Theewaterskloof Municipality (; ) is a local municipality located within the

Overberg District Municipality The Overberg District Municipality (; ) is a district municipality that governs the Overberg region in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is divided into four local municipalities and includes the major towns of Grabouw, Caledon, Her ...

, in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. As of 2022, the population was 139,563. Its municipality code is WC031. The enormous

Theewaterskloof Dam Theewaterskloof Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on the Sonderend River near Villiersdorp, Western Cape, South Africa. Administratively it is located within Theewaterskloof Local Municipality. It was established in 1978 and is the largest dam ...

, which provides water for

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and the surrounding areas, is located in the municipality.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of in the western interior of the

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

region. It occupies the area between the

Riviersonderend Mountains The Riviersonderend Mountains are a mountain range in the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape province of South Africa. They run east to west from Riviersonderend to Villiersdorp, separating the Breede River Valley from the Overberg region. Th ...

to the north and the

Kogelberg The Kogelberg is a range of mountains along the False Bay coast in the Western Cape of South Africa. They form part of the Cape Fold Belt, starting south of the Elgin valley and forming a steep coastal range as far as Kleinmond. The Kogelb ...

and Kleinrivier Mountains to the south; to the west it stretches as far as the

Hottentots-Holland The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range is primarily composed o ...

mountains. The western area of the municipality is the Elgin Valley, drained by the

Palmiet River Palmiet River () is a river located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The Palmiet River is a typical Western Cape river, experiencing winter rainfall and it is important for the Western Cape Water Supply System. It has a small catchme ...

. The northern part is the valley of the

Sonderend River The Sonderend River, also known as the Riviersonderend (Afrikaans for ''River without an end''), is a main tributary of the Breede River, located in Western Cape Province, South Africa. The village of Riviersonderend is believed to have taken its ...

including the

. The southeastern part is in the Overberg plain, drained by the

Bot Bot or BOT may refer to: Sciences Computing and technology * Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language * Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet **Spambot, an internet bot ...

and

Klein Klein may refer to: People *Klein (surname) *Klein (musician) Places * Klein (crater), a lunar feature *Klein, Montana, United States * Klein, Texas, United States * Klein (Ohm), a river of Hesse, Germany, tributary of the Ohm * Klein River, a r ...

Rivers. According to the 2022 South African census the municipality has a population of 139,563 people. Of this population, 55.2% describe themselves as "

Coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

", 34.7% as "

Black African Black is a racial classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and ofte ...

", and 8.5% as "

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

". According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 108,790 people in 28,884 households. Of this population, 62.9% describe themselves as "

", 26.4% as "

", and 9.4% as "

". The

first language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

of 73.6% of the population is

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

, while 16.9% speak

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

, 3.9% speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and 3.6% speak

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana *Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an offi ...

. The largest town in the municipality is

Grabouw Grabouw ( , ) is a town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Grabouw is located some 65 km south-east of Cape Town, over Sir Lowry's Pass from Somerset West, along the N2 (South Africa), N2 highway. The town is the commercia ...

in the Elgin Valley, which as of 2011 has a population of 30,337. However, the municipal headquarters are situated in Caledon (pop. 13,020) on the plain. Between Grabouw and Caledon is

Botrivier Botrivier is a small town of approximately 10 000 people, situated in the Overberg region of the Western Cape in South Africa. Village in the former Caledon district, 93 km southeast of Cape Town. It takes its name from the Bot River on the ...

(pop. 5,505) at the base of the

Houwhoek Pass Houwhoek Pass is a pass on the N2 road (South Africa), N2 national road between Grabouw and Botrivier in the Western Cape province of South Africa.Villiersdorp Villiersdorp is a town of approximately 10,000 people located in the Western Cape province of South Africa in the Overberg region. Unlike most of the geographical region which specialises in wheat and canola farming, the Villiersdorp Valley is no ...

(pop. 10,004) is located in the northern part of the municipality close to the Theewaterskloof Dam. Downstream from the dam along the Sonderend River are the villages of

Genadendal Genadendal is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, built on the site of the oldest mission station in the country. It was originally known as Baviaanskloof, but was renamed Genadendal in 1806. Genadendal was the place of the firs ...

(pop. 5,663),

Greyton Greyton is a small town in the Overberg area in the Western Cape, South Africa. Early history Before Greyton was established in 1854, the verdant plains and forested ravines of the area were home to the Hessequas Khoikhoi tribe who had their k ...

(pop. 2,780) and

Riviersonderend Riviersonderend is a village in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, about east of Cape Town. It is located on a loop of the Sonderend River, from which it takes its name. In the census of 2011 it was recorded as having a popul ...

(pop. 5,245). The smallest town in the district is Tesselaarsdal, which is approximately 20km south-east of Caledon.

History

At the end of the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era, in the area that was to become Theewaterskloof, there were municipal councils for the towns of

, Caledon,

Villiersdorp Villiersdorp is a town of approximately 10,000 people located in the Western Cape province of South Africa in the Overberg region. Unlike most of the geographical region which specialises in wheat and canola farming, the Villiersdorp Valley is no ...

, and

, and a local council for the village of

. These councils were elected by the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

residents. The

coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

residents of Pineview (Grabouw), Bergsig (Caledon),

Myddleton Myddleton is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West (1874–1951), British officer of the Scots Guards *Hugh Myddleton, 1st Baronet (1560–1631), Welsh goldsmith, clothmaker, banker, entrep ...

, Heuwelkruin (Greyton), and Riviersonderend were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils. The former mission station of

was governed by a management board, and the remaining rural areas fell under the Overberg Regional Services Council. While the

negotiations to end apartheid The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

were taking place a process was established for local authorities to negotiate voluntary mergers. Such mergers took place in two towns in the Theewaterskloof region: in August 1993 the Municipality of Riviersonderend merged with the Riviersonderend Management Committee to form the Municipality for the Area of Riviersonderend, and in January 1994 the Municipality of Caledon merged with the Bergsig Management Committee to form the Municipality for the Area of Caledon. After the national elections of 1994 the process of negotiation became mandatory, and included political parties and local community organisations as well as the existing local authorities. Transitional local councils (TLCs) were established in each town or village as a result of this process. * In October 1994: ** the Municipality of Grabouw and the Pineview Management Committee were replaced by the Grabouw TLC. ** the Villiersdorp Municipality and the Villiersdorp Management Committee were replaced by the Villiersdorp TLC. * In November 1994 the Botrivier Local Council was replaced by the Botrivier TLC. * In December 1994 the Municipality for the Area of Riviersonderend was replaced by the Riviersonderend TLC. * In January 1995: ** the Municipality for the Area of Caledon was replaced by the Caledon TLC. ** the Municipality of Greyton and the Heuwelkruin Management Committee were replaced by the Greyton TLC. ** the Genadendal Management Board was replaced by the Genadendal TLC. * In February 1995 the Myddleton Management Committee was replaced by the Myddleton TLC. These transitional councils were initially made up of members nominated during the negotiations, some of whom had been councillors of the previous local authorities, while others represented political parties and community organisations. In May 1996 elections were held to replace the nominated councils with elected councils. At these elections the

District Council was established, replacing the Overberg Regional Services Council. Transitional representative councils (TRCs) were also elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the District Council; the area that was to become Theewaterskloof included parts of the Nuweberg, Caledon and Swellendam TRCs. At the local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved, and the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality was created as a single local authority incorporating both rural and urban areas.

Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-seven members elected by

mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

. Fourteen councillors are elected by

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

in fourteen

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, while the remaining thirteen are chosen from

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

s so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 1 November 2021 the Democratic Alliance (DA) won a plurality of eleven seats on the council. The

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC) then formed a minority coalition government with the

Patriotic Alliance The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a right-wing political party in South Africa, formed in November 2013 by, among others, businessmen and convicted criminals Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African ...

which is supported by

Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

. The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.

References

External links

*
Theewaterskloof Local Municipality on the Western Cape Government website
{{Municipalities of the Western Cape Local municipalities of the Overberg District Municipality