Bergrivier Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the southern interior of the West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B3 (small towns) |
| Province: | Western Cape |
| District: | West Coast |
| Municipal code: | WC013 |
| Seat: | Piketberg |
| Number of wards: | 7 |
| Total area: | 4,407 km² (1,702 square miles) |
| Population: | 70,276 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Ray van Rooy |
About
Bergrivier Local Municipality is geographically situated in the southern interior region of the West Coast District Municipality.
The municipality covers an area of 4,407 km² (1,702 square miles) making it the third-largest local municipality in the West Coast District as it accounts for 14% of the district’s geographical area.
Bergrivier Local Municipality stretches 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 Mountain occupies the middle of the area.
The municipality is divided into 7 wards.
Bergrivier Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Cederberg Local Municipality to the north
- Witzenberg Local Municipality in the Cape Winelands District to the east
- Drakenstein Local Municipality in the Cape Winelands District to the south
- Swartland and Saldanha Bay Local Municipalities to the south
- The Atlantic Ocean to the west
The administrative headquarters/seat of Bergrivier Local Municipality is in Piketberg, which is situated slightly north of the Berg River on the eastern slope of Piketberg Mountain.
Other principal towns in the municipality are Velddrif on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Berg River, and Porterville on the edge of the Groot Winterhoek Mountains.
There are smaller agricultural villages in the vicinity of Piketberg at the Moravian Church-owned towns of Goedverwacht and Wittewater and in the northern parts of the municipality at Aurora, Eendekuil, and Redelinghuys.
Other smaller towns in the municipality are Laaiplek which lies on the west side of Velddrif and Dwarskersbos, a fishing village and coastal resort near Velddrif.
Bergrivier Local Municipality is one of the top three best-run municipalities in the country, according to the Government Performance Index.
It has a zero-tolerance approach to corruption – its last clean audit exemplified honest spending and good management. In the war on drugs, this DA-led municipality has set up a Drug Action Committee, offering opportunities and support to communities.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Bergrivier Local Municipality has a population of 70,276 people, compared to 67,474 in 2016, and 61,897 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 1.23%.
According to the 2022 Census, 22.3% of the population is under the age of 15, 69.1% is between 15 and 64, and 8.6% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 72.8% of the population in Bergrivier Local Municipality describe themselves as Coloured, 15.4% as White, 10.3% as Black African, and 0.1% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 90.7% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 3.8% speak isiXhosa, 2.5% speak English, and 3% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Bergrivier Local Municipality are manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, fishing, wholesale and retail trade, catering, accommodation, finance, insurance, real estate, business services, general government, transport, storage, communication, community, social and personal services, electricity, gas, water, mining and quarrying.
Municipal council and management
The Bergrivier municipal council is comprised of 13 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 7 wards, while the remaining 6 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
In the local government elections of 1 November 2021, the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of eight seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – DA: 8 – ANC: 3 – GOOD: 1 – PA: 1 |
| Controlling party | Democratic Alliance |
| Executive Mayor | Ray van Rooy |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | Mario Wessels (Deputy Executive Mayor and Portfolio Chairperson: Community Services) |
| Speaker | Randall Swarts |
| Other Council Members | – Jakobus Daniels (Portfolio Chairperson: Financial Services) – Adriaan de Vries (Portfolio Chairperson: Technical Services) – Adam du Plooy (Chairperson: Corporate Services) |
| Municipal Manager | Hanlie Linde |
| Chief Financial Officer | Pieter Willem Erasmus |
| Senior Management | – Dean Josephus (Director: Community Services) – JWA Kotzee (Director: Corporate Services) – Denwin van Turha (Director: Technical Services) |
| Communications Officers | Matthew Sheldon (Head: Communications) |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Bergrivier Local Municipality.
- Aurora
- Dwarskersbos
- Eendekuil
- Goedverwacht
- Laaiplek
- Piketberg
- Porterville
- Redelinghuys
- Velddrif
- Wittewater
Contact details
The contact details of Bergrivier Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | PO Box 60, Piketberg, 7320 |
| Physical address: | 13 Church Street, Piketberg |
| Telephone: | 022 913 6000 |
| Fax: | 022 913 1406 |
| Website: | www.bergmun.org.za |
