Swellendam Local Municipality


Swellendam Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. it had a population of 35,916. Its municipality code is WC034.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of around the lower Breede River Valley, from the confluence of the confluence of the Breede River and Sonderend River downstream to the Breede River mouth on the Indian Ocean. It also extends westwards up the Sonderend River and northwards across the Langeberg mountains into the Little Karoo around the Warmwaterberg. The municipality abuts on the Cape Agulhas Municipality to the south, the Theewaterskloof Municipality to the west, the Langeberg Municipality to the northwest, the Kannaland Municipality to the northeast and the Hessequa Municipality to the east.
According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 35,916 people in 10,139 households. Of this population, 68.8% describe themselves as "Coloured", 17.4% as "White", and 12.4% as "Black African". The first language of 85.1% of the population is Afrikaans, while 6.9% speak Xhosa and 4.7% speak English.
The principal town and location of the municipal headquarters is Swellendam, which as of 2011 had a population of 17,537. Suurbraak is situated east of Swellendam at the southern end of Tradouws Pass which cuts through the Langeberg, while Barrydale is at the other end of the pass on the edge of the Little Karoo. Buffeljagsrivier is situated southeast of Swellendam on the river of the same name. Malgas is located at a pontoon ferry on the Breede River, the last crossing of the river before it reaches the ocean. Infanta is situated at the mouth of the river on its southern bank.

Conservation areas

The most significant conservation areas are:
The municipal council consists of eleven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in six wards, while the remaining five 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 3 August 2016, the Democratic Alliance won a majority of six seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.
In a by-election held on 24 July 2019, the DA managed to win a ward from the ANC. The council was reconfigured as seen below:
The local council sends one representative, a member of the Democratic Alliance, to the council of the Overberg District Municipality.