Oudtshoorn Local Municipality

Oudtshoorn
Local municipality

Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°40′S 22°10′E / 33.667°S 22.167°ECoordinates: 33°40′S 22°10′E / 33.667°S 22.167°E
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Eden
Seat Oudtshoorn
Wards 13
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Gordon April
Area
 • Total 3,537 km2 (1,366 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 95,933
 • Density 27/km2 (70/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 9.1%
 • Coloured 77.3%
 • Indian/Asian 0.3%
 • White 12.5%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 91.0%
 • Xhosa 4.8%
 • English 2.3%
 • Other 1.9%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC045

Oudtshoorn Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2011 the population was 95,933.[2]

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 3,537 square kilometres (1,366 sq mi) in the Little Karoo, stretching from the Swartberg mountains in the north to the Outeniqua Mountains in the south, and from the Gamkaberg in the west to the Kammanassie Mountains in the east. It abuts on the Prince Albert Municipality to the north, the George Municipality to the east, the Mossel Bay Municipality to the south, the Hessequa Municipality to the southwest and the Kannaland Municipality to the west.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 95,933 people in 21,910 households. Of this population, 77.3% describe themselves as "Coloured", 12.5% as "White", and 9.1% as "Black African". The first language of 91.0% of the population is Afrikaans, while 4.8% speak Xhosa and 2.3% speak English.[4]

Most of the residents of the municipality live in the town of Oudtshoorn, which as of 2011 has a population of 61,507.[5] East of Oudtshoorn are the towns of Dysselsdorp (pop. 12,544) and De Rust (pop. 3,566). There are small agricultural villages at Armoed (pop. 472) and De Hoop (pop. 151).

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 no party obtained a majority, with the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) winning eleven seats each. The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[6][7]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 13,471 13,587 27,058 46.2 6 5 11
African National Congress 12,362 12,499 24,861 42.4 7 4 11
Congress of the People 891 881 1,772 3.0 0 1 1
Independent Civic Organisation 868 853 1,721 2.9 0 1 1
National People's Party 658 658 1,316 2.2 0 1 1
African Christian Democratic Party 511 476 987 1.7 0 0 0
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 267 268 535 0.9 0 0 0
Freedom Front Plus 200 137 337 0.6 0 0 0
Total 29,228 29,359 58,587 100.0 13 12 25
Spoilt votes 380 357 737

The ANC formed a coalition with the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa and the National People's Party, which each hold one seat, to govern the municipality.[8] However, on 7 August 2013 a DA candidate won a by-election in a ward previously represented by an ANC councillor. This will give the DA-COPE coalition the 13 seats needed to control the council.[9]

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

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Table: Census 2011 by district council, gender, age in 5 year groups and population group". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Table: Census 2011 by district council, gender, language and population group". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Oudtshoorn Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  5. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Oudtshoorn, Bongolethu and Bridgeton from Census 2011.
  6. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Oudtshoorn" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Oudtshoorn" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Coetzee, Cobus; Koyana, Xolani (8 August 2013). "DA ousts ANC in Oudtshoorn". Cape Times. Retrieved 22 September 2013.

External links