rioted in response to a demarcation proposal to incorporate Sasolburg into the neighbouringParys'sNgwathe municipality,believing that the merge would result in poorer service delivery and increased corruption.Police were unable to stop the violence, which involved assault, vandalism, and plundering, as they were outnumbered.

Geography

Sasolburg is at a high altitude with a fairly dry climate and large seasonal temperature variation. It is situated on the banks of theVaal River,which separates the Free State from the formerTransvaal Province,and is not far from theVaal Damwhere excellentwindsurfingspots can be found.

Government

Sasolburg is the seat of both theFezile Dabi District Municipalityand theMetsimaholo Local Municipalityof the northernFree State.

People from Sasolburg

• Mia le Roux,Miss South Africa 2024.

External links

• Official site
• Vaal Triangle Info
• Fighting for scraps in the Republic of Sasol(burg),Stephen Sparks,Mail & Guardian,21 January 2013

Media related toSasolburgat Wikimedia Commons