//Khara Hais Local Municipality

//Khara Hais Local Municipality was a local municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It fell within the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality and governed the town of Upington and surrounding rural areas. As of 2011 the municipality had a population of approximately 93,500 people, and covered an area of 21,780 square kilometres (8,410 sq mi).[3] The unusual spelling of the name comes from the original transcription of the Khwe language name, where the click consonant became "//".

//Khara Hais
Local municipality
Official seal of //Khara Hais
Seal
Location in the Northern Cape
Location in the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 27°40′S 21°20′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceNorthern Cape
DistrictZF Mgcawu
SeatUpington
Wards14
Government
[1]
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorLimakhotso Koloi (ANC)
Area
 • Total21,780 km2 (8,410 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total93,494
 • Density4.3/km2 (11/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[2]
 • Black African23.1%
 • Coloured65.2%
 • Indian/Asian0.7%
 • White9.9%
First languages (2011)
[2]
 • Afrikaans86.5%
 • Xhosa5.1%
 • Tswana3.6%
 • English1.9%
 • Other2.9%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeNC083

After municipal elections on 3 August 2016 it was merged with the Mier Local Municipality to form the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality.

Geography

The municipality area covered 21,780 square kilometres (8,410 sq mi) and stretched from the Orange River valley northwards to the international border with Botswana. Irrigation from the Orange River has produced a narrow band of irrigated land along the valley, while the rest of the municipality is desert, being the southernmost extent of the Kalahari. The Molopo and Kuruman Rivers flow intermittently through this desert area.

According to the 2011 census the municipality had a population of 93,494 people in 23,245 households. 65.2% of these people describe themselves as "Coloured", 23.1% as "Black African", and 9.9% as "White". 86.5% of the population speaks Afrikaans as their first language, 5.1% speak Xhosa, 3.6% speak Tswana and 1.9% speak English.[3]

Most of the residents of the municipality live in the town of Upington, which has a population of 74,834.[4] There are several smaller agricultural villages in the Orange River valley; they include (from east to west) Lamprechtsdrif (pop. 817), Karos (pop. 1,249), Leerkrans (pop. 1,383), Straussburg (pop. 1,157), Swartkop (pop. 1,652), Louisvale (pop. 4,435)[5] and Klippunt (pop. 3,473).

Politics

The municipal council consisted of twenty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fourteen councillors were elected by first-past-the-post voting in fourteen wards, while the remaining thirteen were chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives was proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 18 May 2011 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of sixteen seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.[6][7]

PartyVotesSeats
WardListTotal %WardListTotal
ANC 19,03619,33938,37560.512416
Democratic Alliance 7,7527,75615,50824.4257
COPE 4,5104,4058,91514.0044
FF Plus 2242494730.7000
Independent 186–1860.30–0
Total 31,70831,74963,457100.0141327
Spoilt votes 384346730

Wine industry

Most of Upington's wines are produced by Orange River Wine Cellars (OWC). The company has six depots in the area (all of them on the banks of the Orange River) at Upington, Kanoneiland, Grootdrink, Kakamas, Keimoes and Groblershoop. The wines from OWC are exported, inter alia, to Europe and the USA. A number of privately owned cellars also exist in the area. The //Khara Hais region accounts for more or less 40% of South Africa's grape exports.

References
  1. "Council". //Khara Hais Municipality. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. "//Khara Hais". Census 2011.
  4. Including the township of Pabalello.
  5. Including Eldansrus and Raaswater.
  6. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Khara Hais" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  7. "Seat Calculation Detail: Khara Hais" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
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