Kannaland Local Municipality

{{Infobox settlement | name = Kannaland | official_name = | other_name = | native_name = | settlement_type = [[Local municipality (South Africa)|Local municipality]]  | image_seal = Kannaland_CoA.png | seal_size = 150x100px  | image_map = Map of the Western Cape with Kannaland highlighted.svg | mapsize = | map_alt = | map_caption = Location of Kannaland Local Municipality within the Western Cape |coordinates = {{coord|33|40|S|21|15|E|region:ZA_type:adm3rd_dim:100km|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes =   | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = [[South Africa]] | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = [[Western Cape]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of South Africa|District]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Garden Route District Municipality|Garden Route]]  | seat = [[Ladismith]] | parts_type = [[Ward (South Africa)|Wards]] |parts = 4  | government_footnotes = <ref name="muni_mayor">{{cite web|url=http://www.gcis.gov.za/gcis/gcis_list.jsp?id=14&heading=Executive%20Mayors |title=Contact list: Executive Mayors |publisher=Government Communication & Information System |access-date=22 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714013749/http://www.gcis.gov.za/gcis/gcis_list.jsp?id=14&heading=Executive%20Mayors |archive-date=14 July 2010 }}</ref> | government_type = [[Municipal council]] | leader_party = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Jeffrey Donson ([[Independent Civic Organization of South Africa|ICOSA]]) | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 =  | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 4758  | population_footnotes = <ref name="l251">{{cite web | title=Kannaland (Local Municipality, South Africa) | website=Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location | date=2022-02-02 | url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/southafrica/admin/western_cape/WC041__kannaland/ | access-date=2024-08-09}}</ref> | population_total = 31,986 | population_as_of = 2022 | population_rank = | population_density_km2 = auto  | demographics_type1 = Racial makeup {{nobold|(2022)}} | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="l251"/> | demographics1_title1 = {{nobold|[[Bantu-speaking peoples of South Africa|Black African]]}} | demographics1_info1 = 1.4% | demographics1_title2 = {{nobold|[[Coloureds|Coloured]]}} | demographics1_info2 = 86.8% | demographics1_title3 = {{nobold|[[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]}} | demographics1_info3 = 0.3% | demographics1_title4 = {{nobold|[[White South African|White]]}} | demographics1_info4 = 8.3%  | demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s {{nobold|(2011)}} | demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="muni_population">{{cite web |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=964 |title=Statistics by place |publisher=Statistics South Africa |access-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> | demographics2_title1 = {{nobold|[[Afrikaans]]}} | demographics2_info1 = 95.4% | demographics2_title2 = {{nobold|[[English language|English]]}} | demographics2_info2 = 2.5% | demographics2_title3 = | demographics2_info3 = % | demographics2_title4 = | demographics2_info4 = % | demographics2_title5 = {{nobold|Other}} | demographics2_info5 = 2.1%  | timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]] | utc_offset1 = +2  | blank_name_sec1 = Municipal code | blank_info_sec1 = WC041

| footnotes = }} '''Kannaland Municipality''' ({{langx|af|Kannaland Munisipaliteit}}) is a [[local municipality (South Africa)|local municipality]] located within the [[Garden Route District Municipality]], in the [[Western Cape]] province of [[South Africa]]. The municipal area is situated in the western part of the [[Little Karoo]] and includes the towns of [[Ladismith]], [[Calitzdorp]] and [[Zoar, Western Cape|Zoar]]. {{Asof|2022}}, it has a population of 31,986. Its municipality code is WC041.

==Geography== The municipality covers an area of {{convert|4758|km2}} in the [[Little Karoo]], stretching from the [[Swartberg]] in the north to the [[Langeberg]] in the south, and from the [[Anysberg]] in the west to the [[Gamkaberg]] in the east. It is drained by the [[Groot River (Southern Cape)|Groot River]] and the [[Gourits River]]. It abuts on the [[Laingsburg Municipality|Laingsburg]] and [[Prince Albert Municipality|Prince Albert]] municipalities to the north, the [[Oudtshoorn Municipality]] to the east, the [[Hessequa Municipality]] to the south and the [[Swellendam Municipality|Swellendam]] and [[Langeberg Municipality|Langeberg]] Municipalities to the west.

==Demographics== According to the [[2022 South African census|2022 census]], the municipality had a population of 31,986 people, increasing at an annual rate of 2.5% from 2011. Of these, 86.8% identified as "[[Coloureds|Coloured]]," 8.3% as "[[White South Africans|White]]," and 3.2% as "Other."<ref>{{Cite web | title=Kannaland (Local Municipality, South Africa) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location | url=https://citypopulation.de/en/southafrica/admin/western_cape/WC041__kannaland/ | access-date=2025-11-16 | website=citypopulation.de}}</ref>

The largest town and location of the municipal headquarters is [[Ladismith]], which as of 2011 has a population of 7,127.<ref>Sum of the Main Places [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/174001 Ladismith] and [http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/174002 Nissenville] from Census 2011.</ref> Ladismith is at the foot of the Swartberg, as are [[Zoar, Western Cape|Zoar]] (pop. 4,659) and [[Calitzdorp]] (pop. 4,284) to the east. [[Van Wyksdorp]] (pop. 833) is further south in the valley of the Groot River.

== History ==

===Formation of the municipality=== At the end of the [[apartheid]] era, the area that is today the Kannaland Municipality was divided between two Regional Services Councils (RSCs): the northern part around [[Ladismith]], [[Zoar, Western Cape|Zoar]] and [[Calitzdorp]] formed part of the Klein Karoo RSC, while the southern part around [[Van Wyksdorp]] formed part of the South Cape RSC. The towns of Ladismith, Calitzdorp and Van Wyksdorp were governed by municipal councils elected by their [[white South African|white]] residents. The [[coloured]] residents of Nissenville (Ladismith) and Calitzdorp were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils. The mission settlement of Zoar was governed by a board of management.

While the [[Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa|negotiations to end apartheid]] were taking place a process was established for local authorities to agree on voluntary mergers. In November 1993, the Municipality of Calitzdorp and the Calitzdorp Management Committee merged into a single municipal council.

After the [[South African general election, 1994|national elections of 1994]] a process of local government transformation began, in which negotiations were held between the existing local authorities, political parties, and local community organisations. As a result of these negotiations, the existing local authorities were dissolved and transitional local councils (TLCs) were created for each town and village. In December 1994 Ladismith TLC replaced the Municipality of Ladismith and the Nissenville Management Committee. In January 1995 Calitzdorp TLC replaced the Municipality of Calitzdorp, and Zoar TLC replaced the Zoar Management Board. In October 1995 Vanwyksdorp Municipality was also converted into a TLC.

The transitional councils were initially made up of members nominated by the various parties to the negotiations, until May 1996 when [[1995–96 South African municipal elections|elections were held]]. At these elections the Regional Services Councils were replaced by District Councils (DCs), and transitional representative councils (TRCs) were elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the DCs. The area that is today Kannaland included the Ladismith and Calitzdorp TRCs under the Klein Karoo DC as well as part of the Langeberg TRC under the South Cape DC.

At the [[South African municipal election, 2000|local elections of December 2000]] the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved and the Kannaland Municipality was established as a single local authority. At the same election the Klein Karoo and South Cape District Councils were also dissolved and replaced by the [[Eden District Municipality]].

===Political history since 2000=== The [[2000 South African municipal elections|December 2000 local government elections]] returned a council of four [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]] (DA) councillors, four [[African National Congress]] (ANC) councillors, and one [[Pan Africanist Congress]] (PAC) councillor.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Local Government Elections 2000 - Seat Calculation Summary | url=https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/2/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424022726/https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/2/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-date=2021-04-24}}</ref> A short-lived coalition led by the DA took power after the December 2000 local government elections, but it collapsed when the single PAC councillor withdrew his support, and the ANC took control of the council in March 2001.

The [[2006 South African municipal elections|March 2006 local government elections]] returned a council of four ANC councillors, two DA councillors, two [[Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa]] (ICOSA) councillors, and one [[Independent Democrats (South Africa)|Independent Democrats]] (ID) councillor.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Local Government Elections 2006 - Seat Calculation Summary | url=https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/95/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424022728/https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/95/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-date=2021-04-24}}</ref> An ANC/DA coalition took power until this coalition collapsed in August 2006 and was replaced by a coalition between the DA and ICOSA. This coalition collapsed in September 2007 when two ICOSA and three ANC councillors crossed the floor to the new [[National People's Party (South Africa, 2007)|National People's Party]] (NPP), giving that party a majority of five seats in a council which at that time consisted of nine members. The DA refused to recognize the new NPP-led council administration as it alleged that the 2 ICOSA defectors were sacked prior to the floor-crossing window being open, and it challenged the council recomposition in the [[Western Cape High Court]]. The former mayor refused to step down pending the outcome of the case.

In 2011 the auditor-general declared that he could not give a clear statement about the financial situation in the municipality because the records are missing and no one seemed to know where they were.<ref>[http://www.dieburger.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Tesourie-moet-se-oor-Kannaland-se-vermiste-finansiele-state-20110608 Die Burger June 8 2011 (in Afrikaans)]</ref> After almost a decade of financial problems an attempt to restore order was underway in 2011 <ref>[http://www.dieburger.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Hoop-vir-Kannaland-na-verslag-oor-regruk-aksie-20110608 Die Bruger June 8 2011 (in Afrikaans)]</ref>

In the [[South African municipal election, 2011|election of 18 May 2011]] the council was reduced in size to seven seats. No party obtained a majority; ICOSA won three seats while the ANC and the DA won two each.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Local Government Elections 2011 - Seat Calculation Summary | url=https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/197/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424022727/https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/197/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-date=2021-04-24}}</ref> ICOSA and the ANC formed a coalition to govern the municipality.<ref name=comp>{{cite web |url=http://www.westerncape.gov.za/other/2012/8/political_composition_of_councils_august_2012.pdf |title=Political composition of councils |date=August 2012 |publisher=Western Cape Department of Local Government |access-date=17 August 2012 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927093741/http://www.westerncape.gov.za/other/2012/8/political_composition_of_councils_august_2012.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[South African municipal election, 2016|election of 3 August 2016]] left the party composition of the council unchanged.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Local Government Elections 2016 - Seat Calculation Summary | url=https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/402/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424022721/https://www.elections.org.za/content/LGEPublicReports/402/Seat%20Calculation%20Detail/WP/WC041.pdf | archive-date=2021-04-24}}</ref> The DA and ANC councillors formed a coalition to govern without ICOSA,<ref>{{cite news |first=Ilze-Marie |last=Le Roux |date=17 August 2016 |title=DA, ANC vote out Icosa in Kannaland municipality |newspaper=EWN |url=http://ewn.co.za/2016/08/17/DA-ANC-vote-out-Icosa-in-Kannaland-Municipality |access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> but DA national leadership said that the coalition had not been authorized.<ref>{{cite news |first=Carien |last=du Plessis |date=18 August 2016 |title=DA to discipline Kannaland councillors |newspaper=News24 |url=http://www.news24.com/elections/news/da-to-discipline-kannaland-councillors-20160818 |access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> In March 2017 the ANC recalled its councillors to put an end to the coalition.<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=de Villiers |date=9 March 2017 |title=ANC recalls Kannaland mayor to end coalition with DA |newspaper=News24 |url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/anc-recalls-kannaland-mayor-to-end-coalition-with-da-20170309 |access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> However the mayor has not been recalled despite the national ANC structures stating that this would happen. A motion of no confidence in the mayor and speaker of the municipality was put forward in August 2017. The motion failed with the DA and ANC in the municipality against the motion, leaving the ANC mayor Magdalene Barry in power.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lindsay|last=Dentlinger |date=10 August 2017 |title=No Confidence Motion to Remove Kannaland speaker, mayor fails |newspaper=Eyewitness News |url=http://ewn.co.za/2017/08/10/no-confidence-motion-to-remove-kannaland-speaker-mayor-fails |access-date=12 August 2017}}</ref> The Democratic Alliance spokesperson on local government stated that the party would side with the ANC in order to keep the Independent Civic Organisation away from the public purse. This follows forensic evidence detailing financial misconduct that amounted to more than R14 million under Jeffrey Donson's tenure.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lindsay|last=Dentlinger |date=11 August 2017 |title=DA ANC Councillors to Stand Together in Kannaland |newspaper=Eyewitness News |url=http://ewn.co.za/2017/08/11/da-anc-councillors-to-stand-together-in-kannaland |access-date=12 August 2017}}</ref>

== Politics == {{Politics of Western Cape}} 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 [[ward (South Africa)|wards]], while the remaining three are chosen from [[party list]]s so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.

===Election results=== {{main|Kannaland Local Municipality elections}} The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Kannaland|url=https://wikitable.frith.dev/lge2021/WC041/short|access-date=2021-11-08|website=wikitable.frith.dev}}</ref> {| class=wikitable style="text-align:right" !colspan="9" align="center"| Kannaland local election, 1 November 2021 |- !rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Party !!colspan="4" align="center"| Votes !!colspan="3" align="center"| Seats |- ! Ward !! List !! Total !! % !! Ward !! List !! Total |- | {{Full party name with color |Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa}} | 4,063 || 4,046 || 8,109 || 45.2% || 3 || 0 || 3 |- | {{Full party name with color |African National Congress}} | 1,952 || 1,908 || 3,860 || 21.5% || 0 || 2 || 2 |- | {{Full party name with color |Democratic Alliance (South Africa)}} | 1,838 || 1,844 || 3,682 || 20.5% || 1 || 0 || 1 |- | {{Full party name with color |Kannaland Independent Party}} | 657 || 686 || 1,343 || 7.5% || 0 || 1 || 1 |- | ||style="text-align:left"| 6 other parties | 486 || 460 || 946 || 5.3% || 0 || 0 || 0 |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| '''Total''' | '''8,996''' || '''8,944''' || '''17,940''' || || '''4''' || '''3''' || '''7''' |- |colspan="9"| |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| Valid votes | 8,996 || 8,944 || 17,940 || 99.0% |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| [[Spoilt vote]]s | 97 || 91 || 188 || 1.0% |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| '''Total votes cast''' | '''9,093''' || '''9,035''' || '''18,128''' || |- |colspan="6"| |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| Voter turnout | 9,107 |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| Registered voters | 14,937 |- |colspan="2" style="text-align:left"| Turnout percentage | 61.0% |}

== References == <references />

==External links== * [http://www.kannaland.gov.za/ Official website] * [https://xplorio.com/barrydale/kannaland-holiday-resort/ Kannaland Holiday Resort]

[[Category:Local municipalities of the Garden Route District Municipality]]