Misplaced Pages

#596403

23-662: The municipality covers a total area of 1,538 square kilometres (594 sq mi) in the valley of the Berg River to the west of the Boland mountain ranges. It stretches about 75 kilometres (47 mi) from Saron in the north to beyond Paarl in the south. It abuts the Witzenberg Municipality and Breede Valley Municipality to the east, the Stellenbosch Municipality to the south,

46-601: A dozen remained, sheltering in the region of Kersefontein and the estuary. In 1829, only six hippos remained. The last known hippo was shot in 1869 by Martin Melck when it attacked and killed one of his employees." See Skead for more details. The Berg River's native fishes contain some species which are endemic to the region such as the Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus) and Berg River redfin ( Pseudobarbus burgi ). They have been adversely affected by unsustainable human use of

69-691: The City of Cape Town and the Swartland Municipality to the west, and the Bergrivier Municipality to the north. According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 251,262 people in 59,774 households. Of this population, 62.5% describe themselves as " Coloured ", 22.7% as " Black African ", and 13.5% as " White ". The first language of 75.0% of the population is Afrikaans , while 16.7% speak Xhosa and 5.1% speak English . The principal town and location of

92-669: The Khoikhoi for meat for the settlement at the Cape. Gabbema named the river the ‘Groot Berg Rivier’. In years to follow many of van Riebeeck's men relied on the river waters and followed its winding course as they ventured northwards. Despite Gabbema's visit, the Berg Catchment was not developed until Governor Simon van der Stel ’s time (1679–1699), prior to which settlement was limited to the Peninsula. Governor van der Stel visited

115-509: The ANC won a majority of 86 seats while the DA won 54 seats. An independent candidate won a seat while seven political parties won the remaining 11 seats. Out of 200 seats, the ANC won a plurality of 95 seats while the DA won 53 seats. The IFP won 35 seats, and an independent candidate won a seat. Six political parties won the remaining 17 seats. Out of 108 seats, the ANC won a majority of 72 seats while

138-483: The Berg River area is under agriculture. The major towns in the Berg River area are Velddrif and Laaiplek near the coast, and Piketberg , Hopefield , Moorreesburg and Darling further inland. The Berg River can be subdivided into the following segments: The first known European record of the Berg River was made by bailiff Abraham Gabbema in 1657 when Dutch Governor Jan van Riebeeck sent him to trade with

161-742: The Berg River; its decline there seems to have stopped or at least slowed, but it too is already listed as Endangered by the IUCN. Trout are also a problem in the upper Berg river. In 2022, the 1162.8 ha Berg Estuary Ramsar Site was designated around the Berg River . Around 127 species of waterbird have been recorded in the surrounding wetland habitat, including the threatened Cape cormorant . Threatened fish found within its waters include white steenbras and white stumpnose . South African municipal election, 2000 Municipal elections were held in South Africa on 5 December 2000 to elect members to

184-428: The DA won one. Out of 200 seats, the DA won a majority of 107 seats while the ANC won 77 seats. Six smaller parties won the remaining 16 seats. Out of 175 seats, the ANC won a majority of 99 seats while the DA won 55 seats. The remaining 21 seats were won by 10 parties. Out of 217 seats, the ANC won a majority of 128 seats while the DA won 73 seats. The remaining 16 seats were won by seven parties. Out of 152 seats,

207-672: The Economic Freedom Fighters. Berg River The Berg River (also called Great Berg River or in Afrikaans : Bergrivier ) is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa . It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of 7,715 km (2,979 sq mi) and empties into the Atlantic Ocean . About 65% of

230-762: The Majority Party Gillon Bosman MMP Leader of the Opposition Khalid Sayed MMP Chief Whip of the Official Opposition Ayanda Bans MMP Municipal: The municipal council consists of sixty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation . Thirty-three councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-three wards , while the remaining thirty-two are chosen from party lists so that

253-997: The Paarl TLC; and the Wellington Municipality and Wellington Management Committee were replaced by the Wellington TLC. In February 1995 the Saron Management Board was replaced by the Saron TLC. In the same month, the Western Cape RSC was reconstituted as the Winelands RSC after the Cape Town metropolitan area was removed from the jurisdiction of the RSC. The transitional councils were initially made up of members nominated by

SECTION 10

#1732786697597

276-1015: The Paarl TRC (belonging to Winelands DC) and parts of the Witzenberg and Matroosberg TRCs (belonging to Breërivier DC). At the local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRCs were dissolved and the Drakenstein Municipality was established as a single local authority. At the same election the two District Councils were also dissolved and replaced by the Boland District Municipality . The Hon Alan Winde MMP The Seventh Provincial Parliament Speaker Daylin Mitchell MMP Deputy Speaker Reagan Allen MMP Chief Whip of

299-550: The area with the first free burghers, and prompted by the Berg River’s fertility and beauty, he established the first European settlements at Paarl and in the Drakenstein valley in 1687. Wellington , Franschhoek and Tulbagh were established shortly after this as the farmlands expanded. The 2004 government report on the river said: “Historically, the Berg River was one of many habitats in the Cape inhabited by hippos but, in

322-420: The end of the apartheid era, in the area that is today the Drakenstein Municipality, the towns of Paarl , Wellington , and Gouda were governed by municipal councils elected by their white residents. The coloured residents of Paarl and Wellington were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils, while the former mission station of Saron was governed by a management board. Mbekweni

345-682: 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 October 1994 the Gouda Municipality was merged with Tulbagh (in what is now Witzenberg Municipality ) under the Tulbagh TLC. In January 1995 the Paarl Municipality, Paarl Management Committee and Mbekweni Town Council were replaced by

368-418: The late 1600s, hunters began overexploiting the hippos for their meat and hides, resulting in a decline in their numbers. By the mid-1700s, they had declined to such an extent that governor Tulbagh introduced a fine of 1000 guilders for anyone caught killing a hippo. Despite this protection, their numbers continued to dwindle as human settlement altered and destroyed their habitat. By the early 1800s, perhaps only

391-604: The local governing councils in the municipalities of South Africa . The ruling African National Congress (ANC) had grown its support in the 1999 general election to 66.35% from 62.65% five years earlier . The New National Party (NNP), the successor to the National Party , had declined from being the largest opposition party to becoming the fourth largest party in the National Assembly while Tony Leon's Democratic Party (DP) had grown considerably to become

414-411: The municipal headquarters is Paarl , situated in the south of the municipality, which as of 2011 has a population of 112,045 people. Paarl is the southernmost part of a continuous built-up area along the Berg River which also includes Mbekweni (pop. 30,875) and Wellington (pop. 55,543). In the northern part of the municipality are the smaller towns of Gouda (pop. 3,441) and Saron (pop. 7,843). At

437-519: The official opposition. An agreement was reached between the NNP and DP to merge into a single political party where respective NNP and DP members would contest subsequent elections as candidates of the Democratic Alliance (DA). The popular vote, obtained by adding the ward ballots and the municipal proportional representation ballots, were as follows: The ANC won 5 of the 6 metros while

460-654: 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) obtained a majority of thirty-six seats on the council. The local council sends eight representatives to the council of the Cape Winelands District Municipality : five from the Democratic Alliance, two from the African National Congress, and one from

483-584: The various parties to the negotiations, until May 1996 when elections were held . At these elections the Breërivier and Winelands District Councils (DCs) were established, replacing the corresponding Regional Services Councils. Transitional representative councils (TRCs) were also elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the DCs; the area that was to become Drakenstein Municipality included much of

SECTION 20

#1732786697597

506-639: The water, but mainly by expanding stocks of exotic fishes, which were originally introduced to establish a European-type fishery. Most problematic among these is the predatory Smallmouth Bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ). The Cape whitefish ( Pseudobarbus capensis ) – listed Endangered in the IUCN Red List – seems to have disappeared from the Berg River proper in recent times; this large species it survives elsewhere and may be suitable for fishery or aquaculture. The Berg River redfin ( Pseudobarbus burgi ) has one of its last major populations in

529-594: Was governed by a town council established under the Black Local Authorities Act, 1982 . The northern area around Gouda and Saron, as well as an area around Du Toit's Kloof Pass, formed part of the Breërivier Regional Services Council (RSC); the rest formed part of the Western Cape RSC. After the national elections of 1994 a process of local government transformation began, in which negotiations were held between

#596403