Cederberg Local Municipality

Cederberg Local Municipality is a local municipality which governs an area of the Western Cape province of South Africa stretching from the Cederberg mountains through the middle valley of the Olifants River to the Atlantic coast. It includes the towns of Clanwilliam, Citrusdal and Lamberts Bay, and the surrounding villages and farms. As of 2011 it had a population of 49,768.[2] It is located within the West Coast District Municipality and has municipality code WC012.

Cederberg
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°15′S 19°00′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictWest Coast
SeatClanwilliam
Wards6
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • Mayor(ANC)
Area
 • Total8,007 km2 (3,092 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total49,768
 • Density6.2/km2 (16/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African12.7%
 • Coloured75.7%
 • Indian/Asian0.3%
 • White11.0%
First languages (2011)
 • Afrikaans88.7%
 • Xhosa5.0%
 • Sotho2.5%
 • English1.9%
 • Other1.9%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeWC012

Geography
Topographic map of the Cederberg Local Municipality

The municipality covers a total area of 8,007 square kilometres (3,092 sq mi), stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Doring River in the east. The Olifants River flows from south to north through the center of the municipal area. The Cederberg mountains rise from the eastern bank of the river. To the west of the river are lower ranges of hills descending to the coastal plain. The municipality abuts on the Matzikama Municipality to the north, the Hantam Municipality to the east, and the Witzenberg and Bergrivier Municipalities to the south.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 49,768 people in 13,513 households. Of this population, 75.7% describe themselves as "Coloured", 12.7% as "Black African", and 11.0% as "White". The first language of 88.7% of the population is Afrikaans, while 5.0% speak Xhosa, 2.5% speak Sotho and 1.9% speak English.[4]

The principal towns of the municipality are Clanwilliam (pop. 7,674) and Citrusdal (pop. 7,177) in the Olifants River valley, and Lambert's Bay (pop. 6,120) on the coastline. There are smaller agricultural settlements at Graafwater (pop. 2,261) and Leipoldtville (pop. 298), and a coastal village at Elands Bay (pop. 1,525).

Politics

The municipal council consists of eleven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in six wards, while the remaining five 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) won a majority of seats on the council, defeating the ANC, which previously had a majority. DA lost this majority in 2018 and formed a coalition with the Alliance of Democratic Congress to retain control of the municipality.

On 26 June 2019, DA councillor Bertie Zass voted with the ANC to remove the DA-ADC coalition from power. The elected Executive Mayor was Sylvia Quinta with Mariaan Nell as the Deputy Executive Mayor. The appointed Speaker was Paul Strauss. They are all party members of the African National Congress. The ward Zass previously held automatically became vacant, because of his party defection.[5][6][7][8]

On 22 July 2019, the Western Cape High Court ruled that the elections of the ANC councillors to senior municipal positions were unlawful. The court ordered the reinstatement of DA Mayor William Farmer and ADC Deputy Mayor Francina Sokuyeka.[9]However, in a by-election held on 18 September 2019, the ANC won the vacant ward from the DA. The ANC now holds a majority in the council.[10]

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[11][12][13]

PartyVotesSeats
WardListTotal%WardListTotal
Democratic Alliance 8,4408,45516,89555.2606
African National Congress 5,5075,48310,99035.9044
Alliance of Democratic Congress 9128671,7795.8011
Alliance for Democratic Freedom 2212254461.5000
Economic Freedom Fighters 1231352580.8000
Coloured Voice 52561080.4000
Democratic New Civic Association 2732590.2000
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 38–380.10–0
The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation 320230.1000
Independent 6–60.00–0
Total 15,32915,27330,602100.06511
Valid votes 15,32915,27330,60298.8
Spoilt votes 1572073641.2
Total votes cast 15,48615,48030,966
Total voter turnout 15,505
Registered voters 24,931
Turnout percentage 62.2

The DA subsequently lost two seats to the African National Congress (ANC) in by-elections held on 12 December 2018[14], and 18 September 2019.[15] The council was reconfigured as seen below:

Party WardPR listTotal
Democratic Alliance 404
African National Congress 246
Alliance of Democratic Congress 011
Total 6511

The local council sends two representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: one from the ANC and one from the DA.[16]

References
  1. http://www.cederbergmun.gov.za/executive-mayor
  2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. "Cederberg Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  5. Rogue DA councillor resigns after helping ANC wrestle Cederberg local municipality from DA. Retrieved on 27 June 2019.
  6. Rogue DA councillor helps ANC take over Western Cape’s Cederberg municipality. Retrieved on 27 June 2019.
  7. ANC takes control of Cederberg Municipality, thanks to a DA councillor. Retrieved on 27 June 2019.
  8. Anger after 'unlawful' ANC motion removes DA's Cederberg mayor. Retrieved on 27 June 2019.
  9. Court removes ANC councillors as mayor, deputy mayor and speaker of Cederberg. Retrieved on 22 July 2019.
  10. Recent municipal ward by-elections result in losses for the DA. Retrieved on 19 September 2019.
  11. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Cederberg" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  12. "Seat Calculation Detail: Cederberg" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  13. "Voter Turnout Report: Cederberg" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  14. "The ANC ends off the year on a high note in competitive wards". Daily Maverick. 13 December 2018.
  15. ANC, FF Plus take ward each from DA as party loses support in key by-elections. Retrieved on 19 September 2019.
  16. "Political composition of councils February 2017" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. February 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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