Westonaria Local Municipality

Westonaria Local Municipality was a local municipality in West Rand District Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. After municipal elections on 3 August 2016 it was merged with the Randfontein Local Municipality into the larger Rand West City Local Municipality.

Westonaria
Local municipality
Seal
Location of Westonaria Local Municipality within Gauteng
Coordinates: 26°20′S 27°40′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
District	West Rand
Seat	Westonaria
Wards	16
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Nonkoliso Tundzi
Area
• Total	640 km2 (250 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	111,767
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	91.4%
• Coloured	0.7%
• Indian/Asian	0.3%
• White	7.0%
First languages (2011) [2]
• Xhosa	26.9%
• Sotho	18.8%
• Tswana	14.5%
• Tsonga	10.4%
• Other	29.4%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	GT483

Background

The mining industry represents the largest employment sector in the municipality. The unemployment rate is approximately 30%. In 2007, 34% of households had access to piped water inside their homes, an improvement of 14 percentage points since 2001. Electricity is used for lighting, cooking, and heating in about 65% of households.^[3]

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[4]

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population	Most spoken language
Bekkersdal	70301	11.03	55,838	Xhosa
Cooke Mine	70302	2.73	1,215	Tsonga
Elsburg Gold Mine	70303	11.78	3,238	Tsonga
Etlebeni	70304	1.06	636	Xhosa
Glen Harvie	70305	3.96	4,757	Afrikaans
Hills Haven	70306	1.35	2,147	Afrikaans
Johannesburg	70307	3.58	315	Sotho
Kloof Gold Mine	70308	18.07	6,819	Sotho
Leeudoorn Mine	70309	8.86	2,610	Sotho
Libanon Gold Mine	70310	12.56	3,013	Xhosa
Modderfontein	70311	0.46	490	Sotho
Panvlak Gold Mine	70312	3.13	815	Xhosa
Randfontein Mine	70313	10.22	2,774	Tsonga
Venterspost	70314	40.19	1,048	Afrikaans
Waterpan	70315	1.57	433	Afrikaans
Westonaria	70317	6.46	8,441	Afrikaans
Remainder of the municipality	70316	478.90	14,731	Zulu

Politics

The municipal council consists of thirty-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Sixteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in sixteen wards, while the remaining fifteen 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 African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of twenty-three seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.^[5][6]

Party		Votes				Seats
		Ward	List	Total	%	Ward	List	Total
	ANC	17,903	18,138	36,041	74.4	15	8	23
	DA	3,352	3,246	6,598	13.6	1	3	4
	AZAPO	783	773	1,556	3.2	0	1	1
	COPE	783	680	1,463	3.0	0	1	1
	IFP	610	625	1,235	2.5	0	1	1
	UDM	397	377	774	1.6	0	1	1
	APC	159	155	314	0.6	0	0	0
	VF+	87	114	201	0.4	0	0	0
	Socialist Party of Azania	80	87	167	0.3	0	0	0
	Independent	52	–	52	0.1	0	–	0
	NFP	52	–	52	0.1	0	–	0
Total		24,258	24,195	48,453	100.0	16	15	31
Spoilt votes		588	407	995

References

1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
3. Integrated Development Plan (IDP). Westonaria Local Municipality. Retrieved on Oct 6, 2009.
4. Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa
5. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Westonaria" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
6. "Seat Calculation Detail: Westonaria" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2013.

External links

• Official website