Time zone SAST (UTC+2) Area 1,109 km² Black african population 36.1% Native english speakers 15.4% | Wards 10 Municipal code WC048 White population 21% Native afrikaans speakers 51.2% | |
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Points of interest Brenton‑on‑Sea, Buffalo Bay, Knysna‑Amatole montane forests, Pledge Nature Reserve, Old Gaol ‑ Knysna | ||
Knysna Local Municipality is a municipality part of Eden District Municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2011 the population is 68,659. Its municipal code is WC048.
Contents
Map of Knysna, South Africa
Geography
The municipality covers an area of 1,109 square kilometres (428 sq mi) between the Indian Ocean and the Outeniqua Mountains around the town of Knysna. It abuts on the George Municipality to the north and west, and on the Bitou Municipality to the east.
According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 68,659 people in 21,893 households. Of this population, 40.9% describe themselves as "Coloured", 36.1% as "Black African", and 21.0% as "White". The first language of 51.2% of the population is Afrikaans, while 28.4% speak Xhosa and 15.4% speak English.
Most of the residents of the municipality live in the town of Knysna, which as of 2011 has a population of 51,078. Knysna is situated on the shores of the Knysna Lagoon; other coastal settlements are Sedgefield (pop. 8,361) and Buffelsbaai (pop. 71). Away from the coast are agricultural settlements at Rheenendal (pop. 3,936) and Karatara (pop. 880).
Politics
The municipal council consists of nineteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Ten councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in ten wards, while the remaining nine 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 won a majority of ten seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.
The local council sends two representatives to the council of the Eden District Municipality: one from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress.
History
Joy Cole was first elected mayor under the DA in December 2000 but defected in the September 2004 floor-crossing to become an ANC-aligned independent and reconstituted the council under ANC control. Cole formed a broad-based coalition of the ANC and DA after the March 2006 local government elections when neither party had obtained an outright majority. After Cole resigned in December 2006 to pursue another career, Doris Wakeford-Brown of the DA formed a multi-party coalition. This short-lived coalition collapsed in May 2007 when the Knysna Civic Alliance switched allegiances to the ANC, which brought Eleanore Bouw-Spies in as the new mayor. In the September 2007 floor crossing window the two civic party councillors defected to the ANC, giving the party an outright majority of 9 seats out of 16. Bouw-Spies' term as mayor ended when the DA won an absolute majority in the 2011 election.