Beaufort West Local Municipality

Beaufort West Local Municipality (Afrikaans: Beaufort-Wes Plaaslike Munisipaliteit) is a municipality located in Western Cape Province, South Africa. As of 2011 the population is 49,586.[2] Its municipality code is WC053.

Beaufort West

Beaufort-Wes
Local municipality
Seal
Location of Beaufort West Local Municipality within the Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°20′S 22°45′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictCentral Karoo
SeatBeaufort West
Wards7
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorJapie van der Linde (DA)
Area
 • Total21,917 km2 (8,462 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total49,586
 • Density2.3/km2 (5.9/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African16.3%
 • Coloured73.5%
 • Indian/Asian0.5%
 • White9.2%
First languages (2011)
 • Afrikaans84.3%
 • Xhosa10.7%
 • English2.5%
 • Other2.5%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeWC053

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 21,917 square kilometres (8,462 sq mi), making it the largest local municipality in the Western Cape and the sixth-largest in South Africa. It is located in the furthest northeastern part of the province in the Great Karoo. It abuts on the Karoo Hoogland Municipality to the northwest, the Ubuntu Municipality to the north, the Camdeboo Municipality to the east, the Baviaans Municipality to the southeast, the Prince Albert Municipality to the south and the Laingsburg Municipality to the southwest.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 49,586 people in 13,089 households. Of this population, 73.5% describe themselves as "Coloured", 16.3% as "Black African", and 9.2% as "White". The first language of 84.3% of the population is Afrikaans, while 10.7% speak Xhosa and 2.5% speak English.[3]

The main town in the municipality is Beaufort West, which as of 2011 has a population of 34,085.[4] Murraysburg (pop. 5,069)[5] is situated in the far east of the municipality. Nelspoort (pop. 1,699) is situated northeast of Beaufort West, while Merweville (pop. 1,592) is in the far west of the municipality.

Politics

The municipal council consists of thirteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seven wards, while the remaining six 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 no party obtained a majority; the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) won six seats each, and the Karoo Democratic Force (KDF) won the remaining seat. The DA and KDF formed a coalition to govern the municipality.[6]

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[7][8][9]

PartyVotesSeats
WardListTotal%WardListTotal
Democratic Alliance 7,6717,69915,37049.0%516
African National Congress 6,6826,56113,24342.2%246
Karoo Democratic Force 8257991,6245.2%011
Economic Freedom Fighters 2032274301.4%000
Freedom Front Plus 1131142270.7%000
Congress of the People 481201680.5%000
Pan Africanist Congress 61491100.4%000
Independent Civic Organisation 50511010.3%000
South African Religious Civic Organisation 3147780.2%000
Independent 24–240.1%0–0
Total 15,70815,66731,3757613
Valid votes 15,70815,66731,37598.9%
Spoilt votes 1561923481.1%
Total votes cast 15,86415,85931,723
Voter turnout 15,891
Registered voters 26,027
Turnout percentage 61.1%

The local council sends five representatives to the council of the Central Karoo District Municipality. As of February 2017 this delegation consisted of two councillors from the Democratic Alliance, two from the African National Congress, and one from the Karoo Democratic Force.[6]

Mayors

References
  1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. "Beaufort West Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  4. Sum of the Main Places Beaufort West, New Town, Kwa-Mandlenkosi and Rustdene from Census 2011.
  5. Sum of the Main Places Murraysburg and Rooivlakte from Census 2011.
  6. "Political composition of councils February 2017" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. February 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  7. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Beaufort West" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  8. "Seat Calculation Detail: Beaufort West" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  9. "Voter Turnout Report: Beaufort West" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
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