Municipal engineers and local government in the Transvaal before 1910

Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Municipal engineers and local government in the Transvaal before 1910
 
Creator Mäki, Harri
 
Subject History; Engineering; Public Management Municipal history; civil engineering; water supply; sanitation; Transvaal; Benoni; Boksburg; Germiston; Heidelberg; Johannesburg; Klerksdorp; Krugersdorp; Pietersburg; Potchefstroom; Pretoria; Standerton; Volksrust
Description This paper examines the history of the first town engineers in the Transvaal before the Union. It will briefly examine the changes in local government in the Transvaal, focusing on municipal engineers. Examination is made of the selection processes applied in their appointments and the circumstances at the end of their tenures. It explores what was expected of municipal engineers during this period; shows what their position within the municipal structure was; and explains how vague their job description was in relation to their wide field of operation. The development of the engineer’s position in the municipal management hierarchy is interesting. He was an important figure in local government, had specific responsibilities and enjoyed specific powers. It emerges that most early town engineers had training via apprenticeship for the positions they held and that there was added pressure from elected councillors in municipalities who were prone to assiduously monitor how officials were spending public money.Keywords:Municipal history, civil engineering, water supply, sanitation, Transvaal,Benoni, Boksburg, Germiston, Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, Krugersdorp, Pietersburg, Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Standerton, Volksrust Disciplines:History, Engineering, Public Management
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2011-07-31
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/td.v7i1.258
 
Source The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa; Vol 7, No 1 (2011); 10 pages 2415-2005 1817-4434
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/258/235
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2011 Harri Mäki https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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