The Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the northern region of the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B2 (large town) |
| Province: | Northern Cape |
| District: | ZF Mgcawu |
| Municipal code: | NC087 |
| Seat: | Upington |
| Number of wards: | 17 |
| Total area: | 44,231 km² (17,078 square miles) |
| Population: | 125,744 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Dawid Kazi |
About
The Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality was established after the August 2016 local elections by merging the Mier and //Khara Hais local municipalities.
The municipality is named after Dawid Kruiper, a San traditional healer and leader of the ǂKhomani people in the Kalahari Desert.
The Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality is geographically located in the northern region of the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality.
The Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality covers an area of 44,231 km² (17,078 square miles), making it the largest of five local municipalities in the ZF Mgcawu District, as it accounts for almost half its geographical area.
The municipality comprises 17 wards, small towns, and the ǂKhomani San community within its jurisdiction.
The Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Kai !Garib and !Kheis Local Municipalities to the south
- Tsantsabane Local Municipality to the east
- Joe Morolong Local Municipality in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality to the east
- The Republic of Botswana to the north
- The Republic of Namibia to the west
The administrative headquarters/seat of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality is in Upington, about 400 kilometres west of Kimberley.
Upington has an airport and a landing strip. Natural boundaries provide a unique aspect to Upington – one being the Kalahari Desert and another is the Orange River, South Africa’s largest river, which it straddles.
Rietfontein, which is also an important town in the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality, is located approximately 280 kilometres northwest of the municipality’s big town of Upington.
The Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality is the recognised transport, educational, military, commercial, agricultural, medical, and tourism hub of the area.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality has a population of 125,744 people, compared to 107,161 in 2016 and 100,498 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 2.18%.
According to the 2022 Census, 28.6% of the population is under the age of 15, 65.3% is between 15 and 64, and 6% is over 65.
Economy
The main economic sectors of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality are tourism, agriculture, hospitality, manufacturing, business services, game farming, transport, community, personal, and social services.
Municipal council and management
The Dawid Kruiper municipal council is comprised of 33 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Seventeen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 17 wards, while the remaining 16 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 African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of 18 seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 18 – DA: 12 – EFF: 1 – KSR: 1 – VF PLUS: 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC |
| Executive Mayor | Dawid Kazi |
| Speaker | Melanie Dodds |
| Chief Whip | Siyabulela Dawid Dubeni |
| Other Council Members | – Marychen Andreas (Mayoral Committee Member) – Sandra Beukes (Mayoral Committee Member) – Salim Links (Mayoral Committee Member) – Elize Mnyaka (Mayoral Committee Member) – F Olifant (Mayoral Committee Member) – M Segede (Mayoral Committee Member) – Adam Visser (Mayoral Committee Member) |
| Municipal Manager | Elias Ntoba |
| Chief Financial Officer | Ruaan Strauss |
| Senior Management | – Gudlani Bovu (Director: Community Services) – C Geldenhuys (Director: Development and Planning) – Padwald Jonker (Director: Civil Engineering Services) – Carol Newman (Director: Corporate Services) |
| Communications Officers | Patrick Williams |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality.
- Askham
- Klein Mier
- Louisvale
- Noenieput
- Philandersbron
- Rietfontein
- Upington
Contact details
The contact details of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal Address: | Private Bag X6003, Upington, 8800 |
| Physical Address: | Civic Centre, Mutual Street, Upington, 8801 |
| Telephone: | 054 338 7000 |
| Fax: | 054 338 7350 |
| Website: | www.dawidkruiper.xyz |
