Beaufort West Local Municipality

Beaufort West
Beaufort-Wes
Local municipality

Seal

Location of Beaufort West Local Municipality within the Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°20′S 22°45′E / 32.333°S 22.750°E / -32.333; 22.750Coordinates: 32°20′S 22°45′E / 32.333°S 22.750°E / -32.333; 22.750
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Central Karoo
Seat Beaufort West
Wards 7
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Jacob Van Wyk
Area
 • Total 21,917 km2 (8,462 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 49,586
 • Density 2.3/km2 (5.9/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 16.3%
 • Coloured 73.5%
 • Indian/Asian 0.5%
 • White 9.2%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 84.3%
 • Xhosa 10.7%
 • English 2.5%
 • Other 2.5%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC053

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

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.[4]

The main town in the municipality is Beaufort West, which as of 2011 has a population of 34,085.[5] Murraysburg (pop. 5,069)[6] 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 18 May 2011 the African National Congress won a majority of seven seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[7][8]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
African National Congress 7,805 7,803 15,608 50.2 6 1 7
Democratic Alliance 6,421 6,335 12,756 41.0 1 4 5
Independent Civic Organisation 676 655 1,331 4.3 0 1 1
Congress of the People 182 661 843 2.7 0 0 0
National People's Party 208 170 378 1.2 0 0 0
Independent Congress 84 37 121 0.4 0 0 0
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 31 40 71 0.2 0 0 0
Total 15,407 15,701 31,108 100.0 7 6 13
Spoilt votes 462 138 600

The local council sends five representatives to the council of the Central Karoo District Municipality: three from the African National Congress and two from the Democratic Alliance.[9]

Mayors

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  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. ↑ "Beaufort West Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  5. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Beaufort West, New Town, Kwa-Mandlenkosi and Rustdene from Census 2011.
  6. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Murraysburg and Rooivlakte from Census 2011.
  7. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Beaufort West" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Beaufort West" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.

External links

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