Cederberg Local Municipality

Cederberg
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°15′S 19°00′E / 32.250°S 19.000°E / -32.250; 19.000Coordinates: 32°15′S 19°00′E / 32.250°S 19.000°E / -32.250; 19.000
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	West Coast
Seat	Clanwilliam
Wards	6
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	(ANC)
Area
• Total	8,007 km2 (3,092 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	49,768
• Density	6.2/km2 (16/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	12.7%
• Coloured	75.7%
• Indian/Asian	0.3%
• White	11.0%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Afrikaans	88.7%
• Xhosa	5.0%
• Sotho	2.5%
• English	1.9%
• Other	1.9%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	WC012

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.

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).

History[]

At the end of the apartheid era, in the area that is today the Cederberg Municipality, there were municipal councils for the towns of Clanwilliam, Citrusdal, Lambert's Bay, and Graafwater. These councils were elected by the white residents, while the coloured residents of the towns were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils. Rural areas fell under the West Coast Regional Services Council (RSC), while in Elands Bay there was a local council for white residents and a management committee for coloured residents under the authority of the RSC.

While the negotiations to end apartheid were taking place a process was established for local authorities to negotiate voluntary mergers. The four towns in the Cederberg area took part in this process, which resulted in the municipalities merging with their respective management committees to form new non-racial municipalities: Citrusdal in March 1992, Clanwilliam in April 1992, Lambert's Bay in June 1993, and Graafwater in January 1994.

After the national elections of 1994 a process of local government transformation began, in which negotiations were held between the existing local authorities, political parties, and local community organisations. As a result of these negotiations, the existing local authorities were dissolved and transitional local councils (TLCs) were created for each town and village. In January 1995 the municipalities of Clanwilliam, Citrusdal, and Lambert's Bay were replaced by TLCs, and Graafwater followed in the following month. Meanwile in December 1994 the Elands Bay local council and management committee were merged into the Piketberg TLC (the rest of which lies outside the Cederberg area).

The transitional councils were initially made up of members nominated by the various parties to the negotiations, until May 1996 when elections were held. At these elections the West Coast District Council was established, replacing the West Coast Regional Services Council. Transitional representative councils (TRCs) were also elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the District Council; the area that was to become Cederberg Municipality included the Clanwilliam TRC and parts of the Piketberg and Vanrhynsdorp TRCs.

At the local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved and the Cederberg Municipality was established as a single local authority incorporating both rural and urban areas. In 2011 the Cederberg Wilderness Area, previously a District Management Areas, was added to the municipality when District Management Areas were abolished.

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]

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:

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[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Cederberg Local Municipality on the Western Cape Government website