Witzenberg Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the northern region of the Cape Winelands 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: | Cape Winelands |
| Municipal code: | WC022 |
| Seat: | Ceres |
| Number of wards: | 12 |
| Total area: | 10,753 km² (4,152 square miles) |
| Population: | 103,765 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Trevor Abrahams |
About
Witzenberg Local Municipality is geographically situated in the northern part of the Cape Winelands District Municipality.
Witzenberg Local Municipality was established on 22 September 2000. It is located about 150 kilometres northeast of Cape Town
Witzenberg Local Municipality covers an area of 10,753 km² (4,152 square miles), making it the largest local municipality in the Cape Winelands District as it makes up half of its geographical area.
The municipality is divided into 12 wards.
The administrative headquarters/seat of Witzenberg Local Municipality is in Ceres.
Witzenberg Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Breede Valley Local Municipality to the south
- Drakenstein Local Municipality to the southwest
- Bergrivier Local Municipality in the West Coast District to the west
- Cederberg Local Municipality in the West Coast District to the northwest
- Hantam Local Municipality in Namakwa District Municipality of the Northern Cape to the north
- Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality in Namakwa District Municipality of the Northern Cape to the northeast
- Laingsburg Local Municipality in the Central Karoo District to the east
Witzenberg Local Municipality is surrounded by three mountain ranges: the Witzenberg Range to the east, the Winterhoek Mountains to the north, and the Obiqua Mountains to the west.
The Witzenberg municipal area includes portions of three river systems, namely the Olifants River in the Agter-Witzenberg, the Long River (portion of the Doring River/Olifants River) in the Koue Bokkeveld, the Breë River in the Warm Bokkeveld and the Klein Berg River in Die Land van Waveren (Tulbagh, Wolseley and Wolseley is situated on a natural watershed.
There are approximately 12,400 properties (farms in Erven) in the area with more than 17,000 residential buildings and 1,400 informal structures. The population is approximately 73,000 inhabitants of which 18,800 are residents on farms and more than 6,600 in informal structures on unserviced properties.
Rural areas within Witzenberg Local Municipality are Agter-Witzenberg, Koue Bokkeveld, Warm Bokkeveld, and the northern part of Breede River Valley (Het Land van Waveren).
Witzenberg Local Municipality is one of the top ten best-run municipalities in South Africa according to the Government Performance Index.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Witzenberg Local Municipality has a population of 103,765 residents, compared to 130,548 in 2016, and 115,946 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of -1.08%.
According to the 2022 Census, 22.4% of the population is under the age of 15, 71.9% is between 15 and 64, and 5.7% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 63.7% of the population in Witzenberg Local Municipality describe themselves as Coloured, 26.8% as Black African, 7.9% as White, and 0.2% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 75.2% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 16.6% speak isiXhosa, 4.5% speak Sesotho, 2% speak English, and 1.7% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Witzenberg Local Municipality are agriculture, forestry, fishing, finance, insurance, real estate, business services, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, catering, accommodation, general government, transport, storage, communication, community, social and personal services
Municipal council and management
The Witzenberg municipal council is comprised of 23 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 11 wards, while the remaining 22 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.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | DA 9, ANC 7, GOOD 1, EFF 1, ICOSA 1, PA 1, VF PLUS 1, WA 1, WP 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC Coalition |
| Executive Mayor | Trevor Abrahams |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | Jonathan Nel |
| Speaker | Elizabeth Sidego |
| Chief Whip | n/a |
| Other Council Members | n/a |
| Municipal Manager | David Nasson |
| Chief Financial Officer | Cobus Kritzinger |
| Senior Management | – Ingrid Barnard (Human Resources Manager) – Joseph Barnard (Director: Technical Services) – Riaan Fick (Acting Manager: Local- Socio-Economic Development) – Adrian Hofmeester (Manager: IDP) – Charlotte Mackenzie (Manager: Municipal Housing) – Monwabisi Mpeluza (Director: Corporate Services) – Reginald Rhode (ICT Officer) – Hennie Taljaard (Manager: Municipal Planning and Building Control) |
| Communications Officers | Rowena Hendricks (Manager: Communication and Marketing) |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Witzenberg Local Municipality.
- Ceres
- Op-Die-Berg
- Prince Alfred Hamlet
- Tulbagh
- Wolseley
Contact details
The contact details of Witzenberg Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | PO Box 44, Ceres, 6835 |
| Physical address: | 50 Voortrekker Street, Ceres |
| Telephone: | 023 316 1854 |
| Fax: | 023 316 1877 |
| Email: | admin@witzenberg.gov.za |
| Website: | www.witzenberg.gov.za |
