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The North West Province of South Africa is border by Gauteng and the Limpopo Province in the east, the Northern Cape in the west, the Free State in the south and shares an international border with the Republic of Botswana in the north. It is the sixth largest of the nine provinces in South Africa covering a total area of 116 320 kmē (approximately 9,5% of South Africa). The Province currently comprises of four district municipalities and 21 local municipalities.
The climate
of the Province is characterised by well-defined seasons with hot
summers and cool sunny winters. The climate and rainfall varies from
the more mountainous and wetter eastern region to the drier,
semi-desert plains of the Kalahari in the west. The rainy season
usually occurs from October to March.
Most of the Province (71%) falls within the Savanna Biome,
while the remainder falls within the Grassland Biome. There are four
major ecological zones in the Province: (i) the Highveld in the
South-east, (ii) the Bushveld in the north-east, (iii) the
Middleveld as a narrow zone between the Highveld and the Bushveld,
and (iv) the Kalahari desert in the west (see Map 18
).
The North
West Province has a total population of approximately 3,4 million
(8% of the national total) with some 65% of the population living in
rural areas. The more populated industrial centres include
Rustenburg, Brits and Ga-Rankuwa in the Bojanala district. Mafikeng
is the provincial capital and was the administrative centre of the
Bophuthatswana homeland (from 1978 to 1994). It was also the
governing centre of the British Bechuanaland Protectorate prior to
1960. Other major towns include Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp,
Lichtenburg, Ventersdorp and Vryburg.
The Province
is one of the poorest in South Africa with a provincial gross
geographic product (GGP) of R 3 964 per person, which is well below
the national average of R 6 498. The Gini coefficient, a measure of
income inequality, is above 0,6 in the Province, placing it amongst
the most unequal regions in the world. Rural poverty and rural-urban
income differences exacerbate social problems such as violence,
crime and HIV infection .The estimated unemployment rate is 38%,
slightly higher than the average in South Africa. Unemployment rates
amongst women is above 50%. Some 30% of the adult population is
illiterate, the highest figure among all provinces in South
Africa.
Mining forms the back-bone of the provincial economy which
contributed 42% to the GGP and 39% to the employment. The sector is
dominated by large platinum mines and smelters in Rustenburg area,
as well as the gold mines in the Orkney and Klerksdorp areas. Agriculture is the second-most important sector, contributed
13% of the GGP and 18% of employment. Crops such as maize, sunflower
and peanuts are extensively grown on the fertile plains of the
Central district, while cattle and game farming are prevalent in the
Bophirima district. Tourism is considered to have a major growth
potential as the Province is rich in variety of natural and heritage
and a network of well managed national and provincial parks and
nature reserves, which boast the "Big Five". For More..
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