The BPDM is located within the one of South Africa’s nine provinces – The North West Province. Whilst the total land area of the North West province is 106 512 square kilometres or 8.7% of South Africa’s land area, the BPDM takes up 18 332 square kilometres or 17% of the provinces land area. According to the BPDM IDP 2007-2012, the BPDM is a Category C municipality that comprises of five Category B local municipalities viz:-

• Kgetlengrivier
• Moretele
• Mosses Kotane
• Madibeng, and
• Rustenburg

The BPDM is home to 1 185 027 people and 333 618 households with a total of 122 wards.

The table below provides a breakdown for the district:

Source: 2006/7 Reviewed Integrated Development Plan Volume 1 and as advised by the council.

• The population of the district that is less than 20 years accounts for more than 37%
• 40.7% of the economically active population in the district is unemployed
• 49% of the district’s households earns less than R800 per month and 67% earn less than R1600 per household.

According to available statistics, the total population growth of the District has decreased from around 2.27% in 1996 to 2% by 2002 with the highest population growth rate prevalent in the Rustenburg Local Municipality, ranging from about 5.4% in 1996 to a little over 4% in 2002. However, the annual population growth rate in the Moses Kotane and Moretele Local Municipalities has been less than 1% over the same period.

The BPDM Growth and Development Strategy 2005 – 2015 states that: “…the BPDM is the economic growth engine of the North West Province and contributes the vast majority of both total economic production and employment opportunities within the province. The performance of the economy within the district is thus crucial to achieving the overall growth and development targets of the entire province.”

The District’s economy as measured by Gross Value Added grew from a total output of +/- R12.2bn in 1996 to R18.3bn in 2003. The average economic growth rate of the district between 1997 and 2003 is estimated to have been around 6.7% annually. Available information suggests that year-on-year economic growth rates have fluctuated substantially, but in general has been significantly higher than the provincial and national averages.

The total estimated formal sector employment opportunities increased from 237 555 in 1996 to 244 636 by 2001(representing an increase of 3%) mainly due to the Mining, Retail Trade, and Financial and Retail Estate sectors. Decrease in formal employment includes Agriculture,

Manufacturing, Transport and Communication and the Community, Social and Personal sectors.

The Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (BPDM) is located within one of South Africa’s 9 provinces – The North West Province. The North West Province is in the North of South Africa on the side of the Botswana border along the Kalahari Desert in the West with Gauteng Province to the East and the Free State Province to the South. Because of the metal it has underground, the North West province is known as the Platinum Province. The key economic sectors in the district are:

Mining and quarrying industry in the province and certainly in the district remains the backbone of the district’s economic output. It is said 94% of the country’s platinum is found in the Rustenburg and Brits areas which areas are also said to produce more platinum than any other single area in the world.

Agricultural: activities account for 19% of the district’s land area and are mainly geared towards commercial dry-land farming, commercially irrigated farming and subsistence dry-land activities. Mixed-crop farming and in the areas of Rustenburg and Brits, maize and sunflower are in abundance in the District.

Manufacturing: This sector contributed an estimated R2.5bn to the GVA of the district by 2001 and has grown by about 6.6% between 1996 and 2001.

Tourism: 45% of all tourism establishments in the province are located within the BPDM. The District is home to the world-famous Sun City Complex.