Swartland Local Municipality

Swartland Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Malmesbury is the seat of the municipality. As of 2016, it had a population of 133,762.[4] Its municipality code is WC015.

Swartland
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°20′S 18°40′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictWest Coast
SeatMalmesbury
Wards12
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorTijmen van Essen (DA)
Area
 • Total3,707 km2 (1,431 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total113,762
 • Density31/km2 (79/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African18.3%
 • Coloured64.8%
 • Indian/Asian0.5%
 • White15.6%
First languages (2011)
 • Afrikaans82.8%
 • Xhosa8.9%
 • English4.7%
 • Sotho1.5%
 • Other2.1%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeWC015

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 3,707 square kilometres (1,431 sq mi), stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Berg River in the east. To the south it abuts on the City of Cape Town, to the east the Drakenstein Municipality, and to the north the Bergrivier Municipality and Saldanha Bay Municipality.

According to the 2016 Stats SA Community Survey the municipality has a population of 133,762 people in 39,139 households. Of this population, 65.1% describe themselves as "Coloured", 15.7% as "Black African", and 18.6% as "White". The first language of 78.13% of the population is Afrikaans, while 12.34% speak Xhosa, 5.14% speak English and 1.20% speak Sotho.[5]

The principal town and seat of the council is Malmesbury, which is situated in the south-east of the municipality and has a population (according to the 2011 census) of 25,176.[6] Other large towns are Moorreesburg (pop. 12,877)[7] to the north, and Darling (pop. 10,420) to the west.[8] In the Riebeek Valley north-east of Malmesbury are the sister towns of Riebeek-Kasteel (pop. 4,761)[9] and Riebeek West (pop. 4,350).[10]

In the vicinity of Malmesbury there are the smaller villages of Abbotsdale, Chatsworth, Kalbaskraal and Riverlands, while in the vicinity of Moorreesburg are found the villages of Klipfontyn and Koringberg. Yzerfontein on the Atlantic coast is a fishing village and holiday town.

Economic Base

Malmesbury is the administrative centre of the Municipality and fulfils an important urban niche in the region and the province. Its high development potential can be attributed to factors such as its relative accessibility along the N7 road/rail corridor; closeness to Cape Town; diversified economic base, which not only accommodates agriculture but also well-developed industrial and commercial sectors; and supportive infrastructure. Malmesbury is home to a number of large companies, as well as regional offices of provincial and national government departments.

In 2016 the main contributors to the regional GDP were: Manufacturing (R1,689.0 million or 22.9%), wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation (R1,289.2 million or 17.5%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (R1,173.4 million or 15.9%) and general government (R851.0 million or 11.5%).

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twelve wards, while the remaining eleven 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 sixteen seats on the council.

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

PartyVotesSeats
WardListTotal%WardListTotal
Democratic Alliance 19,96920,41240,38170.411516
African National Congress 6,7246,96413,68823.9156
Economic Freedom Fighters 7657891,5542.7011
Cape Party 3743026761.2000
Independent 554–5541.00–0
Nationalist Coloured Party 294–2940.50–0
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 751402150.4000
Total 28,75528,60757,362121123
Valid votes 28,75528,60757,36298.8
Spoilt votes 2844247081.2
Total votes cast 29,03929,03158,070
Total voter turnout 29,046
Registered voters 49,185
Turnout percentage 59.1

The local council sends four representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: three from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress.[14]

References
  1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. "Provincial Profile Western Cape, 2016" (PDF). Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. "Swartland Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  6. Sum of the Main Places Mount Royal Golf & Country Estate, Wesbank, Malmesbury and Ilinge Lethu from Census 2011.
  7. Sum of the Main Places Moorreesburg and Rosenhof from Census 2011.
  8. Sum of the Main Places Nuwedorp and Darling from Census 2011.
  9. Sum of the Main Places Riebeek-Kasteel and Esterhof from Census 2011.
  10. Main Place Riebeek West from Census 2011.
  11. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Swartland" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  12. "Seat Calculation Detail: Swartland" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  13. "Voter Turnout Report: Swartland" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  14. "Political composition of councils February 2017" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. February 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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