West Coast District Municipality

This article is about the municipality in South Africa. For other uses, see West Coast (disambiguation).
West Coast
Weskus
District municipality

Seal
The West Coast District Municipality is located along the western (Atlantic) coast of the Western Cape province, encompassing the area of the province north of Cape Town.
Location in South Africa
From north to south, the West Coast District Municipality contains the Matzikama, Cederberg, Bergrivier, Saldanha Bay and Swartland local municipalities
Local municipalities within the West Coast
Coordinates: 32°30′S 18°45′E / 32.500°S 18.750°E / -32.500; 18.750Coordinates: 32°30′S 18°45′E / 32.500°S 18.750°E / -32.500; 18.750
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
Seat Moorreesburg
Local municipalities
List
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Herbrecht Kitshoff (DA)
Area
 • Total 31,119 km2 (12,015 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 391,766
 • Density 13/km2 (33/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 16.4%
 • Coloured 66.6%
 • Indian/Asian 0.6%
 • White 15.7%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 83.7%
 • Xhosa 8.6%
 • English 4.0%
 • Sotho 1.3%
 • Other 2.4%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code DC1

The West Coast District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC1. Moorreesburg is the seat of the district. As of 2011 it had a total population of 391,766.[2]

Geography

The municipality, which covers an area of 31,119 square kilometres (12,015 sq mi), lies along the Atlantic coast of the Western Cape, extending approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south. It includes the coastal plain and is generally bounded on the east by the mountains of the escarpment, though in the case of the Cederberg mountains the border passes further to the east, along the Doring River, so that the mountains are included in the municipal area. The principal rivers in the area are the Berg River, which drains the southern part of the municipality, and the Olifants River, which drains the Cederberg and the northern part of the municipality.

The southernmost part of the district, adjacent to Cape Town, is known as the Swartland and is primarily a grain-farming area. The Berg River flows across the Swartland from its sources in the Boland mountains. On the coast west of the Swartland is the Cape Columbine peninsula, with a number of coastal holiday resorts as well as the ore-export harbour at Saldanha Bay. On the north the Swartland is bounded by mountains which separate it from the Olifants River Valley.

The upper valley of the Olifants is predominantly a citrus-farming region. The Cederberg mountains, much of which are a protected wilderness area, rise from the eastern bank of the river, while along the coast to the west are fishing and holiday villages. The Olifants river continues northwards until, on the edge of the Knersvlakte, it turns west towards the Atlantic. In the lower valley there is a narrow strip of lush agricultural land irrigated by the river's water. The Knersvlakte, which is part of the arid Namaqualand region, forms the northernmost part of the district.

The largest towns in the district are Vredenburg and Saldanha on the Cape Columbine peninsula, Malmesbury in the Swartland, and Vredendal in the Olifants River Valley. The district is divided into five local municipalities which are described in the following table.

Name Seat Population
(2011) 		Area
(km2) 		Density
(inhabitants/km2)
Matzikama[4] Vredendal 67,147 12,981 5.2
Cederberg[5] Clanwilliam 49,768 8,007 6.3
Bergrivier[6] Piketberg 61,897 4,407 14.0
Saldanha Bay[7] Vredenburg 99,193 2,015 49.2
Swartland[8] Malmesbury 113,762 3,707 30.7
Total 391,767 31,119 12.6

The district borders to the north and northeast on the Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province, to the southeast on the Cape Winelands District Municipality, and to the south on the City of Cape Town.

Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2011 Census.[9] Note that due to fuzzing applied to statistics, columns may not sum to exactly the indicated total.

First language

Language Population %
Afrikaans 311,829 83.7%
Xhosa 31,978 8.6%
English 14,828 4.0%
Sotho 4,668 1.3%
Tswana 2,358 0.6%
Sign language 1,146 0.3%
Zulu 833 0.2%
Ndebele 683 0.2%
Tsonga 448 0.1%
Venda 327 0.1%
Northern Sotho 322 0.1%
Swazi 206 0.1%
Other 3,043 0.8%
Total 372,669
Not applicable 19,099

Race

Race Population %
Coloured 260,850 66.6%
Black African 64,110 16.4%
White 61,527 15.7%
Indian or Asian 2,181 0.6%
Other 3,098 0.8%
Total 391,766

Gender

Gender Population %
Female 197,227 50.3%
Male 194,539 49.7%
Total 391,766

Age

Age group Population %
0–4 36,668 9.4%
5–9 31,859 8.1%
10–14 31,196 8.0%
15–19 32,431 8.3%
20–24 37,729 9.6%
25–29 36,832 9.4%
30–34 29,556 7.5%
35–39 28,855 7.4%
40–44 28,582 7.3%
45–49 24,805 6.3%
50–54 20,878 5.3%
55–59 16,299 4.2%
60–64 12,513 3.2%
65–69 8,944 2.3%
70–74 6,413 1.6%
75–79 4,158 1.1%
80–84 2,336 0.6%
85+ 1,078 0.3%
Total 391,766

Politics

The council of the West Coast District Municipality consists of twenty-four councillors, of whom ten are directly elected by party-list proportional representation, and fourteen are appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities: two each by Matzikama, Cederberg and Bergrivier, and four each by Saldanha Bay and Swartland. As of August 2012 there are fourteen councillors representing the Democratic Alliance (DA), nine representing the African National Congress (ANC), and one representing the Congress of the People (COPE).[10] The mayor is Harold Cleophas of the DA, and the deputy mayor is Jacob Josephus, also of the DA.[11]

The following table shows the detailed composition of the council.[10]

DA ANC COPE
Directly elected 6 4 0
Appointed by Matzikama 1 1 0
Appointed by Cederberg 1 1 0
Appointed by Bergrivier 1 1 0
Appointed by Saldanha Bay 2 1 1
Appointed by Swartland 3 1 0
Total 14 9 1

The following table shows the results of the election of the ten directly-elected councillors on 18 May 2011.[12]

Party Votes Vote % Seats
Democratic Alliance 54,774 56.3 6
African National Congress 34,243 35.2 4
Congress of the People 4,493 4.6 0
The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation 1,228 1.3 0
African Christian Democratic Party 891 0.9 0
Pan Africanist Congress 719 0.7 0
Liberal People's Party 312 0.3 0
Cape Party 230 0.2 0
South African Political Alliance 185 0.2 0
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 162 0.2 0
Total 97,237 100.00 10
Spoilt votes[13] 2,607

Mayors

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. ↑ "Matzikama Local Municipality". The Local Government Handbook. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Cederberg Local Municipality". The Local Government Handbook. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Bergrivier Local Municipality". The Local Government Handbook. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Saldanha Bay Local Municipality". The Local Government Handbook. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Swartland Local Municipality". The Local Government Handbook. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Census 2011 statistical tables accessible through Stats SA SuperWEB.
  10. 1 2 "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "West Coast District Municipality: Contact". Western Cape Government. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: West Coast" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "% Spoilt Ballots: Western Cape: All Municipalities" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
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