The community of Sebokeng is located in the mid-Vaal area (south of Johannesburg) of Gauteng province. Sebokeng is one of the oldest urban 'townships' in the area and was established under the apartheid regime as a home for workers servicing the large industrial plants in the area such as SASOL, ISCOR and later, SAMANCOR. In the early-mid 1980's Sebokeng was at the heart of what came to be known as the 'Vaal Uprising,' when residents rose up against the unjust and inequitable urbanization policies of the apartheid regime and began the Asinamali Campaign of boycotting payments of rates and services. Today, several hundred thousand people inhabit this large community. While some still work in the surrounding heavy industries and further away in the manufacturing and service industries in and around Johannesburg, many others living in the community have been retrenched (laid off) over the past several years as a result of industrial 'restructuring,' privatization and/or corporatization of former state-run industrial enterprises. Correspondingly, there has been a huge increase in the levels of general unemployment as well as those active in the local 'informal' economy. Basic service provision and housing is arguably better than in most smaller non-urban communities but remains highly uneven. This far-flung and populous community falls under the Lekoa-Vaal municipality and while the African National Congress (ANC) is the dominant political force in the area, there is also a long history of presence/activity by the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) as well as independent community organizations.