Kou-Kamma Local Municipality


The Kou-Kamma Municipality is a local municipality in South Africa. It is situated in the southwest corner of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality along the Indian Ocean coastline, in the southwestern sector of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. To the west lies the Western Cape Province. Kou-Kamma also borders the Baviaans Local Municipality in the north and the Kouga Local Municipality to the east. The geographical area of the Municipality is 12,540 square kilometres.
Its name is a blend of the names of the Kouga and Tsitsikamma mountains, which in turn were named after the rivers Kouga and Tsitsikamma.
The municipality is a relatively poor area with high unemployment and low levels of literacy. Settlements tend to be scattered, which has posed challenges to the provision of infrastructure and basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity.
The Kou-Kamma Municipality is composed of two distinct regions: the coastal belt, and the inland area of the Langkloof. The two areas are separated by the Tsitsikamma Mountains.
The nature of the two areas differs vastly. The Coastal Zone is characterised by a diverse and fast-growing economy driven by tourism and agriculture, a fast-growing population linked to the economic opportunities, a good water supply, and a wealth of holiday destinations and indigenous forests.
In contrast, employment in the Langkloof is characterised by seasonal agriculture with high labour requirements. The area has greater challenges in terms of sufficient water supply, with additional pressure due to a high population growth related to migrant labour.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
PlaceCodeArea PopulationMost spoken language
Boskop1.03531Xhosa
Coldstream3.26954Afrikaans
Joubertina2.68845Afrikaans
Kagiso Height0.09854Xhosa
Kareedouw1.67743Afrikaans
Krakeel Rivier1.231,667Afrikaans
Louterwater1.032,535Afrikaans
Sandrif1.631,872Afrikaans
Stormsrivier1.67598Afrikaans
Thornham3.851,026Afrikaans
Tsitsikamma National Park11.05284Afrikaans
Tweeriviere0.643,995Afrikaans
Uitkyk1.212,303Afrikaans
Witelsbos2.4742Afrikaans
Woodslands0.351,304Afrikaans
Remainder of the municipality3,541.3514,729Afrikaans

Politics

The municipal council consists of eleven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in six wards, while the remaining five 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 3 August 2016 the African National Congress won a majority of six seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.