Draft Status Quo Report for the Pixley Ka Seme ... - SRK Consulting

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SRK Consulting in association with BKS Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality EMF – Draft Status Quo Report Page 45 • Lack of duty of care by same communities or taking precautions to prevent crime. 3.5.5 Education According to PKSLM IDP (2009/2010) there are 44 primary and secondary schools in the municipality. PKSLM does not have any tertiary institutions. The majority of the population has a basic education, but only 4% has received higher education (attending a college, technicon or university). Sixteen % of the population has received no education. Esterhuysen and Smith, 2006). The database of the SAHRA and the Archaeological Data Recording Centre at the National Cultural History Museum (NCHM) also do not list any Stone Age sites in PKSLM. This evidence may only indicate the lack of research in PKSLM as it is likely there are rock art sites in the high mountains close to Wakkerstroom. This is corroborated by Hofmeyr and Smith (2009) who indicate that rock art has been identified on the farms Rietvlei, Driefontein and Doornhoek and that San people settled close to Wakkerstroom during the 1500’s. 3.5.6 Cultural resources The legal context for conservation of cultural resources is provided mainly by the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) and NEMA. All cultural resources older than 60 years are potentially regarded as heritage and detailed studies would be required in order to determine whether these indeed have cultural significance. Factors to be considered include aesthetic, scientific, cultural and religious value of such resources. Map 30 represents those heritage sites considered significant in terms of Section 3(3) of the NHRA. The PKSLM has been inhabited by humans since Early Stone Age times. The relatively flat landscape with few trees would have meant that Stone Age people would probably not have settled here, although the good grazing may have encouraged hunting in the area. Cattle outposts are likely to have been situated in PKSLM during the Iron Age. During historical times, white farmers would also have settled in PKSLM due to good grazing available for their cattle (Van Vollenhoven, 2010). Stone Age The division for the Stone Age according to Korsman and Meyer (1999) is as follows: • Early Stone Age (2 million – 150,000 years ago); • Middle Stone Age (150,000 – 30,000 years ago); and • Late Stone Age (40,000 years ago – 1850 – A.D.). No important sites from the Early or Late Stone Age have been recorded in the study area (Inskeep, 1978; Willcocks, 1984; Phillipson, 1985; Mitchell, 2002; Iron Age Huffman (2007) divides the Iron Age as follows: • Early Iron Age (250 – 900 A.D.); • Middle Iron Age (900 – 1300 A.D.); and • Late Iron Age (1300 – 1840 A.D.). While no Early or Middle Iron Age sites have been identified in PKSLM, there are a large number of Late Iron Ages sites (Mitchell, 2006; Bergh, 1999; Phillipson, 1984; Inskeep, 1978, SAHRA database; NCHM database). Late Iron Age sites are the easiest of archaeological sites to identify as they usually contain a variety of stone walls and are situated against the slopes or on top of hills and mountains. In a band stretching from Wakkerstroom in the east to far within the boundaries of the Free State Province (including Volksrust) 823 sites have been identified. Map 30 provides approximate location of Late Iron Age sites. Remains of archaeo-metallurgy are not included in the finds, although iron ore was mined by prehistoric people in the PKSLM area (Inskeep, 1978). Late Iron Age people moved into the Highveld areas of Mpumalanga by the 12 th century (Esterhuysen and Smith, 2006). Huffman (2007) indicates that Iron Age people from the Maguga facies of the Kalundu tradition inhabited this area as early as 1100 A.D. During a recent survey in the Volksrust area some Late Iron Age stone walled sites were identified (A. Pelser, pers. comm.). Around 1,760 Swazi people settled at kwaMadlangampisi at the start of the Tshabalala dynasty (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). Today the Swazi’s remain the most dominant group in the area. KILI/BEAT G:\404946_PIXLEY EMF\7REPORTS\Status Quo report\Draft report\Draft status quo report, July 2010.docx July 2010
SRK Consulting in association with BKS Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality EMF – Draft Status Quo Report Page 46 The people that inhabited the southern parts of Mpumalanga before the 19 th century were the Bakgatla, Barolong, Bantwane, Bakone, Bakopa and Southern Ndebele communities (Makhura, 2006). The Eastern- Sotho, in this case consisting of the BaPai, inhabited an area close to modern day Swaziland during the 17 th century (Makhura, 2006). Historic period Due to factors such as population growth and a decrease in mortality rates, there have been more inhabitants during the recent historical past, and far more cultural heritage resources from this era remain on the landscape. None of the early trade routes in the interior of South Africa are known to have traversed the area of study (Bergh, 1999), although it is possible that secondary routes did pass through the south-east of Mpumalanga. It was therefore mainly the Swazi who inhabited the PKSLM area the beginning of the 19 th century (Makhura, 2006; and Mitchell, 2006). In 1800 Dingiswayo fled to Hlubi close to Wakkerstroom. He died in 1818 and his empire was taken over and strengthened by Shaka (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). During the Difaquane (1820-1837) the Ndebele of Mzilikazi moved through this landscape and some even settled here. The Phuthing fled to the south, while the Swazi moved to the north and west, therefore inhabiting the area (Bergh, 1999; and Bergh and Bergh, 1984). Remains of settlements of all three of these groups should be expected, although the Ndebele usually didn’t develop their own settlements but reused those of the people they conquered. White farmers only moved into south-eastern Mpumalanga after 1853 when the government of the South African Republic traded land from the Swazi. Wakkerstroom became a town and district shortly thereafter (Bergh, 1999). The town mainly served as market for local farmers (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). Volksrust was established in 1889 and Amersfoort in 1890. Missionaries also came to this part of the country during the 19 th century. The Dutch Reformed Church and the Hermannsburg Missionaries established mission stations at Volksrust and Wakkerstroom during this time (Bergh, 1999). During the Anglo-Transvaal War (1880-1881) the PKSLM area was the focus point of battles between the British and the Boers. The British had a camp in Wakkerstroom and were beleaguered by the Boers. Important battles fought during 1881 were at Laingsnek, Schuinshoogte and Amajuba in the Volksrust vicinity. Wakkerstroom cemetery has a commemorative stone for some of the British soldiers who died during this war as well as the Anglo-Boer War. The PKSLM also experienced action during the Anglo- Boer War (1899-1902). During the British offensive in 1900, Volksrust and Amersfoort were occupied. A battle occurred to the north of Volksrust as well as a skirmish at Kastrolsnek near Wakkerstroom (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). During this war, a concentration camp for the Boer woman and children was established in Volksrust by the British (Bergh, 1999). Monuments were erected at the town hall commemorating the women, children and soldiers who died during the Anglo-Boer War. 3.6 Resource economics The Resource Economics specialist report (Van Zyl, 2010) presents the key issues and findings related to this topic for PKSLM. Resource economics focuses on the use of environmental resources and trade-offs arising between different resource uses. It generally attempts to quantify uses and trade-offs in monetary terms as far as is possible and sensible. With regard to the existing state of the environment, resource economics commonly disaggregates the Total Economic Value (TEV) of a given environment into different types of values in order to better understand how the environment creates values and contributes to economic development (see Figure 3-5). KILI/BEAT G:\404946_PIXLEY EMF\7REPORTS\Status Quo report\Draft report\Draft status quo report, July 2010.docx July 2010
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