Bigger metro is on the cards

THE size of Ekurhuleni metro will almost double when its boundary changes come into effect at the next local government elections in May 2016.

Three changes to the metro’s outer boundaries had been approved at the latest council meeting.

The biggest change is the incorporation of Lesedi Local Municipality on the southern and eastern borders of the metro.

The merger of Lesedi with Ekurhuleni will almost double the area of the municipality from about 20 000 square km to 37 000 square km.

Lesedi, a mainly agricultural area, has a population of about 99 000 people, which will be less than 0,01 per cent of Ekurhuleni’s 2,8 million residents.

The second change will be on the north-eastern side of Ward 91 (Birch Acres, Norkem Park and parts of Birchleigh North) where the informal settlement Sophiatown will be incorporated.

The third change will be Eastgate Shopping Centre on the western border becoming part of Ekurhuleni Metro. Another big shopping centre on the border of Ekurhuleni, Greenstone, situated in Edenvale, will remain part of the Johannesburg Metro.

At this stage it is not clear how the new outer boundaries will affect ward boundaries within Kempton Park.