Swartland Local Municipality

Swartland
Local municipality

Seal
The Swartland Local Municipality is located on the West Coast of South Africa, just north of Cape Town.
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°20′S 18°40′E / 33.333°S 18.667°E / -33.333; 18.667Coordinates: 33°20′S 18°40′E / 33.333°S 18.667°E / -33.333; 18.667
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District West Coast
Seat Malmesbury
Wards 12
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Tijmen van Essen (DA)
Area
 • Total 3,707 km2 (1,431 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 113,762
 • Density 31/km2 (79/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 18.3%
 • Coloured 64.8%
 • Indian/Asian 0.5%
 • White 15.6%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 82.8%
 • Xhosa 8.9%
 • English 4.7%
 • Sotho 1.5%
 • Other 2.1%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC015

Swartland Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Malmesbury is the seat of the municipality. As of 2011, it had a population of 113,762.[4] Its municipality code is WC015.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 3,707 square kilometres (1,431 sq mi), stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Berg River in the east. To the south it abuts on the City of Cape Town, to the east the Drakenstein Municipality, and to the north the Bergrivier Municipality and Saldanha Bay Municipality.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 113,762 people in 29,324 households. Of this population, 64.8% describe themselves as "Coloured", 18.3% as "Black African", and 15.6% as "White". The first language of 82.8% of the population is Afrikaans, while 8.9% speak Xhosa, 4.7% speak English and 1.5% speak Sotho.[5]

The principal town and seat of the council is Malmesbury, which is situated in the south-east of the municipality and has a population (according to the 2011 census) of 25,176.[6] Other large towns are Moorreesburg (pop. 12,877)[7] to the north, and Darling (pop. 10,420) to the west.[8] In the Riebeek Valley north-east of Malmesbury are the sister towns of Riebeek-Kasteel (pop. 4,761)[9] and Riebeek West (pop. 4,350).[10]

In the vicinity of Malmesbury there are the smaller agricultural villages of Abbotsdale, Chatsworth, Kalbaskraal and Riverlands, while in the vicinity of Moorreesburg are found the villages of Klipfontyn and Koringberg. Yzerfontein on the Atlantic coast is a fishing village and holiday town.

Economic Base

Malmesbury is the administrative centre of the Municipality and fulfils an important urban niche in the region and the province. Its high development potential can be attributed to factors such as its relative accessibility along the N7 road/rail corridor; closeness to Cape Town; diversified economic base, which not only accommodates agriculture but also well-developed industrial and commercial sectors; and supportive infrastructure. Malmesbury is home to a number of large companies, as well as regional offices of provincial and national government departments.

In 2011 the main contributors to the regional GDP were: Finance, insurance, real estate and business services (33.7%), manufacturing (21.2%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (14.3%) and wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation (11%).

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twelve wards, while the remaining eleven are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 18 May 2011 the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of fifteen seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[11][12]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 16,146 16,212 32,358 64.2 11 4 15
African National Congress 6,978 7,078 14,056 27.9 1 5 6
Congress of the People 1,055 1,062 2,117 4.2 0 1 1
The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation 494 461 955 1.9 0 1 1
African Christian Democratic Party 333 261 594 1.2 0 0 0
Freedom Front Plus 156 137 293 0.6 0 0 0
Total 25,162 25,211 50,373 100.0 12 11 23
Spoilt votes 272 227 499

The local council sends four representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: three from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Municipal Fact Sheet, 2011" (PDF). Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Swartland Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  6. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Mount Royal Golf & Country Estate, Wesbank, Malmesbury and Ilinge Lethu from Census 2011.
  7. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Moorreesburg and Rosenhof from Census 2011.
  8. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Nuwedorp and Darling from Census 2011.
  9. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Riebeek-Kasteel and Esterhof from Census 2011.
  10. ↑ Main Place Riebeek West from Census 2011.
  11. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Swartland" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Swartland" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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