Oudtshoorn Local Municipality

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Oudtshoorn
Local municipality
Official seal of Oudtshoorn
Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Eden
Seat Oudtshoorn
Wards 13
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Wessie van der Westhuizen
Area
 • Total 3,537 km2 (1,366 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 95,933
 • Density 27/km2 (70/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 9.1%
 • Coloured 77.3%
 • Indian/Asian 0.3%
 • White 12.5%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 91.0%
 • Xhosa 4.8%
 • English 2.3%
 • Other 1.9%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC045

Oudtshoorn Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2011 the population was 95,933.[2]

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 3,537 square kilometres (1,366 sq mi) in the Little Karoo, stretching from the Swartberg mountains in the north to the Outeniqua Mountains in the south, and from the Gamkaberg in the west to the Kammanassie Mountains in the east. It abuts on the Prince Albert Municipality to the north, the George Municipality to the east, the Mossel Bay Municipality to the south, the Hessequa Municipality to the southwest and the Kannaland Municipality to the west.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 95,933 people in 21,910 households. Of this population, 77.3% describe themselves as "Coloured", 12.5% as "White", and 9.1% as "Black African". The first language of 91.0% of the population is Afrikaans, while 4.8% speak Xhosa and 2.3% speak English.[4]

Most of the residents of the municipality live in the town of Oudtshoorn, which as of 2011 has a population of 61,507.[5] East of Oudtshoorn are the towns of Dysselsdorp (pop. 12,544) and De Rust (pop. 3,566). There are small agricultural villages at Armoed (pop. 472) and De Hoop (pop. 151).

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirteen wards, while the remaining twelve 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 no party obtained a majority, with the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) winning eleven seats each. The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[6][7]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total  % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 13,471 13,587 27,058 46.2 6 5 11
African National Congress 12,362 12,499 24,861 42.4 7 4 11
Congress of the People 891 881 1,772 3.0 0 1 1
Independent Civic Organisation 868 853 1,721 2.9 0 1 1
National People's Party 658 658 1,316 2.2 0 1 1
African Christian Democratic Party 511 476 987 1.7 0 0 0
South African Progressive Civic Organisation 267 268 535 0.9 0 0 0
Freedom Front Plus 200 137 337 0.6 0 0 0
Total 29,228 29,359 58,587 100.0 13 12 25
Spoilt votes 380 357 737

The ANC formed a coalition with the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa and the National People's Party, which each hold one seat, to govern the municipality.[8] However, on 7 August 2013 a DA candidate won a by-election in a ward previously represented by an ANC councillor. This will give the DA-COPE coalition the 13 seats needed to control the council.[9]

The local council sends three representatives to the council of the Eden District Municipality: one each from the Democratic Alliance, the African National Congress and the Congress of the People.[8]

Coats of arms

Municipality (1) — The town council adopted the Van Reede van Oudtshoorn arms "with certain modifications" on 7 February 1908.[10] The arms were : Argent, two bars dancetty Sable (i.e. a silver shield with two black zig-zag stripes across it), with two golden gryphons as supporters. A golden mural crown was placed above the shield (this appears to have been the "modification").

File:Oudtshoorn CoA.png
Oudtshoorn coat of arms (1960)

Municipality (2) — The arms were re-designed in 1959 by Ivan Mitford-Barberton and H. Ellis Tomlinson, and granted by the College of Arms on 9 September 1960. They were registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in June 1961[11] and at the Bureau of Heraldry in October 1970.[12]

The changes to the design were the addition of a red chief bearing a golden mural crown to the shield; the addition of a crest consisting of a pair of black wings inside a golden ring; and each supporter was given an ostrich feather to hold.[11] [12] For some reason, the municipal council later changed the colours : the chief was changed to gold and the mural crown to red, the wings were changed to silver and the ring to red, and the gryphons were changed from gold to red. The registration at the Bureau does not appear to have been amended to reflect these alterations.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Sum of the Main Places Oudtshoorn, Bongolethu and Bridgeton from Census 2011.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Western Cape Archives : Oudtshoorn Municipal Minutes (7 February 1908).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette 3087 (23 June 1961)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 National Archives of South Africa : Data of the Bureau of Heraldry

External links

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