Prince Albert | ||
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Local municipality | ||
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Location in the Western Cape |
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Coordinates: 33°00′S 22°00′E / 33.000°S 22.000°ECoordinates: 33°00′S 22°00′E / 33.000°S 22.000°E | ||
Country | South Africa | |
Province | Western Cape | |
District | Central Karoo | |
Seat | Prince Albert | |
Wards | 4 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Municipal council | |
• Mayor | Magdalene Benjamin | |
Area | ||
• Total | 8,153 km2 (3,148 sq mi) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• Total | 13,136 | |
• Density | 1.6/km2 (4.2/sq mi) | |
Racial makeup (2011) | ||
• Black African | 2.8% | |
• Coloured | 84.5% | |
• Indian/Asian | 0.3% | |
• White | 11.8% | |
First languages (2011) | ||
• Afrikaans | 93.5% | |
• English | 3.6% | |
• Other | 2.9% | |
Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) | |
Municipal code | WC052 |
Prince Albert Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
The municipality covers an area of 8,153 square kilometres (3,148 sq mi) in the Great Karoo, immediately north of the Swartberg mountains. It abuts on the Beaufort West Municipality to the north, the Baviaans Municipality to the east, the Oudtshoorn and Kannaland Municipalities to the south, and the Laingsburg Municipality to the west.
According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 13,136 people in 3,578 households. Of this population, 84.5% describe themselves as "Coloured", 11.8% as "White", and 2.8% as "Black African". The first language of 93.5% of the population is Afrikaans, while 3.6% speak English and 0.9% speak Xhosa.
The main town in the municipality is Prince Albert, which as of 2011 has a population of 7,054. North of Prince Albert on the N1 national road is the village of Leeu-Gamka (pop. 2,727), while Klaarstroom (pop. 584) is to the east of Prince Albert at the mouth of Meiringspoort.
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 wards, while the remaining three 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 18 May 2011 no party obtained a majority of seats; the Karoo Gemeenskaps Party (KGP) won three seats, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress won two each. The KGP and the ANC formed a coalition to govern the municipality.