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Provinces & Metropolitan Municipalities
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Provinces
South Africa's nine provinces vary
substantially in size, wealth, geography,
ethnicity and population. Each has its own
premier, cabinet and legislature and all are
heavily dependent on central government
transfers for budget revenue (about 97%). Per
capita GDP ranges from R60,000 in Gauteng
to R19,000 in the Eastern Cape. Gauteng
(33.6%), KwaZulu-Natal (16.8%) and Western
Cape (14.3%) account for nearly two-thirds of
South Africa's GDP.

Metropolitan Municipalities
The constitution provides for three types of
local government: metropolitan, district and
local. Local authorities are responsible for
delivery of basic services and, like the provinces,
are heavily dependent on transfers from
national budget for operational and capital
expenditure. Local authorities increasingly
are playing an active role in the promotion of
investment and tourism within their areas.
These mega-cities are important economic
centres in their own right. They manage
huge capital investment programmes and
some have budgets larger than Swaziland
and Lesotho. Collectively, they account for
about half of GDP, over 30% of the country's
population and provide jobs for 45% of the
workforce. Johannesburg, alone, accounts for
more than 13% of the country's economic
activity. Wages, salaries and per capita
income are substantially higher in the metros
than in the smaller towns and rural areas.
Individually, the metros seek to promote
investment opportunities and tourism in their
- Cape Town
- Durban (eThekweni)
- Ekurhuleni (East Rand)
- Johannesburg
- Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth)
- Tswane (Pretoria)
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