Country South Africa Seat Laingsburg Time zone SAST (UTC+2) Area 8,784 km² Black african population 7% Native english speakers 1.7% Province Western Cape | District Central Karoo Wards 4 Municipal code WC051 White population 13.3% Native afrikaans speakers 94.3% Native xhosa speakers 1.2% | |
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Laingsburg Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2011 the population is 8,289. Its municipality code is WC051.
Contents
Map of Laingsburg, South Africa
Geography
The municipality covers an area of 8,784 square kilometres (3,392 sq mi) on the south-western edge of the Great Karoo. The southern edge of the municipality lies along the Anysberg and Swartberg mountains, while its northern edge is the provincial border with the Northern Cape. It abuts on the Beaufort West and Prince Albert Municipalities to the east, the Kannaland Municipality to the south, the Langeberg, Breede Valley and Witzenberg Municipalities to the west, and the Karoo Hoogland Municipality to the north.
According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 8,289 people in 2,408 households. Of this population, 79.0% describe themselves as "Coloured", 13.3% as "White", and 7.0% as "Black African". The first language of 94.3% of the population is Afrikaans, while 1.7% speak English and 1.2% speak Xhosa.
The principal settlement in the municipality is the town of Laingsburg, which as of 2011 has a population of 5,667. West of Laingsburg is the village of Matjiesfontein, population 422.
Politics
The municipal council consists of seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Four councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in four wards, while the remaining three 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 no party obtained a majority; the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress won three seats each, and the Congress of the People (COPE) won the remaining seat. The DA and COPE formed a coalition to govern the municipality.
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.
The local council sends one representative, a member of the Democratic Alliance, to the council of the Central Karoo District Municipality.