Vaalbank | |
|---|---|
  Vaalbank  Vaalbank | |
| Coordinates:25°9′20″S28°50′49″E / 25.15556°S 28.84694°E /-25.15556; 28.84694 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Mpumalanga |
| District | Nkangala |
| Municipality | Dr JS Moroka |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.04 km2 (1.56 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 12,814 |
| • Density | 3,170/km2 (8,210/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 98.9% |
| • Coloured | 0.2% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.6% |
| • Other | 0.3% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Northern Sotho | 58.0% |
| • S. Ndebele | 15.7% |
| • Tsonga | 7.0% |
| • Sotho | 6.2% |
| • Other | 13.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 0449 |
| PO box | 1055 |
| Area code | 013 |
Vaalbank (also known asLibangeni) is a small town some 102 kilometers northeast ofPretoria. The town is an important one inMpumalanga's northwestern end where the majority of the surrounding population is rural and does not haveinfrastructure. It overlooks theMkhombo Dam (formerly called the Renosterkop Dam) which is of agricultural importance in the region.
It is situated in theDr JS Moroka Municipality of theNkangala District.
The "Main Street" serves as a divide between the early Vaalbank that was set by theKwaNdebele government and the currentmulti-ethnic Vaalbank. The early Vaalbank was established to be an urbanresidential site for theNdebele population. But with the demise ofApartheid, the town became multi-ethnic andservices rendered were no longer of high quality. With this decline of quality services, the newer part of town became more of ashanty town with the exceptions of a few sections.
The town has significant populations ofNdebele,Pedi,Tswana,Tsonga andZulu people, whereas a minority ofVenda,Indian andChinese (primarilymerchants) people are also found.
The name is ofAfrikaans origin and means 'grey banks', most probably referring to the banks of the then RenosterkopDam.
The Ndebele population has a name for the town:Libangeni, although this name is never used in speech.
Municipalities and communities ofNkangala District Municipality,Mpumalanga | ||
|---|---|---|
District seat:Middelburg | ||
| Emalahleni | .svg) | |
| Steve Tshwete | ||
| Emakhazeni | ||
| Thembisile | ||
| Dr JS Moroka | ||
| Victor Khanye | ||