58-590: Helderberg refers to a planning district of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, the mountain after which it is named, a wine-producing area in the Western Cape province of South Africa , or a small census area in Somerset West. Originally known as the " Hottentots-Holland " area, it was renamed "Helderberg" by the City of Cape Town following concerns about possible racist connotations in
116-593: A Member of Parliament since 2011, was elected. The Mayoral Committee consists of 10 members who are appointed by the Executive Mayor. Each member manages a different area of the local government. The current city manager is Lungelo Mbandazayo. He had been the acting city manager since the former city manager Achmat Ebrahim, who was appointed in April 2006, resigned in January 2018 amid misconduct allegations. He
174-604: A dismal showing in the general elections that year, the NNP prepared for dissolution and merger with the ANC, and most of its councillors joined the governing party. This gave the ANC an outright majority on the council, which lasted until the next election. In the 2006 local government election , the DA was the largest single party, ahead of the ANC, but with no party holding a majority. The new Independent Democrats (ID) led by Patricia de Lille
232-552: A firm council majority, several of the smaller coalition partners were dropped from the city government by the time of the 2009 general elections, including the ACDP and FF+. The DA's Ian Neilson became deputy mayor, while Dirk Smit, who had defected to the DA, retained the position of speaker. Helen Zille left the mayorship the same year to take up the position of premier of the Western Cape, and Dan Plato became mayor. In 2010,
290-660: A height of 1137 m at The Dome. The Helderberg region is the area between the watershed of the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountains and False Bay. The Helderberg planning district of the City of Cape Town includes subsections Macassar, Somerset West, Strand, Gordon's Bay, Sir Lowry's Pass, Stellenbosch Farms, and the Steenbras River valley. The Helderberg is a mountain of the Cape Fold Belt , east of
348-491: A municipality or the divisional council. From 1972 no new non-white voters could be registered as voters for municipal or divisional councils, and existing non-white voters lost their voting rights when a management committee was established for the area where they lived. In 1982 the Black Local Authorities Act created elected town councils for black communities. Five such councils were established in
406-594: A new pass was constructed on the current route that would allow ox wagons to navigate the pass without difficulty. Construction began at a site about 2 km to the south of the Hottentots Holland Kloof, by the engineer Charles Michell using convict labour. The new pass was opened on 6 July 1830, and named after Sir Lowry Cole , the Governor of the Cape Colony at the time. Local media in
464-485: A striking, silver-coloured tree of the Protea family , which is actually indigenous to the eastern slopes of Table Mountain , making the population at Silwerboomkloof an isolated anomaly. This 4.9-hectare (12-acre) reserve encloses a section of Boland Granite Fynbos and Renosterveld and a total of around 220 species of plant have been recorded. The Helderberg Marine Protected Area is a small marine conservation area on
522-577: A transitional metropolitan council named the Cape Metropolitan Council (CMC). The CMC would replace the Regional Services Council and take over its responsibilities; it would also be responsible for metro-level planning and co-ordination, improving service delivery in disadvantaged areas, and cross-subsidization of poorer areas with revenue from affluent areas. Initially, in a period called the "pre-interim phase",
580-517: A wide range of proteas . Particularly prominent plants include the pincushion proteas ( Leucospermum sp.), cone bushes ( Leucadendron sp.), sugar bushes ( Protea sp.), heaths ( Erica sp.) and the waboom tree ( Protea nitida ). Animals that can be found here include the Cape leopard , caracal , grey duiker , Cape grysbok , steenbok , mongoose , angulate and padloper tortoises and over 170 species of bird . The reserve has
638-413: Is a nature reserve in Somerset West. on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountain. Its 398 ha consist mostly of Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos (a highly species-rich vegetation type ) with smaller patches of Boland Granite Fynbos and Southern Afrotemperate Forest . Altogether about 600 species of plant have been recorded here, including a wide range of proteas . Particularly prominent plants include
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#1732779474942696-554: Is a 398-hectare (980-acre) nature reserve in Somerset West , South Africa . This nature reserve is located on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountains . Its 398 ha consist mostly of “ Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos ” (a highly species-rich vegetation type ) with smaller patches of “ Boland Granite Fynbos ” and “ Southern Afrotemperate Forest ”. Altogether about 600 species of plant have been recorded here, including
754-903: Is a foothill of the Hottentots Holland Mountains that separates the catchments of the Lourens River and the Sir Lowry’s River. The rocks are of the Tygerberg formation with granite of the Stellembosch pluton. Strand and Gordon's Bay are known for the strength and persistence of the South-easterly winds in summer, while Somerset West has areas that are sheltered from the South-easter. Rivers: Paardevlei There are several conservation areas in
812-576: Is contained within the protected area. Beside the protected area is the Vergelegen Nature Reserve . Macassar Dunes Conservation Area is a 1,116-hectare (4.31 sq mi) coastal nature reserve in Macassar, which protects the unique local Cape Flats Dune Strandveld vegetation with its dense evergreen thickets, flowers, shrubs and trees. The last remaining forest of the endangered White Milkwood tree ( Sideroxylon inerme ) on
870-438: Is in the Helderberg region. Lourens River Protected Natural Environment is a section of protected land along the Lourens River. Its upper reaches are relatively undisturbed and are privately owned. However, the lower part of the river flows through developed areas as well as past fynbos and plantations of invasive alien trees. This natural area is threatened by pollution and by invasive alien weeds. The Dick Dent Bird Sanctuary
928-583: Is primarily composed of Table Mountain Sandstone , and forms a large range between the Cape Town outlying suburbs of Somerset West and Gordon's Bay to the west, and the large Elgin valley to the east. Sir Lowry's Pass is the only crossing, in the form of the N2 motorway, which is the primary route out of the Cape Town area for travellers heading east along the coast of South Africa. Peaks: Schapenberg
986-725: The African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Party (DP). Fearing further losses, the NNP agreed to contest the upcoming local election in December 2000 together with the DP by forming the Democratic Alliance (DA), with DP and NNP members running as DA candidates. The DA won Cape Town with an outright majority, and Peter Marais , also a senior member of the provincial NNP, became mayor of
1044-574: The Apartheid era, all black, coloured and Asian people were forcefully removed when the town was classified as a white-only resort. Included in the communities forced to leave at this time were the descendants of Cape Malay slaves, who had escaped from Cape Town over 100 years earlier. They lost their homes, but their mosque still stands. Recent expansion and development of Somerset West, Strand and Gordon's Bay has resulted in them now being adjacent to each other. Strand also used to accommodate one of
1102-495: The Cape Peninsula . During the 20th century, many of the inner suburban municipalities became unsustainable; in 1913 the first major unification took place when the municipalities of Cape Town, Green Point and Sea Point , Woodstock , Mowbray , Rondebosch , Claremont , Maitland , and Kalk Bay were unified to create the first City of Cape Town. In 1927 the municipality of Wynberg was also merged with Cape Town, with
1160-547: The local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of 4,772,846. Cape Town first received local self-government in 1839, with the promulgation of a municipal ordinance by the government of the Cape Colony . When it was created, the Cape Town municipality governed only the central part of the city known as the City Bowl , and as the city expanded, new suburbs became new municipalities, until by 1902 there were 10 separate municipalities in
1218-531: The pincushion proteas ( Leucospermum sp.), cone bushes ( Leucadendron sp.), sugar bushes ( Protea sp.), heaths ( Erica sp.) and the waboom tree ( Protea nitida ). Animals that can be found there include the Cape leopard , caracal , grey duiker , Cape grysbok , steenbok , mongoose , angulate and padloper tortoises and over 170 species of bird . Part of the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve lies within
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#17327794749421276-598: The ACDP was elected executive deputy mayor and Jacob "Dirk" Smit of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) was elected speaker. The initially fragile position of this new DA-led coalition, also known as the Multi-Party Government, was improved in January 2007 with the introduction of the ID following the expulsion of the small Africa Muslim Party for conspiring with the ANC. As a result of the ID's support,
1334-539: The Cape Flats is found on this reserve. 178 plant species are recorded from the area. Animal species found here include small antelope, tortoises, porcupine, hares, mongoose and a variety of birds. Silwerboomkloof Natural Heritage Site is a small, protected valley (“kloof”), near the Helderberg Nature Reserve, conserving an isolated forest of the rare Silvertree ( Leucadendron argenteum ),
1392-428: The Cape Metropolitan Council and the six interim TMSs were dissolved and replaced by the unified City of Cape Town. It is for this reason that the City of Cape Town is sometimes referred to as the "Unicity". At the time of the 2000 election the northern boundary of the metropolitan area was also extended to include Philadelphia , Klipheuwel , and the surrounding farmland. The current municipality covers Cape Point in
1450-416: The Cape and son of Simon van der Stel , who gave his name to the nearby town of Stellenbosch . Willem Adriaan was later sent back to Holland after being charged with corruption and cruelty towards local Dutch farmers. The farm is now owned by a subsidiary of the large mining company Anglo American , who have restored the farmhouse and continue to produce wines. Somerset West was founded in 1822 on part of
1508-583: The Cape built a rough pass called the Hottentots Holland Kloof Pass following the Gantouw route. The first recorded crossing was in 1664, and by 1821 the pass was seeing 4500 ox-wagons per year crossing into the interior, but the route was so severe that more than 20% of them were damaged. The ruts left by these wagons being dragged over the mountains can still be seen, and were declared a National Monument in 1958. Starting in 1828,
1566-690: The Cape metropolitan areas. They were generally regarded as under-resourced and unsustainable, and were opposed by the United Democratic Front and other civic organisations. Turnout in BLA elections was very low. In 1987 the divisional councils of the Cape, Paarl and Stellenbosch were dissolved and the Western Cape Regional Services Council (RSC) was created in their place. The RSC councils were indirectly elected, consisting of representatives nominated by all
1624-458: The DA and ID formalized an agreement in which the ID would merge into the DA by 2014. This was prompted in part by the ID's disappointing result in the 2009 general election. As per the agreement, ID ceased to exist at the local level after the 2011 municipal elections with ID members running as DA candidates. DA won a large outright majority in the election, and ID leader Patricia de Lille, who had defeated Plato in an earlier internal election, became
1682-594: The Helderberg region: Dick Dent Bird Sanctuary is an isolated 10-hectare (25-acre) bird sanctuary in the Lourens River Protected Natural Environment near the estuary of the Lourens River in Strand. Harmony Flats Nature Reserve is a 9-hectare (22-acre) enclave of protected land between Strand and Gordon's Bay, which protects a surviving fragment of critically endangered Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos vegetation. Harmony Flats
1740-761: The MPA is the most pristine part of the north shore of False Bay. Van Riebeeck’s outriders found a fertile valley with adequate water in what they named the Tweede Rivier, (now the Lourens River), inhabited by the Khoikhoi Chief Sousoa and his family. They called the valley Hottentot’s Holland and established a company outpost there. In 1671, the Tweede Rivier was renamed the Breitenbach River, after Lieutenant Coenraad Breitenbach, but
1798-634: The Opposition Khalid Sayed MMP Chief Whip of the Official Opposition Ayanda Bans MMP Municipal: Cape Town is governed by a 231-member city council elected in a system of mixed-member proportional representation . The city is divided into 116 wards , each of which elects a councillor by first-past-the-post voting . The remaining 115 councillors are elected from party lists so that
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1856-491: The boundaries of the City of Cape Town above Somerset West. Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of 3,000 hectares (12 sq mi) in the Kogelberg Mountain Range , to the east and south of Gordon's Bay. It protects a large portion of Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos and about 1600 plant species, giving it a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world. Part of it
1914-410: The coalition significantly increased its majority, resulting in a much more stable city government. The ID's Charlotte Williams became executive deputy mayor. However, she resigned just a few months later, and the post then went to Grant Haskin of the ACDP in late 2007. The DA would also bolster its position through by-election victories and floor crossing defections. With the ID and DA together holding
1972-443: The existing local authorities would become TMSs but their councils would be replaced by councillors nominated by the members of the negotiating forum. This agreement came into effect, and the pre-interim phase began, on 1 February 1995. The second phase of the transformation, known as the "interim phase" began on 29 May 1996 when local elections were held . The pre-interim TMSs were dissolved, and six new TMSs were established covering
2030-548: The historic farm, Vergelegen. The town was originally named Somerset after the British governor of the Cape Colony during the 1800s, Lord Charles Somerset , with the suffix 'West' being added after 1825 to differentiate it from Somerset East , a town in the Eastern Cape. Strand was established as a holiday and fishing resort in 1714. Before being known as Strand, the settlement was known as Mostert's Bay. In 1970, during
2088-645: The largest dynamite factories in South Africa , owned by the AECI group. This area is being redeveloped into a large new mixed-use urban development, Paardevlei , and current tenants include Cheetah Outreach. The mountain crossing of the Hottentots Holland range was known by the indigenous Khoi people as the Gantouw or Eland 's Pass, and was used as a stock route. The Dutch and British settlers at
2146-551: The local authorities within its area, including municipalities, management committees and town councils. The Cape Rural Council represented the rural areas of the RSC that were not included in any local authority. Also in 1987, an act of the House of Assembly allowed the creation of local councils for white communities in peri-urban areas. Thus at the end of apartheid in 1994, there were over 50 different local authorities in existence in
2204-697: The main range of the Hottentots Holland Mountains , and south of the Stellenbosch Mountains . The upper parts are Table Mountain Sandstone , on a base of Tygerberg formation rocks and part of the Stellenbosch granite pluton . Peaks: The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt . The range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range
2262-445: The metropolitan area, listed below. As part of the post-1994 reforms, municipal government experienced a complete overhaul. The existing local authorities, political parties, ratepayers' organisations, and community organisations were brought together into a negotiating forum. This forum agreed on the creation of a two-level local government system consisting of multiple transitional metropolitan substructures (TMSs), brought together in
2320-469: The municipality into the following main places : The planning districts are: The City of Cape Town is also bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. Two city managers were accused of corruption relating to a R186m urban waste management tender. In October 2024, the city announced it was investigating the allegations. Helderberg Nature Reserve Helderberg Nature Reserve
2378-434: The name (see Hottentot ). However, many people who live there still refer to it by its former name. The Helderberg consists of Somerset West , Strand , Gordons Bay , Macassar and a few other towns. The district takes its name from the mountain of the same name , which is Afrikaans for "clear mountain", referring to the way in which the western side of the mountain is illuminated in the evenings, and which culminates at
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2436-507: The name did not last long, as in 1673, after Laurens Visser, the commander of the outpost, reputedly drowned in the river, it was renamed the Laurens River in his memory, and over time the spelling changed to the Lourens River. A town developed around the Lourens River and the farm of Vergelegen (Dutch: "remotely situated"), an 18th-century farmhouse built in the historic Cape Dutch style by Willem Adriaan van der Stel , governor of
2494-434: The new mayor. The party extended its lead even further to win a two-thirds majority of the seats on the City of Cape Town council in the 2016 municipal elections, and De Lille was thus sworn in to serve a second term. It was however cut short following her resignation on 31 October 2018 after an extended battle with her party over accusations of covering up corruption, accusations she strongly denied. The previous mayor Dan Plato
2552-478: The north-eastern side of False Bay , the mouths of the Lourens River in the Strand, and the Eerste River in Macassar. The MPA is in the warm temperate Agulhas bioregion. The shoreline is sandy beach with mobile dunes, and the seabed is low sandstone reef with kelp beds and sand sediments. The areas nearest to the river mouths are in relatively poor condition due to pollution of the river water. The beach inside
2610-476: The region include the District Mail , a local newspaper, and Radio Helderberg . Helderberg is also the name of a census sub-place within Somerset West, a small residential area on both sides of Sir Lowry's Pass road on the east side of the town. City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( Afrikaans : Stad Kaapstad ; Xhosa : IsiXeko saseKapa ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms
2668-490: The result that all of the Southern Suburbs were incorporated into the City. Many new municipalities were established during the 20th century. Durbanville achieved municipal status in 1901, Goodwood in 1938, Parow in 1939, Bellville and Fish Hoek in 1940, Pinelands in 1948, Kuils River in 1950, Milnerton in 1955, Kraaifontein in 1957, Gordon's Bay in 1961, Brackenfell in 1970. In 1979 Bellville
2726-483: The right to vote in local elections was not restricted by race (see Cape Qualified Franchise ), but the policies of the apartheid government aimed for complete segregation of local government. A 1962 amendment to the Group Areas Act introduced management committees for the areas designated for coloured and Indian residents. These management committees were subordinate to the existing local authority—either
2784-669: The south-west, Gordon's Bay in the south-east, and Atlantis in the north, and includes Robben Island . The remote Prince Edward Islands are deemed to be part of the City of Cape Town, specifically of ward 115. The Hon Alan Winde MMP The Seventh Provincial Parliament Speaker Daylin Mitchell MMP Deputy Speaker Reagan Allen MMP Chief Whip of the Majority Party Gillon Bosman MMP Leader of
2842-525: The subcouncils. The executive authority for the city is vested in an Executive Mayor who is elected by the council. The mayor appoints a mayoral committee whose members oversee various portfolios. A City Manager is appointed as the non-political head of the city's administration. With the Democratic Alliance (DA) having won an absolute majority of council seats in the election of 1 November 2021 , its mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis , who had been
2900-487: The total number of councillors for each party is proportional to the number of votes received by that party. The makeup of the council after the 2021 election is shown in the following table. The speaker of the council is Felicity Purchase of the Democratic Alliance. The council is divided into 24 subcouncils which deal with local functions for between three and six wards. A subcouncil consists of
2958-523: The unicity. However, DA leader Tony Leon 's attempt to remove Marais from his position in 2001 caused the disintegration of the alliance, and NNP came to ally with the ANC. Marais was replaced as mayor by Gerald Morkel , but Morkel was himself soon ousted during the October 2002 local floor crossing period after a large number of DA councillors had defected to the NNP. Nomaindia Mfeketo of the ANC became mayor supported by an ANC-NNP coalition. In 2004, after
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#17327794749423016-496: The ward councillors and a similar number of proportionally-elected councillors assigned to the subcouncil. A subcouncil is chaired by one of the councillors and appoints a manager to run its day-to-day business. A subcouncil does not have any inherent responsibilities in law, but it is entitled to make recommendations to the City Council about anything that affects its area. The City Council may also delegate responsibilities to
3074-646: The whole metropolitan area: City of Cape Town (Central), City of Tygerberg, South Peninsula Municipality, Blaauwberg Municipality, Oostenberg Municipality, and Helderberg Municipality. The Cape Metropolitan Council continued with its coordinating functions. In 1998 Parliament enacted legislation (the Municipal Structures Act) determining the final form of local government in post-apartheid South Africa. This legislation determined that metropolitan areas would be governed by unified metropolitan municipalities . Local elections were held on 5 December 2000 ;
3132-560: Was chosen as her successor. The DA's Geordin Hill-Lewis was voted in as mayor after the 2021 local government elections. The following table shows the results of the 2021 election. The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021. The municipality has a total area of 2455 km . Subdivision varies according to purpose. Main places for census purposes may differ from planning districts. The 2001 census divided
3190-590: Was formally appointed city manager in April 2018. The local municipality was one of the four to have passed the 2009-10 audit by the Auditor-General of South Africa , who deemed it to have a clean administration. The City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in its present form took shape after the 2000 municipal elections. The old Central Cape Town MLC council had been governed by the New National Party (NNP), but they were losing support to
3248-496: Was in third place. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) initiated negotiations with five other smaller parties who together formed a kingmaker block of fifteen councillors, collectively known as the Multi-Party Forum parties. Despite the ID voting with the ANC, Helen Zille of the DA was elected executive mayor on 15 March 2006 by a very narrow margin with the support of the Multi-Party Forum. Andrew Arnolds of
3306-419: Was originally established to preserve a habitat for the rare and declining geometric tortoise ( Psammobates geometricus ), which is now locally extinct, but the reserve still protects about 220 species of plants, many of them endangered , as well as a range of animal species, such as the tiny parrot-beaked tortoise ( Homopus areolatus ), various snakes and a large variety of birds. Helderberg Nature Reserve
3364-509: Was upgraded to city status. The areas not included in a municipality were governed by divisional councils. Most of the Cape metropolitan area fell under the Divisional Council of the Cape, while the eastern parts around Brackenfell, Kuils River and the Helderberg area formed part of the Divisional Council of Stellenbosch, and an area in the northeast around Kraaifontein formed part of the Divisional Council of Paarl. In earlier years
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