Hessequa Local Municipality

Hessequa
Local municipality

Seal

Location of Hessequa Local Municipality within the Western Cape
Coordinates: 34°10′S 21°15′E / 34.167°S 21.250°E / -34.167; 21.250Coordinates: 34°10′S 21°15′E / 34.167°S 21.250°E / -34.167; 21.250
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Eden
Seat Riversdale
Wards 9
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Grant Riddles (DA)
Area
 • Total 5,733 km2 (2,214 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 52,642
 • Density 9.2/km2 (24/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 7.4%
 • Coloured 68.5%
 • Indian/Asian 0.4%
 • White 23.2%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 92.4%
 • English 3.6%
 • Xhosa 2.1%
 • Other 1.9%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC042

Hessequa Local Municipality (before 24 June 2005 the Langeberg Local Municipality) is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is flanked by the lower Breede River to the west and the Gourits River to the east. As of 2011 the population was 52,642.[2] Its municipality code is WC042. The name Hessequa, meaning "people of the trees", refers to the tribe of Khoikhoi people who used to live in the region.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 5,733 square kilometres (2,214 sq mi) between the Langeberg mountains and the Indian Ocean, stretching from the Breede River in the west to the Gourits River in the east. It abuts on the Swellendam Municipality to the west, the Kannaland Municipality to the north, the Oudtshoorn Municipality to the northeast, and the Mossel Bay Municipality to the east.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 52,642 people in 15,873 households. Of this population, 68.5% describe themselves as "Coloured"rem. red , 23.2% as "White", and 7.4% as "Black African". The first language of 92.4% of the population is Afrikaans, while 3.6% speak English and 2.1% speak Xhosa.[4]

The largest town in the municipality is Riversdale, which as of 2011 has a population of 16,176. Riversdale, which is the location of the municipal headquarters, is located on the Vet River close to the foothills of the Langeberg. Heidelberg (pop. 8,259) and Slangrivier (pop. 3,011) are to the west of Riversdale, while Albertinia (pop. 6,372) is to the east. Stilbaai (pop. 3,514) is on the coast south of Riversdale at the mouth of the Vet River, with Groot-Jongensfontein (pop. 355) and Melkhoutfontein (pop. 2,533) nearby. Witsand (pop. 321) is on the western edge of the municipality at the mouth of the Breede River, while Gouritsmond (pop. 515) is on the eastern edge at the mouth of the Gourits River.

Politics

The municipal council consists of seventeen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining eight 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 no party obtained a majority; the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) subsequently formed a coalition to govern the municipality.[5]

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

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
African National Congress 9,935 10,040 19,975 46.1 6 2 8
Democratic Alliance 8,808 9,590 18,398 42.5 3 5 8
Freedom Front Plus 987 1,115 2,102 4.9 0 1 1
Independent 1,359 - 1,359 3.1 0 0 0
Independent Civic Organisation 531 543 1,074 2.5 0 0 0
Economic Freedom Fighters 83 124 207 0.5 0 0 0
Civic Independent 40 140 180 0.4 0 0 0
Total 21,743 21,552 43,295 100.0 9 8 17
Spoilt votes 119 301 420

The local council sends two representatives to the council of the Eden District Municipality: one from the Democratic Alliance and one 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. ↑ "Hessequa Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  5. ↑ DA bags coalition deals in Prince Albert, Laingsburg and Beaufort West at the Wayback Machine (archived August 13, 2016)
  6. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Hessequa" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Hessequa" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.