Langeberg Municipality (before 28 August 2009, Breede River/Winelands Local 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 2020 ...
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 countri ...
. As of 2011 it had a population of 97,724.
Its municipality code is WC026.
Geography
The municipality covers a land area of in the
Breede River Valley
Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Cape Winelands, B ...
and the west end of the
Little Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...
. The
Langeberg
The Langeberg Range is a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its highest peak is Keeromsberg at 2,075 m that lies 15 km northeast of the town of Worcester. Some of the highest peaks of the range are located just to ...
mountains run from northwest to southeast through the centre of the municipality, and the
Breede River
The Breede River ( af, Breederivier), also known as Breë River, is a river in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Travelling inland north from the city of Cape Town, the river runs in a west to east direction. The surrounding western mou ...
flows in the same direction south of the Langeberg. The
Riviersonderend Mountains
The Riviersonderend Mountains are a mountain range in the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape province of South Africa. They run east to west from Riviersonderend to Villiersdorp, separating the Breede River Valley from the Overberg region. They ...
form the southern boundary of the municipality and the
Koega Mountains form the northern boundary. It abuts on the
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 northwest, the
Laingsburg and
Kannaland Municipalities to the northeast, the
Swellendam Municipality
Swellendam Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. it had a population of 35,916. Its municipality code is WC034.
Geography
The municipality covers an area of around the lower Breede River Valley, fr ...
to the southeast, and the
Theewaterskloof Municipality
Theewaterskloof Municipality is a local municipality located within the Overberg District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, the population was 108,790. Its municipality code is WC031. The enormous Theewaterskl ...
to the southwest.
According to the
2011 census the municipality has a population of 97,724 people in 25,125 households. Of this population, 70.3% 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 ...
", 16.3% 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 ...
", and 12.3% 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 on ...
". 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 tongu ...
of 82.5% 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 10.7% 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 ...
, 3.1% 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 ide ...
and 1.3% speak
Sotho Sotho may refer to:
*Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana
* Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...
.
The largest town in the municipality is
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
, which as of 2011 has a population of 27,715.
Montagu (pop. 15,176) is situated on the northeastern side of the Langeberg at the entrance to the
Cogmanskloof gorge, while
Ashton (pop. 13,325), the site of the municipal headquarters, is situated on the other side of the mountains at the gorge's exit.
Bonnievale (pop. 9,092) is on the Breede River downstream from Robertson and Ashton, and
McGregor
McGregor may refer to:
People
* McGregor (surname)
* Clan MacGregor, a Scottish highland clan
* McGregor W. Scott (born 1962), U.S. attorney
Characters
* Mr. McGregor, a fictional character from Peter Rabbit
Places
in Canada:
* McGregor Lake ...
(pop. 3,125) is south of Robertson in the foothills of the Riviersonderend Mountains.
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, the area that is today the Langeberg Municipality formed part of the Breërivier Regional Services Council (RSC). The towns of
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
,
Montagu,
Ashton,
Bonnievale and
McGregor
McGregor may refer to:
People
* McGregor (surname)
* Clan MacGregor, a Scottish highland clan
* McGregor W. Scott (born 1962), U.S. attorney
Characters
* Mr. McGregor, a fictional character from Peter Rabbit
Places
in Canada:
* McGregor Lake ...
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 on ...
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 these towns were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils.
Nkqubela and
Zolani were governed by town councils established under the
Black Local Authorities Act, 1982
The Black Local Authorities Act of 1982 provided for the establishment of a series of local government structures similar to those operating in the South African Apartheid "White areas". For the first time under Apartheid, African black residents ...
.
While the
negotiations to end apartheid were taking place a process was established for local authorities to agree on voluntary mergers. In January 1993, the Municipality of McGregor and the McGregor Management Committee merged into a single municipal council.
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.
* Montagu TLC replaced the Municipality of Montagu and Montagu Management Committee in October 1994.
* Robertson TLC replaced the Municipality of Robertson, Robertson Management Committee and Nkqubela Town Council in November 1994.
* Ashton TLC replaced the Municipality of Ashton, Ashton Management Committee and Zolani Town Council in January 1995.
* Bonnievale TLC replaced the Municipality of Bonnievale and Bonnievale Management Committee in January 1995.
* McGregor TLC replaced the Municipality of McGregor in January 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 Breërivier District Council was established, replacing the Breërivier RSC. Transitional representative councils (TRCs) were also elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the District Council; the area that was to become Breede Valley Municipality was covered by the Wynland TRC.
At the
local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved and the Breede River/Winelands Municipality was established as a single local authority. At the same election the Breërivier District Council was 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 tow ...
. In 2009 it was renamed the Langeberg Municipality. When
District Management Area
In South Africa, District Management Area (DMA) was the name given to areas within a District municipality (South Africa), district municipality that did not fall within any Local municipality (South Africa), local municipality, and received muni ...
s were abolished in 2011, the boundary of the municipality was extended to include the sparsely populated region northeast of Montagu, which had formerly been part of a DMA.
Politics
The municipal council consists of twenty-three 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 ...
. Twelve 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 their ...
in twelve
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
, while the remaining eleven 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 no party won a majority of seats on the council. The DA then formed a majority coalition with the
Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include ab ...
(FF+) to govern the municipality.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
References
External links
Official websiteBreede River/Winelands Local Municipality on the Western Cape Government website
{{Municipalities of the Western Cape
Local municipalities of the Cape Winelands District Municipality