We Are Building a City: The Struggle for Self-Sufficiency in Lephalale Local Municipality - PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the Lephalale Local Municipality's efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and build a post-apartheid city following the 2006 announcement of Eskom's Medupi coal power station project. The research analyzes how the municipality navigates historical legacies of segregation and dependence on corporations like Exxaro and Eskom amidst rapid urban expansion.

• The 2006 announcement of the Medupi coal power station mega-project by Eskom led to a sudden influx of people and developments in Lephalale, which the semi-urban municipality was unprepared to manage. This growth highlighted the municipality's dependence on two major corporations, Exxaro and Eskom, and revealed unresolved historical legacies of segregation.
• The report investigates the Lephalale Local Municipality's attempts to establish self-sufficiency despite lacking ownership of land and basic service infrastructure. It explores how local governance is influenced by the interactions between government, party politics, private property owners, developers, and capital.

APA

-1, Phadi, M., & Pearson, J. (2018). We Are Building a City: The Struggle for Self-Sufficiency in Lephalale Local Municipality - PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/7221-2/

Chicago

-1, Mosa Phadi, and Joel Pearson. We Are Building a City: The Struggle for Self-Sufficiency in Lephalale Local Municipality - PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2018. https://pari.org.za/7221-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=-1 |last2=Phadi |first2=Mosa |last3=Pearson |first3=Joel |title=We Are Building a City: The Struggle for Self-Sufficiency in Lephalale Local Municipality - PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=12 April 2018 |url=https://pari.org.za/7221-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{12018are, author = {-1 and Phadi, Mosa and Pearson, Joel}, title = {{We Are Building a City: The Struggle for Self-Sufficiency in Lephalale Local Municipality - PARI | Public Affairs Research Institute}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://pari.org.za/7221-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }