Drakenstein Municipality is a
local municipality located within the
Cape Winelands District Municipality
The Cape Winelands District Municipality, formerly the Boland District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Boland region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011, it had a population of 787,490. The largest tow ...
, 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 202 ...
province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. it had a population of 251,262.
Its municipality code is WC023.
Geography
The municipality covers a total area of in the valley of the
Berg River
The Berg River (also called Great Berg River or in Afrikaans: Bergrivier) is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of 7,715 ...
to the west of the
Boland mountain ranges. It stretches about from
Saron
SARON stands for Swiss Average Rate Overnight and represents the overnight interest rate of the secured funding market for the Swiss Franc (CHF). (Swiss Average Rate Overnight) is an overnight interest rates average referencing the Swiss Franc ...
in the north to beyond
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
in the south. It abuts on the
Witzenberg Municipality
Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946.
Geography
The municipality covers an area of which include ...
and
Breede Valley Municipality
Breede Valley Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, it had a population of 166,825. Its municipality code is WC025.
Geography
The ...
to the east, the
Stellenbosch Municipality
Stellenbosch Local Municipality (also known as Stellenbosch Municipality) is the local municipality that governs the towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Pniel, and the surrounding rural areas, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It c ...
to the south, the
City of Cape Town
The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026.
The remo ...
and the
Swartland Municipality
Swartland Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Malmesbury is the seat of the municipality. As of 2016, it had a population of 133,762. Its municipality code is WC015.
Geography
The municipality cove ...
to the west, and the
Bergrivier Municipality
Bergrivier Local Municipality is a local municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It governs the towns of Piketberg (the seat of the municipal council), Velddrif and Porterville, as well as the surrounding villages and rural are ...
to the north.
According to the
2011 census the municipality has a population of 251,262 people in 59,774 households. Of this population, 62.5% describe themselves as "
Coloured
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
", 22.7% 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 ...
", and 13.5% 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 ...
". The
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...
of 75.0% 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 gr ...
, while 16.7% speak
Xhosa and 5.1% 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 ...
.
The principal town and location of the municipal headquarters is
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
, situated in the south of the municipality, which as of 2011 has a population of 112,045 people. Paarl is the southernmost part of a continuous built-up area along the Berg River which also includes
Mbekweni (pop. 30,875) and
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
(pop. 55,543). In the northern part of the municipality are the smaller towns of
Gouda (pop. 3,441) and
Saron
SARON stands for Swiss Average Rate Overnight and represents the overnight interest rate of the secured funding market for the Swiss Franc (CHF). (Swiss Average Rate Overnight) is an overnight interest rates average referencing the Swiss Franc ...
(pop. 7,843).
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 Drakenstein Municipality, the towns of
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
, and
Gouda were governed by municipal councils elected by their
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 ...
residents. The
coloured
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
residents of Paarl and Wellington were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils, while the former mission station of
Saron
SARON stands for Swiss Average Rate Overnight and represents the overnight interest rate of the secured funding market for the Swiss Franc (CHF). (Swiss Average Rate Overnight) is an overnight interest rates average referencing the Swiss Franc ...
was governed by a management board.
Mbekweni was governed by a town council established under the
Black Local Authorities Act, 1982. The northern area around Gouda and Saron, as well as an area around Du Toit's Kloof Pass, formed part of the Breërivier Regional Services Council (RSC); the rest formed part of the Western Cape RSC.
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 October 1994 the Gouda Municipality was merged with Tulbagh (in what is now
Witzenberg Municipality
Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946.
Geography
The municipality covers an area of which include ...
) under the Tulbagh TLC. In January 1995 the Paarl Municipality, Paarl Management Committee and Mbekweni Town Council were replaced by the Paarl TLC; and the Wellington Municipality and Wellington Management Committee were replaced by the Wellington TLC. In February 1995 the Saron Management Board was replaced by the Saron TLC. In the same month, the Western Cape RSC was reconstituted as the Winelands RSC after the Cape Town metropolitan area was removed from the jurisdiction of the RSC.
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 Breërivier and Winelands District Councils (DCs) were established, replacing the corresponding Regional Services Councils. Transitional representative councils (TRCs) were also elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the DCs; the area that was to become Drakenstein Municipality included much of the Paarl TRC (belonging to Winelands DC) and parts of the Witzenberg and Matroosberg TRCs (belonging to Breërivier DC).
At the
local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved and the Drakenstein Municipality was established as a single local authority. At the same election the two District Councils were also dissolved and replaced by the
Boland District Municipality
The Cape Winelands District Municipality, formerly the Boland District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Boland region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011, it had a population of 787,490. The largest t ...
.
Politics
The municipal council consists of sixty-five members elected by
mixed-member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
. Thirty-three 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 the ...
in thirty-three
wards, while the remaining thirty-two are chosen from
party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
s 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 thirty-six seats on the council.
The local council sends eight representatives to the council of the
Cape Winelands District Municipality
The Cape Winelands District Municipality, formerly the Boland District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Boland region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011, it had a population of 787,490. The largest tow ...
: five from the Democratic Alliance, two from the African National Congress, and one from the Economic Freedom Fighters.
See also
*
Drakenstein
*
Drakenstein Lion Park
Drakenstein Lion Park is a zoological park in Drakenstein, Western Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1998 to keep lions which could not be rehabilitated into the wilderness, and was meant to replace the now-defunct Tygerberg Zoo, which h ...
*
Local municipality (South Africa)
In South Africa, a local municipality ( tn, mmasepalaselegae; st, masepala wa lehae; nso, mmasepala wa selegae; af, plaaslike munisipaliteit; zu, umasipala wendawo; nr, umasipaladi wendawo; xh, umasipala wengingqi; ss, masipaladi wasekhay ...
*
Municipalities of South Africa
Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities ( tn, bommasepala; st, bomasepala; nso, bommasepala; af, munisipaliteite; zu, ngomasipala; Southern Ndebele: ''bomasipala''; xh, ngoomasipala; ss, bomasipala; ve, vhomasipala; ...
*
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
References
External links
Official websiteDrakenstein Local Municipality on the Western Cape Government website
{{Municipalities of the Western Cape
Drakenstein