Laingsburg Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the southwestern region of the Central Karoo 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: | Central Karoo |
| Municipal code: | WC051 |
| Seat: | Laingsburg |
| Number of wards: | 4 |
| Total area: | 8,784 km² (3,392 square miles) |
| Population: | 11,366 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Amanda Kleinbooi |
About
Laingsburg Local Municipality is geographically situated in the southwestern part of the Central Karoo District Municipality.
Known as the heart of the Great Karoo, Laingsburg is a modern Karoo town located just 280 kilometres from Cape Town. The town lies in a geologically fascinating area, steeped in history and tradition.
Laingsburg Local Municipality covers an area of 8,784 km² (3,392 square miles) making it the second-largest local municipality in the Central Karoo District as it covers a quarter of its geographical area.
The municipality is divided into 4 wards.
The administrative headquarters/seat of Laingsburg Local Municipality is in Laingsburg.
Laingsburg Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Beaufort West Local Municipality to the northeast
- Prince Albert Local Municipality to the east
- Kannaland Local Municipality in the Garden Route District to the south
- Langeberg Local Municipality in the Cape Winelands District to the southwest
- Breede Valley Local Municipality in the Cape Winelands District to the west
- Witzenberg Local Municipality in the Cape Winelands District to the west
- Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality in Namakwa District Municipality of the Northern Cape to the north
The warm welcome that awaits tourists in Laingsburg, dates back to the mid-1700s. In those years farmers along the banks of the Buffels River offered hospitality to adventurers brave enough to cross the mountains and venture out onto the arid plains of the Great Karoo. In exchange for news of Cape Town and the civilized world, and gossip garnered from other farms along the way, these isolated farmers of the interior offered accommodation, sustenance, and fodder.
Many early officials and explorers, such as Barrow, De Mist, Lichtenstein, and Swellengrebel, wrote of the people they met in what was later to become the district of Laingsburg. They described the Karoo as “awesome, hot, dry, and dusty. An inhospitable land peppered with friendly outspans, veritable jewels in the desert.”
Laingsburg was almost entirely destroyed by a huge flood in 1981. Today, the town is a worthwhile and hospitable stop on the busy N1 highway through the Great Karoo.
Laingsburg is also accessible from all the major cities of the Western Cape, the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, the Free State, and Gauteng Province.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Laingsburg Local Municipality has a population of 11,366 residents, compared to 8,895 in 2016, and 8,289 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 3.06%.
According to the 2022 Census, 24.6% of the population is under the age of 15, 68.3% is between 15 and 64, and 7.1% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 87.5% of the population in Laingsburg Local Municipality describe themselves as Coloured, 7.6% as White, 3.5% as Black African, and 0.5% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 94.3% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 1.7% speak English, 1.2% speak isiXhosa, and 2.8% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Laingsburg Local Municipality are agriculture, community services, construction, and finance.
Municipal council and management
The Laingsburg municipal council is comprised of 7 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Four councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 4 wards, while the remaining 3 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, no party won a majority of seats on the council. The African National Congress (ANC) formed a coalition with the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and the Karoo Democratic Force (KDF) to govern Laingsburg Local Municipality.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – DA: 3 – ANC: 2 – KDF: 1 – PA: 1 |
| Controlling party | PA/ANC/KDF Coalition |
| Executive Mayor | Amanda Kleinbooi |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | Samuel Laban |
| Speaker | Mike Gouws |
| Chief Whip | Mike Gouws |
| Other Council Members | – Juliet Pieterse – Lindi Potgieter – Aletta Theron |
| Municipal Manager | Jafta Booysen |
| Chief Financial Officer | Alida Groenewald (Senior Manager: Finance and Corporate Services) |
| Senior Management | – Johanna Botha (Councillor) – Noeline Gouws (Manager: Corporate Services) – Neil Hendrikse (Manager: Community Services) – John Komanisi (Manager: Infrastructure) |
| Communications Officers | Arthur Abrahams |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Laingsburg Local Municipality.
- Laingsburg
- Matjiesfontein
Contact details
The contact details of Laingsburg Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | Private Bag X4, Laingsburg, 6900 |
| Physical address: | 2 Van Riebeeck Street, Laingsburg |
| Telephone: | 023 551 1019 |
| Fax: | 023 551 1019 |
| Email: | info@laingsburg.gov.za |
| Website: | www.laingsburg.gov.za |
