Bergrivier Local Municipality is a
local municipality in the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. It governs the towns of
Piketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...
(the seat of the municipal council),
Velddrif and
Porterville, as well as the surrounding villages and rural areas. it had a population of 61,897.
It is located within the
West Coast District Municipality
The West Coast District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC1. Moorreesburg is the seat of the district. As of 2011 it had a total population of 391,766.
Geograp ...
and has municipality code WC013.
Geography
The municipality covers an area of stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the
Groot Winterhoek Mountains in the east. Much of its southern border follows the
Berg River, while to the north it stretches as far as the Olifants River Mountains. The
Piketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...
mountain occupies the middle of the area. To the north it abuts on the
Cederberg Municipality, to the east the
Witzenberg Municipality, and to the south the
Drakenstein
The Drakenstein mountain opposite Simonsberg Mountain named after ex military man and Colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein is part of the Cape Fold Belt and are in the Western Cape pro ...
,
Swartland
The Swartland is a region of Western Cape Province that begins some north of Cape Town and consists of the area between the towns of Malmesbury in the south, Darling in the west, Piketberg in the north, Moorreesburg in the middle and the Riebee ...
and
Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay ( af, Saldanhabaai) is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local ...
Municipalities.
According to the
2011 census the municipality has a population of 61,897 people in 16,275 households. Of this population, 70.9% describe themselves as "
Coloured", 16.9% as "
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
", and 11.3% as "
Black African
Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...
". The first language of 90.7% of the population is
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
, while 3.8% speak
Xhosa
Xhosa may refer to:
* Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa
* Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people
See als ...
and 2.5% speak
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
The municipal headquarters are in the town of
Piketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...
, which is situated slightly north of the Berg River on the eastern slope of the mountain also known as the Piketberg. According to the
2011 census, Piketberg has a population of 12,075. The other principal towns in the municipality are
Velddrif (pop. 11,017) on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Berg River, and
Porterville (pop. 7,057) on the edge of the Groot Winterhoek Mountains.
There are smaller agricultural villages in the vicinity of Piketberg at
Goedverwacht (pop. 1,979) and
Wittewater
Wittewater is a town in Bergrivier Local Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located off the R399 road, between Piketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa ...
(pop. 848), and in the northern parts of the municipality at
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
(pop. 578),
Eendekuil
Eendekuil is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Situated 30 km (19 mi) north of Piketberg, the village was the terminus of the Cape Town railway until the end of the Anglo-Boe ...
(pop. 1,530), and
Redelinghuys (pop. 574).
Dwarskersbos (pop. 670) is a fishing village and coastal resort near Velddrif.
History
At the end of the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era, in the area that is today the Bergrivier Municipality there were municipal councils for
Piketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mount ...
,
Velddrif,
Porterville,
Eendekuil
Eendekuil is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Situated 30 km (19 mi) north of Piketberg, the village was the terminus of the Cape Town railway until the end of the Anglo-Boe ...
,
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
, and
Redelinghuys. These councils were elected by the
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
residents, while the
coloured residents of the towns were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils.
Dwarskersbos was governed by a local council, and the remaining rural areas were served by the West Coast Regional Services Council.
While the
negotiations to end apartheid were taking place a process was established for local authorities to negotiate voluntary mergers. Some towns in the Bergrivier took part in this process, which resulted in the municipalities merging with their respective management committees to form new non-racial municipalities: Piketberg and Aurora in August 1992, and Eendekuil in January 1993.
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.
* Porterville TLC replaced Porterville Municipality and Porterville Management Committee in October 1994.
* Piketberg TLC replaced Piketberg and Eendekuil Municipalities in December 1994.
* Velddrif TLC replaced Velddrif Municipality, Velddrif Management Committee and Dwarskersbos Local Council in October 1994.
* Redelinghuys TLC replaced Redelinghuys Municipality and Redelinghuys Management Committee in October 1994.
* Aurora Municipality was declared to be a TLC in October 1995.
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 Bergrivier Municipality included most of the Piketberg TRC.
At the
local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved and the Bergrivier Municipality was established as a single local authority incorporating both rural and urban areas. In 2006 the boundary of the municipality was extended slightly to take over a strip of land on the left bank of the Berg River adjacent to Velddrif, which had previously belonged to the
Saldanha Bay 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 a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
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 1 November 2021 the
Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of eight seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
References
External links
Official websiteBergrivier Local Municipality on the Western Cape Government website
{{Municipalities of the Western Cape
Local municipalities of the West Coast District Municipality