Beaufort West Local Municipality

Beaufort West
—  Local municipality  —
Location of Beaufort West Local Municipality within the Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°21′S 22°35′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Central Karoo
Seat	Beaufort West
Wards	7
Government
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor (2012-02)	Jacobus van Wyk
Area
• Total	21,917 km2 (8,462 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	37,085
• Density	1.7/km2 (4/sq mi)
• Households	9,151
Racial makeup (2007)
• Black African	12.0%
• Coloured	79.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	8.9%
First languages (2001)
• Afrikaans	84.8%
• Xhosa	13.7%
• Other	1.5%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)
Municipal code	WC053
Website	beaufortwestsa.co.za

Beaufort West Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2001, the population is 37,107. Its municipality code is WC053.

Government

The mayor of the municipality is currently vacant. It is divided into seven wards, with a total of thirteen councillors.

Mayors

• Amos Piti
• Truman Prince
• Magnus Grant

Geography

The municipality has a total area of 16,334 km².

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:

Place	Code	Population	Most spoken language
Beaufort West	12401	24,728	Afrikaans
Kwa-Mandlenkosi	12402	5,953	Xhosa
Merweville	12403	1,143	Afrikaans
Remainder of the municipality	12404	5,288	Afrikaans

Adjacent municipalities

• Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality, Namakwa District Municipality, Northern Cape (northwest)
• Ubuntu Local Municipality, Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, Northern Cape (north)
• Camdeboo Local Municipality, Cacadu District Municipality, Eastern Cape (east)
• Baviaans Local Municipality, Cacadu District Municipality, Eastern Cape (southeast)
• Prince Albert Local Municipality (south)
• Laingsburg Local Municipality (southwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2001, there are 37,107 people and 8,993 households residing in the municipality. The population density is 2.27/km². The density of households is 0.55/km². The racial makeup of the municipality is 15.80% Black African, 73.20% Coloured, 0.12% Indian/Asian, and 10.88% White.

13.7% of all households are made up of individuals. The average household size is 4.13.

In the municipality the population is spread out with 32.1% under the age of 15, 18.5% from 15 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.4 males.

In the municipality 84.8% of residents speak Afrikaans at home, 1.0% speak English, 0.0% speak Ndebele, 13.7% speak Xhosa, 0.0% speak Zulu, 0.0% speak Northern Sotho, 0.2% speak Sotho, 0.0% speak Tswana, 0.0% speak Swati, 0.0% speak Venda, and 0.0% speak Tsonga. 0.1% of the population speaks a non-official language at home.

94.7% of residents are Christian, 3.8% have no religion, 0.1% are Muslim, 0.0% are Jewish, and 0.0% are Hindu. 1.5% have other or undetermined beliefs.

14.7% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 20.5% have had some primary school, 8.6% have completed only primary school, 33.4% have had some high school education, 17.5% have finished only high school, and 5.3% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 22.8% of residents have completed high school.

46.4% of housing units have a telephone and/or cell-phone in the dwelling, 47.0% have access to a phone nearby, and 6.6% have access that is not nearby or no access. 90.8% of households have a flush or chemical toilet. 85.7% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week and 0.3% have no rubbish disposal. 60.8% have running water inside their dwelling, 94.1% have running water on their property, and 99.4% have access to running water. 66.5% of households use electricity for cooking, 57.8% for heating, and 87.2% for lighting. 74.7% of households have a radio, 65.7% have a television, 6.3% own a computer, 62.3% have a refrigerator, and 22.3% have a cell-phone.

2.2% of the population aged 15-65 is unemployed. Of the unemployed persons, 23.6% are Black African, 74.8% are Coloured, 0.0% are Indian/Asian, and 1.6% are White. 20.2% of Black Africans are unemployed, 13.8% of Coloureds, 13.8% of Indians/Asians, and 2.0% of Whites.

The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is R 12 165 ($1,828). Males have a median annual income of R 14 337 ($2,155) versus R 9 084 ($1,365) for females. The median annual income by race is R 15 420 ($2,312) for Black Africans, R 8 658 ($1,301) for Coloureds, R 10 804 ($1,624) for Indians/Asian), and R 44 270 ($6,654) for Whites. The annual income distribution in Beaufort West Municipality is:

• No income 1.8%
• R 12 – R 4 800 ($2 - $721) 18.5%
• R 4 812 – R 9 600 ($723 - $1,443) 24.8%
• R 9 612 – R 19 200 ($1,445 – $2,886) 18.4%
• R 19 212 – R 38 400 ($2,888 - $5,772) 16.1%
• R 38 412 – R 76 800 ($5,774 - $11,543) 13.1%
• R 76 812 – R 153 600 ($11,545 - $23,087) 5.1%
• R 153 612 – R 307 200 ($23,089 - $46,174) 1.1%
• R 307 212 – R 614 400 ($46,176 - $92,348) 0.3%
• R 614 412 or more ($92 350+) 0.8%

Statistics South Africa Census 2001

External links

• http://www.beaufortwestsa.co.za