Langeberg Local Municipality


Langeberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011 it had a population of 97,724. Its municipality code is WC026.

Geography

The municipality covers a land area of in the Breede River Valley and the west end of the Little Karoo. The Langeberg mountains run from northwest to southeast through the centre of the municipality, and the Breede River flows in the same direction south of the Langeberg. The Riviersonderend Mountains form the southern boundary of the municipality and the Koega Mountains form the northern boundary. It abuts on the Breede Valley Municipality to the northwest, the Laingsburg and Kannaland Municipalities to the northeast, the Swellendam Municipality to the southeast, and the Theewaterskloof Municipality to the southwest.
According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 97,724 people in 25,125 households. Of this population, 70.3% describe themselves as "Coloured", 16.3% as "Black African", and 12.3% as "White". The first language of 82.5% of the population is Afrikaans, while 10.7% speak Xhosa, 3.1% speak English and 1.3% speak Sotho.
The largest town in the municipality is Robertson, which as of 2011 has a population of 27,715. Montagu is situated on the northeastern side of the Langeberg at the entrance to the Cogmanskloof gorge, while Ashton, the site of the municipal headquarters, is situated on the other side of the mountains at the gorge's exit. Bonnievale is on the Breede River downstream from Robertson and Ashton, and McGregor is south of Robertson in the foothills of the Riviersonderend Mountains.

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twelve wards, while the remaining eleven 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 obtained a majority of twelve seats.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.
The local council sends three representatives to the council of the Cape Winelands District Municipality: two from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress.