The Siyancuma Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the northern region of the Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B3 (small towns) |
| Province: | Northern Cape |
| District: | Pixley Ka Seme |
| Municipal code: | NC078 |
| Seat: | Douglas |
| Number of wards: | 7 |
| Total area: | 16,753 km² (6,468 square miles) |
| Population: | 53,165 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Patrick Jacobus McKlein |
About
The Siyancuma Municipality was established on 4 December 2000 through a Section 12 Notice as published in the Extraordinary Northern Cape Provincial Government Gazette Number 562 Notice Number 30 of 2000 as published on 3 October 2000.
The municipality includes former Transitional Local Councils of Griekwastad, Douglas, and Campbell.
Siyancuma Local Municipality also includes the former Rural Councils of Hey and Herbert, which include areas like Malabar, Schmidtsdrift, Plooysburg, Vaallus, Heuningneskloof, Bucklands, Salt Lake, Belmont, Moosfontein, Witput, and Schaans.
Bucklands and Schmidtsdrift are two land restitution cases within our municipal area where the land belongs to the claimants and not to the municipality.
Known as a farming area, Siyancuma Local Municipality comprises 7 wards and is geographically located in the northern region of the Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality.
The Siyancuma Local Municipality covers an area of 16,753 km² (6,468 square miles), making it the third-largest of eight local municipalities in the Pixley Ka Seme District, as it accounts for 16% of its geographical area.
The Siyancuma Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Thembelihle and Siyathemba Local Municipalities to the south
- !Kheis Local Municipality in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality to the west
- Tsantsabane Local Municipality in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality to the west and north
- Kgatelopele Local Municipality in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality to the north
- Dikgatlong and Sol Plaatje Local Municipalities in the Frances Baard District Municipality to the north
- Letsemeng Local Municipality in the Xhariep District Municipality in the Free State Province to the east
The administrative headquarters/seat of the Siyancuma Local Municipality is in Douglas, a town situated near the confluence of the Orange and Vaal rivers – the two biggest rivers in South Africa.
The town of Griekwastad is known for its unending stream of underground water. There are submissions suggesting that the underground stream in Griekwastad is connected to the famous ‘EYE’ in Kuruman.
There are Tiger’s Eye as well as diamond deposits in the Griekwastad and Douglas areas respectively.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, the Siyancuma Local Municipality has a population of 53,165 people, compared to 35,941 in 2016 and 37,076 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 3.5%.
According to the 2022 Census, 29.3% of the population is under the age of 15, 64.8% is between 15 and 64, and 6% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 57.5% of the population in Siyancuma Local Municipality describe themselves as Coloured, 33% as Black African, 7.5% as White, and 0.7% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 90.5% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 5.1% speak Setswana, 1.3% speak English, and 3.1% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of the Siyancuma Local Municipality are mining and agriculture.
Municipal council and management
The Siyancuma 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 election of 1 November 2021, no party obtained a majority of seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 6 – DA: 3 – INDEPENDENT: 2 – EFF: 1 – VF PLUS: 1 |
| Controlling party | Hung Council |
| Executive Mayor | Patrick Jacobus McKlein |
| Speaker | Lemfvia van Niekerk |
| Chief Whip | Abel Oliphant |
| Other Council Members | – A Baardman Koaho (Exco) – Jouke van Bergen (Exco) |
| Municipal Manager | Faried Manuel |
| Chief Financial Officer | Charlene Zealand |
| Senior Management | – G Beukes (Senior Manager: Community Services) – PJE Bloem (Deputy Chief Financial Officer) – J Marwane (Corporate Services) |
| Communications Officers | – Margarette Adams – Jonathan Marwane (Corporate Manager) |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in the Siyancuma Local Municipality.
- Douglas
- Griekwastad (Griquatown)
- Campbell
- Schmidtsdrift
- Bucklands
- Vaallus
- Plooysburg
- Salt Lake
- Heuningneskloof
- Witput
Contact details
The contact details of the Siyancuma Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal Address: | P.O Box 27, Douglas, 8730 |
| Physical Address: | Civic Centre, Charl Cilliers Street, Douglas |
| Telephone: | 053 298 1810 |
| Fax: | 053 298 3141 |
| Email: | info@siyancuma.gov.za |
| Website: | www.siyancuma.gov.za |
