Cape Agulhas Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the southern region of the Overberg 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: | Overberg |
| Municipal code: | WC033 |
| Seat: | Bredasdorp |
| Number of wards: | 6 |
| Total area: | 3,471 km² (1,340 square miles) |
| Population: | 40,274 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Raymond Ross |
About
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality is geographically situated in the southern part of the Overberg District Municipality.
Cape Agulhas Municipality is Africa’s southernmost municipality. Its coastline is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans which meet at the most southern town in Africa, namely L’Agulhas.
The municipality is named after Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa. The largest town in the municipality is Bredasdorp, which is the seat of the municipal headquarters.
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality covers an area of 3,471 km² (1,340 square miles) making it the second-largest local municipality in the Overberg District as it makes up a third of the district’s geographical area.
The municipality is divided into 6 wards.
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Swellendam Local Municipality to the north
- Theewaterskloof Local Municipality to the northwest
- Overstrand Local Municipality to the west
- The Atlantic and Indian Oceans to the south
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality is home to the De Hoop Nature Reserve which lies about 3 hours from Cape Town.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Cape Agulhas Local Municipality has a population of 40,274 people, compared to 36,000 in 2016, and 33,038 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 1.92%.
According to the 2022 Census, 19.5% of the population is under the age of 15, 68.7% is between 15 and 64, and 11.8% is over 65.
A large percentage of the population falls within the economically active population (aged 15-65), but the unemployment rate in Cape Agulhas is still relatively high.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 60.9% of the population in Cape Agulhas Local Municipality describe themselves as Coloured, 23.4% as White, 12.6% as Black African, and 0.4% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 84.4% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 6% speak isiXhosa, 5.6% speak English, and 4% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Cape Agulhas Local Municipality are finance, insurance, real estate, business services, general government, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, catering, accommodation, construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing, community, social and personal services, transport, storage, and communication.
Municipal council and management
The Cape Agulhas municipal council is comprised of 11 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 6 wards, while the remaining 5 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
In the November 2021 local government elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) won a plurality of seats on the council, one short of a majority.
The DA then formed a majority coalition government with the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) to govern the Cape Agulhas Local Municipality.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – DA: 5 – ANC: 3 – DLRP: 2 – VF PLUS: 1 |
| Controlling party | DA/VF PLUS Coalition |
| Executive Mayor | Raymond Ross (Acting) |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | Karin Donald |
| Speaker | Derick Burger |
| Chief Whip | n/a |
| Other Council Members | – Janine August-Martinus (Ward 6) – Karin Donald (Committee Chairperson: Finance and ICT Committee) – Andries Eksteen – Dirk Jantjies (Committee Chairperson: Municipal Public Accounts Committee [MPAC]) – Renier Louw (Ward 3 Councillor) – Marthelene Matthysen – Raymond Mokotwana – Johan Nieuwoudt (Ward 4 Councillor) |
| Municipal Manager | Eben Phillips |
| Chief Financial Officer | Werner Jonker |
| Senior Management | – Marlene Boyce (Management Services) – Hendrik Krohn (Infrastructure Services) – Hannes van Biljon (Finance and Information Technology Services) |
| Communications Officers | Tracey Stone |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Cape Agulhas Local Municipality.
- Agulhas
- Arniston
- Bredasdorp
- Elim
- Klipdale
- L’Agulhas
- Napier
- Protem
- Struisbaai
- Suiderstrand
Contact details
The contact details of Cape Agulhas Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | PO Box 51, Bredasdorp, 7280 |
| Physical address: | 1 Dirkie Uys Street, Bredasdorp |
| Telephone: | 028 425 5500 |
| Fax: | 028 425 1019 |
| Email: | info@capeagulhas.gov.za |
| Website: | www.capeagulhas.gov.za |
