Saldanha Bay Local Municipality

Saldanha Bay
Saldanhabaai
Local municipality

Seal
The Saldanha Bay Local Municipality is located on the Cape West Coast Peninsula and around Saldanha Bay, on South Africa's West Coast in the Western Cape province, to the north of Cape Town.
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°00′S 18°15′E / 33.000°S 18.250°E / -33.000; 18.250Coordinates: 33°00′S 18°15′E / 33.000°S 18.250°E / -33.000; 18.250
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District West Coast
Seat Vredenburg
Wards 13
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor FJ Schippers (DA)
 • Municipal Manager LA Scheepers
Area
 • Total 2,015 km2 (778 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 99,193
 • Density 49/km2 (130/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 24.5%
 • Coloured 55.8%
 • Indian/Asian 0.8%
 • White 18.0%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 72.5%
 • Xhosa 16.4%
 • English 6.6%
 • Sotho 1.2%
 • Other 3.3%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC014

Saldanha Bay Municipality is a local municipality located within the West Coast District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011 it had a population of 99,193.[2] Its municipality code is WC014.

Geography

The municipality covers a total area of 2,015 square kilometres (778 sq mi) which includes the West Coast Peninsula (also known as the Vredenburg Peninsula) and stretches southeast to include the West Coast National Park and the area around Hopefield. It abuts on the Bergrivier Municipality to the north and the Swartland Municipality to the east and south.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 99,193 people in 28,835 households. Of this population, 55.8% describe themselves as "Coloured", 24.5% as "Black African", and 18.0% as "White". The first language of 72.5% of the population is Afrikaans, while 16.4% speak Xhosa, 6.6% speak English and 1.2% speak Sotho.[4]

The seat of the municipality and its largest town is Vredenburg, which is situated in the center of the eponymous peninsula and according to the 2011 census has a population of 38,382. To the south of Vredenburg is the harbour town of Saldanha (pop. 28,142) on the edge of Saldanha Bay. There are several other fishing and holiday towns on the coast of the municipality: St Helena Bay (pop. 11,529) on the northern coast of the Vredenburg Peninsula, Paternoster (pop. 1,971) and Jacobsbaai (pop. 416) on the western coast of the peninsula, and Langebaan (pop. 8,297) on the opposite side of Saldanha Bay from Saldanha. In the interior of the municipality is the town of Hopefield (pop. 6,460) and the village and air force base at Langebaanweg (pop. 952).

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirteen wards, while the remaining twelve 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.[5][6]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 15,937 17,270 33,207 57.3 9 6 15
African National Congress 8,479 9,271 17,750 30.6 3 5 8
Independent 3,109 – 3,109 5.4 1 – 1
Congress of the People 341 397 738 1.3 0 1 1
Service to Our People's Party 397 330 727 1.3 0 0 0
African Christian Democratic Party 228 236 464 0.8 0 0 0
Liberal People's Party 227 208 435 0.8 0 0 0
Local Government Party 233 198 431 0.7 0 0 0
The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation 172 171 343 0.6 0 0 0
United Democratic Movement 74 178 252 0.4 0 0 0
South African Political Alliance 110 79 189 0.3 0 0 0
National People's Party 70 81 151 0.3 0 0 0
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 59 75 134 0.2 0 0 0
Cape Party – 57 57 0.1 – 0 0
Total 29,436 28,551 57,987 100.0 13 12 25
Spoilt votes 445 1,371 1,816

The local council sends four representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: two from the Democratic Alliance and one each from the African National Congress and the Congress of the People.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Saldanha Bay Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  5. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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