Mossel Bay Local Municipality

Mossel Bay
Mosselbaai
Local municipality

Seal

Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 34°05′S 22°00′E / 34.083°S 22.000°E / -34.083; 22.000Coordinates: 34°05′S 22°00′E / 34.083°S 22.000°E / -34.083; 22.000
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Eden
Seat Mossel Bay
Wards 14
Government[1]
 • Type Municipal council
 • Mayor Marie Ferreira (DA)
Area
 • Total 2,011 km2 (776 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 89,430
 • Density 44/km2 (120/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 29.5%
 • Coloured 43.5%
 • Indian/Asian 0.5%
 • White 25.5%
First languages (2011)[3]
 • Afrikaans 67.6%
 • Xhosa 21.5%
 • English 6.5%
 • Sotho 1.3%
 • Other 3.1%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code WC043

Mossel Bay Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2011 the population was 89,430.[2]

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 2,011 square kilometres (776 sq mi) on the coastal plain between the Outeniqua Mountains and the sea. It stretches from the Gourits River in the west to beyond the Great Brak River in the east. It is drained by the Gourits, Hartenbos, Little Brak and Great Brak Rivers. It abuts on the Hessequa Municipality to the west, the Oudtshoorn Municipality to the north and the George Municipality to the east.

According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 89,430 people in 28,025 households. Of this population, 43.5% describe themselves as "Coloured", 29.5% as "Black African", and 25.5% as "White". The first language of 67.6% of the population is Afrikaans, while 21.5% speak Xhosa, 6.5% speak English and 1.3% speak Sotho.[4]

The principal town is Mossel Bay on the Cape St Blaize peninsula, which as of 2011 has a population of 59,031.[5] Northeast of Mossel Bay is a string of coastal resorts along the shores of the bay: Hartenbos (pop. 4,196), Little Brak River (pop. 2,037), Reebok (pop. 1,112), Tergniet (pop. 1,264) and Great Brak River (pop. 10,619). To the southwest of Mossel Bay are the smaller coastal villages of Boggomsbaai (pop. 69) and Vleesbaai (pop. 193). Herbertsdale (pop. 666), Brandwacht (pop. 1,470) and Friemersheim (pop. 1,235) are situated in the interior of the municipality closer to the mountains.

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fourteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in fourteen wards, while the remaining thirteen are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.

Marie Ferreira of the Democratic Alliance (DA) became executive mayor after the March 2006 local government elections when the DA formed a coalition with Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (ICOSA) since no single party had obtained an outright majority. The DA held 10 seats in the (then) 23-seat council followed by 8 for the African National Congress (ANC) and 3 for ICOSA. Following the September 2007 floor-crossing window the DA gained an outright majority when 3 councillors defected to the DA resulting in the DA holding 13 seats out of 23 while the ANC lost a seat to the DA and currently has 7. ICOSA lost its representation in the council when 2 councillors defected to the DA and its one ward councillor became an independent.

In the election of 18 May 2011 the DA won a majority of sixteen seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[6][7]

Party Votes Seats
Ward List Total % Ward List Total
Democratic Alliance 19,551 19,908 39,459 58.6 10 6 16
African National Congress 12,190 12,337 24,527 36.4 4 6 10
African Christian Democratic Party 825 719 1,544 2.3 0 1 1
Independent Civic Organisation 343 351 694 1.0 0 0 0
Congress of the People 293 321 614 0.9 0 0 0
Independent 327 – 327 0.5 0 – 0
United Democratic Movement 70 89 159 0.2 0 0 0
Total 33,599 33,725 67,324 100.0 14 13 27
Spoilt votes 309 201 510

The local council sends four representatives to the council of the Eden District Municipality: two from the Democratic Alliance and one each from the African National Congress and the African Christian Democratic Party.[8]

Mayors

Low crime rates

In 2007, crime figures revealed that Mossel Bay recorded the lowest in the country for crime figures. Between August 2006 and July 2007, there were no murders, hijackings, or business robberies. The low unemployment rate has been cited as a factor for the low crime rates.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Mossel Bay Local Municipality". Census 2011.
  5. ↑ Sum of the Main Places KwaNonqaba, Mossel Bay, Isinyoka and Asazani from Census 2011.
  6. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Mossel Bay" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Seat Calculation Detail: Mossel Bay" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "Political composition of councils" (PDF). Western Cape Department of Local Government. August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  9. ↑ "Mossel Bay the safest place to visit". IOL. 2000-07-12.
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