Country South Africa Seat Paarl Time zone SAST (UTC+2) Area 1,538 km² Black african population 22.7% Native english speakers 5.1% | Province Western Cape Wards 31 Municipal code WC023 White population 13.5% Native afrikaans speakers 75% | |
District Cape Winelands District Municipality Points of interest Drakenstein Correctional Centre, Afrikaans Language Monument, Fairview Wine and Cheese, Drakenstein Lion Park, Nederburg Wines (Pty) Ltd | ||
Drakenstein 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 251,262. Its municipality code is WC023.
Contents
Map of Paarl, South Africa
Geography
The municipality covers a total area of 1,538 square kilometres (594 sq mi) in the valley of the Berg River to the west of the Boland mountain ranges. It stretches about 75 kilometres (47 mi) from Saron in the north to beyond Paarl in the south. It abuts on the Witzenberg Municipality and Breede Valley Municipality to the east, the Stellenbosch Municipality to the south, the City of Cape Town and the Swartland Municipality to the west, and the Bergrivier Municipality to the north.
According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 251,262 people in 59,774 households. Of this population, 62.5% describe themselves as "Coloured", 22.7% as "Black African", and 13.5% as "White". The first language of 75.0% of the population is Afrikaans, while 16.7% speak Xhosa and 5.1% speak English.
The principal town and location of the municipal headquarters is Paarl, situated in the south of the municipality, which as of 2011 has a population of 112,045 people. Paarl is the southernmost part of a continuous built-up area along the Berg River which also includes Mbekweni (pop. 30,875) and Wellington (pop. 55,543). In the northern part of the municipality are the smaller towns of Gouda (pop. 3,441) and Saron (pop. 7,843).
Politics
The municipal council consists of sixty-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-one councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-one wards, while the remaining thirty 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 18 May 2011 the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of thirty-five seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.
The local council sends eight representatives to the council of the Cape Winelands District Municipality: five from the Democratic Alliance and three from the African National Congress.