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 14
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor M Koen (DA)
 • Acting Municipal Manager G Smith
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-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fourteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in fourteen wards, while the remaining thirteen 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 3 August 2016 the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of seventeen seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[5][6][7]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 21,207 21,661 42,868 61.2 11 6 17
African National Congress 10,306 10,361 20,667 29.5 3 5 8
Economic Freedom Fighters 693 701 1,394 2.0 0 1 1
Saldanha Bay Residents Alliance 634 499 1,133 1.6 0 1 1
Khoisan Revolution 483 525 1,008 1.4 0 0 0
Independent 988 – 988 1.4 0 – 0
Freedom Front Plus 327 309 636 0.9 0 0 0
African Christian Democratic Party 213 238 451 0.6 0 0 0
National Democratic Party 210 133 343 0.5 0 0 0
Service to Our People's Party 142 144 286 0.4 0 0 0
Ubuntu Party 73 68 141 0.2 0 0 0
Cape Party 30 38 68 0.1 0 0 0
United Democratic Movement – 58 58 0.1 – 0 0
Nationalist Coloured Party 37 – 37 0.1 0 – 0
The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation – 23 23 0.0 – 0 0
Total 35,343 34,758 70,101 14 13 27
Valid votes 35,343 34,758 70,101 97.7
Spoilt votes 809 866 1,675 2.3
Total votes cast 36,152 35,624 71,776
Total voter turnout 36,212
Registered voters 56,767
Turnout percentage 63.8

The local council sends five representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: three from the Democratic Alliance and two from the African National Congress.[8]

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). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Voter Turnout Report: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Political composition of councils February 2017" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. February 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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