Johannesburg

Government

Greater Johannesburg has a multilevel system of popularly elected local government that has been in place since November 1955 and has extended the boundaries of municipal government to include the surrounding black townships in the political process. At the highest level, there is the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Board, a metropolitan council that oversees the distribution of municipal resources. Next there are four local councils that handle city services within their communities. The local councils are divided into wards, each of which has its own

elected representative. In addition to voting for individual representatives from their wards, residents also vote for the party of their choice in elections for both the local and municipal councils.

Johannesburg is also the legislative capital of Gauteng Province (formerly called the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vaal triangle).