Swartland Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the southernmost region 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: | WC015 |
| Seat: | Malmesbury |
| Number of wards: | 12 |
| Total area: | 3,707 km² (1,431 square miles) |
| Population: | 148,331 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Harold Cleophas |
About
Swartland Local Municipality is geographically situated in the southernmost part of the West Coast District Municipality and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Berg River in the east.
The municipality covers an area of 3,707 km² (1,431 square miles) making it the second-smallest local municipality in the West Coast District.
The municipality is divided into 12 wards.
Swartland Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Bergrivier Local Municipality to the north
- Saldanha Bay Local Municipality to the northwest
- Drakenstein Local Municipality in the Cape Winelands District to the east
- The City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality to the south
- The Atlantic Ocean to the west
The region’s administrative headquarters/seat and main infrastructure are based in Malmesbury, the principal town, which is situated in the southeast of the municipality, 70 kilometres north of Cape Town on the N7 National Route.
Other large towns are Darling to the west and Moorreesburg to the north.
In the Riebeek Valley northeast of Malmesbury are the sister towns of Riebeek West and Riebeek-Kasteel.
In the vicinity of Malmesbury, there are the smaller villages of Chatsworth, Abbotsdale, and Kalbaskraal while in the vicinity of Moorreesburg is found the village of Koringberg. On the Atlantic coast, there is a fishing village and holiday town of Yzerfontein.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Swartland Local Municipality has a population of 148,331 people, compared to 133,762 in 2016, and 113,762 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 2.58%.
According to the 2022 Census, 23.4% of the population is under the age of 15, 69.4% is between 15 and 64, and 7.2% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 64.1% of the population in Swartland Local Municipality describe themselves as Coloured, 18.3% as Black African, 15.7% as White, and 0.4% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 82.8% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 8.9% speak isiXhosa, 4.7% speak English, 1.5% speak Sesotho, and 2.1% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Swartland Local Municipality are manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, catering, accommodation, agriculture, forestry, fishing, finance, insurance, real estate, business services, transport, storage, communication, community, social and personal service.
Municipal council and management
The Swartland municipal council is comprised of 23 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 12 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 election of 1 November 2021, the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of 14 seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – DA: 14 – ANC: 5 – VF PLUS: 2 – EFF: 1 – GOOD: 1 |
| Controlling party | Democratic Alliance |
| Executive Mayor | Harold Cleophas |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | Anet de Beer |
| Speaker | Michael Rangasamy |
| Chief Whip | n/a |
| Other Council Members | – Desiree de Beer (Development Services and Mayco Member) – Cornelle O’Kennedy (Chairperson: MPAC) – Nicolene Smit (Municipal Manager, Administration and Finance, and Mayco Member) – Tijmen van Essen (Civil and Electrical Services and Mayco Member) – AK Warnick (Protection Services and Mayco Member) |
| Municipal Manager | Joggie Scholtz |
| Chief Financial Officer | Mark Bolton |
| Senior Management | – Olivia Fransman (Strategic Manager) – Philip Humphreys (Protection Services) – Jo-Ann Krieger (Development Services) – Thys Möller (Electrical Engineering Services) – Madelaine Terblanche (Corporate Services) – Louis Zikman (Civil Engineering Services) |
| Communications Officers | Mart-Marie Haasbroek |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Swartland Local Municipality.
- Abbotsdale
- Chatsworth
- Darling
- Grotto Bay
- Kalbaskraal
- Koringberg
- Malmesbury
- Moorreesburg
- Riebeek-Kasteel
- Riebeek West
- Riverlands
- Yzerfontein
Contact details
The contact details of Swartland Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | Private Bag X52, Malmesbury, 7299 |
| Physical address: | 1 Church Street, Malmesbury |
| Telephone: | 022 487 9400 |
| Fax: | 022 487 9440 |
| Email: | swartlandmun@swartland.org.za |
| Website: | www.swartland.org.za |
