Knysna Local Municipality

Knysna
Local municipality

Seal

Location of Knysna within the Western Cape
Coordinates: 34°00′S 23°00′E / 34.000°S 23.000°E / -34.000; 23.000Coordinates: 34°00′S 23°00′E / 34.000°S 23.000°E / -34.000; 23.000
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Eden
Seat Knysna
Wards 10
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies[2] (DA)
Area
 • Total 1,109 km2 (428 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
 • Total 68,659
 • Density 62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[3]
 • Black African 36.1%
 • Coloured 40.9%
 • Indian/Asian 0.4%
 • White 21.0%
First languages (2011)[4]
 • Afrikaans 51.2%
 • Xhosa 28.4%
 • English 15.4%
 • Other 5%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC048

Knysna Local Municipality is a municipality part of Eden District Municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2011 the population is 68,659.[3] Its municipal code is WC048.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 1,109 square kilometres (428 sq mi) between the Indian Ocean and the Outeniqua Mountains around the town of Knysna. It abuts on the George Municipality to the north and west, and on the Bitou Municipality to the east.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 68,659 people in 21,893 households. Of this population, 40.9% describe themselves as "Coloured", 36.1% as "Black African", and 21.0% as "White". The first language of 51.2% of the population is Afrikaans, while 28.4% speak Xhosa and 15.4% speak English.[5]

Most of the residents of the municipality live in the town of Knysna, which as of 2011 has a population of 51,078. Knysna is situated on the shores of the Knysna Lagoon; other coastal settlements are Sedgefield (pop. 8,361) and Buffelsbaai (pop. 71). Away from the coast are agricultural settlements at Rheenendal (pop. 3,936) and Karatara (pop. 880).

Politics

The municipal council consists of nineteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Ten councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in ten wards, while the remaining nine 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 won a majority of ten seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[6][7]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 11,736 11,844 23,580 50.5 5 5 10
African National Congress 8,764 9,111 17,875 38.3 4 3 7
Congress of the People 1,601 1,596 3,197 6.9 0 1 1
Independent 1,132 – 1,132 2.4 1 – 1
African Christian Democratic Party 353 360 713 1.5 0 0 0
Cape Party 104 61 165 0.4 0 0 0
Total 23,690 22,972 46,662 100.0 10 9 19
Spoilt votes 257 730 987

The local council sends two representatives to the council of the Eden District Municipality: one from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress.[8]

History

Joy Cole was first elected mayor under the DA in December 2000 but defected in the September 2004 floor-crossing to become an ANC-aligned independent and reconstituted the council under ANC control. Cole formed a broad-based coalition of the ANC and DA after the March 2006 local government elections when neither party had obtained an outright majority. After Cole resigned in December 2006 to pursue another career, Doris Wakeford-Brown of the DA formed a multi-party coalition. This short-lived coalition collapsed in May 2007 when the Knysna Civic Alliance switched allegiances to the ANC, which brought Eleanore Bouw-Spies in as the new mayor. In the September 2007 floor crossing window the two civic party councillors defected to the ANC, giving the party an outright majority of 9 seats out of 16. Bouw-Spies' term as mayor ended when the DA won an absolute majority in the 2011 election.

Mayors

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.knysna.gov.za/town-government/council/executive-mayor/
  3. 1 2 3 "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Knysna Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  6. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Hessequa" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Hessequa" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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