Saldanha Bay Local Municipality

Saldanha Bay Municipality is a local municipality located within the West Coast District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011 it had a population of 99,193.[2] Its municipality code is WC014.

Saldanha Bay

Saldanhabaai
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°00′S 18°15′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictWest Coast
SeatVredenburg
Wards14
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorM Koen (DA)
 • Acting Municipal ManagerG Smith
Area
 • Total2,015 km2 (778 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total99,193
 • Density49/km2 (130/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African24.5%
 • Coloured55.8%
 • Indian/Asian0.8%
 • White18.0%
First languages (2011)
 • Afrikaans72.5%
 • Xhosa16.4%
 • English6.6%
 • Sotho1.2%
 • Other3.3%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeWC014

Geography

The municipality covers a total area of 2,015 square kilometres (778 sq mi) which includes the West Coast Peninsula (also known as the Vredenburg Peninsula) and stretches southeast to include the West Coast National Park and the area around Hopefield. It abuts on the Bergrivier Municipality to the north and the Swartland Municipality to the east and south.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 99,193 people in 28,835 households. Of this population, 55.8% describe themselves as "Coloured", 24.5% as "Black African", and 18.0% as "White". The first language of 72.5% of the population is Afrikaans, while 16.4% speak Xhosa, 6.6% speak English and 1.2% speak Sotho.[3]

The seat of the municipality and its largest town is Vredenburg, which is situated in the center of the eponymous peninsula and according to the 2011 census has a population of 38,382. To the south of Vredenburg is the harbour town of Saldanha (pop. 28,142) on the edge of Saldanha Bay. There are several other fishing and holiday towns on the coast of the municipality: St Helena Bay (pop. 11,529) on the northern coast of the Vredenburg Peninsula, Paternoster (pop. 1,971) and Jacobsbaai (pop. 416) on the western coast of the peninsula, and Langebaan (pop. 8,297) on the opposite side of Saldanha Bay from Saldanha. In the interior of the municipality is the town of Hopefield (pop. 6,460) and the village and air force base at Langebaanweg (pop. 952).

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fourteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in fourteen wards, while the remaining thirteen 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 seventeen seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[4][5][6]

PartyVotesSeats
WardListTotal%WardListTotal
Democratic Alliance 21,20721,66142,86861.211617
ANC 10,30610,36120,66729.5358
Economic Freedom Fighters 6937011,3942.0011
Saldanha Bay Residents Alliance 6344991,1331.6011
Khoisan Revolution 4835251,0081.4000
Independent 988–9881.40–0
Freedom Front Plus 3273096360.9000
ACDP 2132384510.6000
National Democratic Party 2101333430.5000
Service to Our People's Party 1421442860.4000
Ubuntu Party 73681410.2000
Cape Party 3038680.1000
UDM –58580.1–00
Nationalist Coloured Party 37–370.10–0
The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation –23230.0–00
Total 35,34334,75870,101141327
Valid votes 35,34334,75870,10197.7
Spoilt votes 8098661,6752.3
Total votes cast 36,15235,62471,776
Total voter turnout 36,212
Registered voters 56,767
Turnout percentage 63.8

The local council sends five representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: three from the Democratic Alliance and two from the African National Congress.[7]

References
  1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. "Saldanha Bay Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  4. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. "Seat Calculation Detail: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  6. "Voter Turnout Report: Saldanha Bay" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. "Political composition of councils February 2017" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. February 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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