Bitou Local Municipality

Bitou Local Municipality
Municipality
Location of Bitou Local Municipality within the Western Cape
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape Province
District municipality	Eden District Municipality
Seat	Plettenberg Bay
Government
• Mayor	Memory Booysen (DA)
Area
• Total	991 km2 (383 sq mi)
Population
• Total	29,149
• Density	29.41/km2 (76.2/sq mi)
• Households	8,756
• Households density	8.84/km2 (22.9/sq mi)
Racial makeup
• Black	37.95%
• Coloured	40.25%
• Indian/Asian	0.31%
• White	21.50%
Languages
Time zone	UTC+02 (SAST)
Municipal code	WC047
Website	plett.gov.za

Bitou Local Municipality (formerly known as Plettenberg Bay Municipality) is a municipality part of Eden District Municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of 2001, its population is 29,149. Its municipality code is WC047.

Government

The executive mayor of the municipality is Memory Booysen of the DA. The local government elections in May 2011 resulted in a hung council for Bitou municipality (Plettenberg Bay and surrounds), which had previously been governed by the ANC. Of 13 council members, six were from the ANC, six from the DA, and one from Cope. The DA's coalition agreement with Cope meant that a DA/Cope-led council was formed. This municipality has been dogged by mismanagement, service delivery problems as well as corruption involving a former city manager appointed by former Euan Vernon Wells Wildeman who was replaced by Mvimbi (who was the former executive mayor of Eden District Municipality) in March 2006. Formerly known as Plettenberg Bay, the Bitou Local Municipality has been an ANC stronghold since the first multi-racial local government elections in April 1994.

It is divided into six wards, with a total of eleven councillors.

Geography

The municipality has a total area of 991 km².

Main places

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

Place	Code	Population
Bloukrans State Forest	12001	63
Harkerville State Forest	12002	269
Keurboomsrivier	12003	186
Keurboomstrand	12004	45
Klein Palmietrivier State Forest	12005	6
Kranshoek	12006	2,046
Kurland Estate	12007	2,714
Kwanokuthula	12008	7,858
Nature's Valley	12009	126
New Horizons	12010	2,045
Plettenberg Bay	12011	8,657
Wittedrift	12012	1,284
Remainder of the municipality	12013	3,865

Adjacent municipalities

• Knysna Local Municipality (west)
• George Local Municipality (northwest)
• Kou-Kamma Local Municipality, Cacadu District Municipality, Eastern Cape (east)

The municipality also borders the Indian Ocean on the south.

Demographics

As of the census of 2001, there are 29,149 people and 8,756 households residing in the municipality. The population density is 29.41/km². The density of households is 8.84/km². The racial makeup of the municipality is Black African 37.95%, Coloured 40.25%, Indian/Asian 0.31%, and White 21.50%.

20.4% of all households are made up of individuals. The average household size is 3.33.

In the municipality the population is spread out with 26.1% under the age of 15, 18.1% from 15 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.6 males.

In the municipality 49.3% of residents speak Afrikaans at home, 14.1% speak English, 0.0% speak Ndebele, 35.4% speak Xhosa, 0.3% speak Zulu, 0.0% speak Northern Sotho, 0.4% speak Sotho, 0.1% speak Tswana, 0.0% speak Swati, 0.0% speak Venda, and 0.0% speak Tsonga. 0.3% of the population speaks a non-official language at home.

83.7% of residents are Christian, 12.1% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 0.5% are Jewish, and 0.0% are Hindu. 3.5% have other or undetermined beliefs.

7.1% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 17.4% have had some primary school, 8.0% have completed only primary school, 32.3% have had some high school education, 24.0% have finished only high school, and 11.2% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 35.2% of residents have completed high school.

51.2% of housing units have a telephone and/or cell-phone in the dwelling, 43.5% have access to a phone nearby, and 5.3% have access that is not nearby or no access. 83.1% of households have a flush or chemical toilet. 86.7% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week and 1.9% have no rubbish disposal. 47.2% have running water inside their dwelling, 79.9% have running water on their property, and 84.7% have access to running water. 61.5% of households use electricity for cooking, 61.5% for heating, and 80.8% for lighting. 77.9% of households have a radio, 59.1% have a television, 13.7% own a computer, 59.4% have a refrigerator, and 36.8% have a cell-phone.

18.4% of the population aged 15-65 is unemployed. Of the unemployed persons, 70.4% are Black African, 26.6% are Coloured, 0.2% are Indian/Asian, and 2.8% are White. 32.1% of Black Africans are unemployed, 12.8% of Coloureds, 10.6% of Indians/Asians, and 2.5% of Whites.

The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is R 13 541 ($2,032). Males have a median annual income of R 14 366 ($2,155) versus R 12 051 ($1,808) for females. The median annual income by race is R 9 567 ($1,435) for Black Africans, R 12 167 ($1,826) for Coloureds, R 32 679 ($4,903) for Indians/Asians, and R 50 331 ($7,552) for Whites. The annual income distribution in Plettenberg Bay Municipality is:

• No income 4.2%
• R 12 – R 4,800 ($2 - $721) 11.4%
• R 4,812 – R 9,600 ($723 - $1,443) 21.0%
• R 9,612 – R 19,200 ($1,445 – $2,886) 32.7%
• R 19,212 – R 38,400 ($2,888 - $5,772) 13.7%
• R 38,412 – R 76,800 ($5,774 - $11,543) 8.6%
• R 76,812 – R 153,600 ($11,545 - $23,087) 4.8%
• R 153,612 – R 307,200 ($23,089 - $46,174) 2.4%
• R 307,212 – R 614,400 ($46,176 - $92,348) 0.5%
• R 614,412 or more ($92,350+) 0.7%

Statistics South Africa Census 2001