MunicipalitiesSA

Central Karoo District Municipality

DC5 District Western Cape Governed by n/a

102 173 Population Census 2022
38 854 Square kilometres 2.6 per km2
27 290 Households
5 Council seats Coalition governed

Central Karoo District Municipality is a district municipality in Western Cape, covering 38 854 square kilometres. It coordinates 3 local municipalities: Beaufort West, Laingsburg and Prince Albert. It takes in 10 recognised towns and settlements, among them Beaufort West, Klaarstroom, Laingsburg, Leeu Gamka, Matjiesfontein, Merweville, Murraysburg, Nelspoort.

Census 2022 counted 102 173 residents, making it the 17th most populous of the 30 municipalities in Western Cape and 183rd of 257 nationally. That works out to 2.6 people per square kilometre. The population is very sparsely distributed across a large area. There are 27 290 households, averaging 3.7 people each. 27.6% of residents are under 15 and 6.5% are over 65. Among residents aged 20 and over, 6.7% hold a higher education qualification and 5.2% have had no schooling.

The council has 5 seats across 4 parties, with DA holding the largest share at 2 seats (40.0%). It is governed by a coalition: n/a. Mrs Johanna Botha serves as executive mayor (ANC), and Mr Jackson Penxa is municipal manager.

On this site’s financial health measure, which weighs the Auditor-General’s opinion alongside operating margin, liquidity, cash cover and irregular spending, Central Karoo scores 62.4 out of 100 for 2024/25, a grade of C, described as fair. Its most recent audit outcome was recorded as “financially unqualified”. In 2024/25 it reported R115.3 million in operating revenue against R115.8 million in expenditure, an operating deficit of R0.5 million. At the last census, 87.1% of households had piped water inside the dwelling, 96.6% used electricity for lighting and 81.5% had refuse removed weekly.

Council and management

Seats: Electoral Commission, 2021 local government elections

  • DA 2
  • ANC 1
  • GOOD 1
  • KDF 1

Office bearers

Executive Mayor Mrs Johanna Botha ANC
Deputy Mayor Mr Isak Jacobs KDF
Speaker Ms Thershia Prince PA
Chief Whip n/a
Municipal Manager Mr Jackson Penxa
Chief Financial Officer Ms Kubelulo Makalima
Mayoral Committee Mr Abraham P Swanepoel
Mayoral Committee Mr Arnold Mackay
Mayoral Committee Mr Denver Sampie
Mayoral Committee Mr Donovan Snyders
Mayoral Committee Mr Gideon Pietersen
Mayoral Committee Mr Jacob J Van der Linde
Mayoral Committee Mr Lesley BJ Mdudumani
Mayoral Committee Ms Lizel M Paulse
Mayoral Committee Ms Lulama Piti
Mayoral Committee Mr Samual Jooste
Mayoral Committee Mr Shaun Michell Meyers
Mayoral Committee Mr Sydney D Koonthea
Senior Management Mr Amos Piti Coordinator: IDP
Senior Management Ms Barbara Koopman Director: Strategic Services
Senior Management Mr E Martin Performance Management, Risk Management and ICT
Senior Management Mr GE van Zyl Manager: Municipal Health Services
Senior Management Ms HL Jacobs Head: Legal Services
Senior Management Mr Recardo Ceaser Acting Manager: Road Infrastructure Services
Senior Management Adv TB Mea Director: Corporate Services
Communications Mr Quinton Louw Communications

Finances

National Treasury, audited outcomes

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
AUDIT OUTCOMEFinancially unqualifiedFinancially unqualifiedFinancially unqualifiedFinancially unqualifiedClean audit

Financial performance

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Property rates-----
Service charges-----
Investment revenue1 4751 7051 298805785
Transfers recognised - operational47 73345 69142 99443 01041 119
Other own revenue66 07074 04269 16661 24158 022
Total Revenue (excluding capital transfers and contributions)115 278121 438113 458105 05599 926
Employee costs68 74167 82962 40053 43549 170
Remuneration of councillors5 6404 9754 8293 8793 777
Depreciation and amortisation1 0257899391 015758
Finance charges789843834741894
Inventory consumed and bulk purchases14 45314 10612 59911 2529 132
Transfers and subsidies2341 1991 5332 9331 054
Other expenditure24 90733 44834 56926 32928 839
Total Expenditure115 789123 188117 70399 58493 624
Surplus/(Deficit)-512-1 750-4 2455 4716 302
Transfers and subsidies - capital (monetary allocations)430----
Transfers and subsidies - capital (in-kind)-----
Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions-82-1 750-4 2455 4716 302
Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate-----
Surplus/(Deficit) for the year-82-1 750-4 2455 4716 302

Capital expenditure & funds sources

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Capital expenditure3 6632 0411 0052 152-
Transfers recognised - capital3 2141 9378374-
Borrowing-----
Internally generated funds4491041682 149-
Total sources of capital funds3 6632 0411 0052 152-

Financial position

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Total current assets23 46019 47919 33625 71225 677
Total non current assets19 24016 83614 46216 35415 674
Total current liabilities23 22712 8889 50611 84716 918
Total non current liabilities13 64313 28113 17314 80614 491
Community wealth/Equity5 91111 89615 3649 9439 943

Cash flows

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Net cash from (used) operating80 586-79 403-120 464687 975-
Net cash from (used) investing--273(22)(172)
Net cash from (used) financing-----
Cash/cash equivalents at the year end93 273-68 038-107 262709 83221 707

Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Unauthorised expenditure2216 7596 12812 73170
Irregular expenditure6 6603 51718 3736 670-
Fruitless & wasteful expenditure217101781

Source: Audited Outcome A1 2026 Q1

People

Statistics South Africa, Census

Measure202220162011
Population102 17374 24771 011

Age structure

Measure202220162011
Population under 1527.6%25.4%30.5%
Population 15 to 6465.9%67.4%63.3%
Population over 656.5%7.2%6.2%

Dependency ratio

Measure202220162011
Per 100 (15-64)51.848.358

Sex ratio

Measure202220162011
Males per 100 females9293.895.9

Population growth

Measure202220162011
Per annum3.5%1.0%n/a

Labour market

Measure202220162011
Unemployment rate (official)n/an/a23.1
Youth unemployment rate (official) 15-34n/an/a30.9

Education (aged 20 +)

Measure202220162011
No schooling5.2%5.8%10.1%
Matricn/a29.521.5
Higher education6.7%3.2%7.0%

Household dynamics

Measure202220162011
Households27 29021 98019 075
Average household size3.73.43.7
Female headed householdsn/a40.838.2
Formal dwellings98.8%97.8%97.0%
Housing ownedn/a68.156.9

Household services

Measure202220162011
Flush toilet connected to sewerage97.5%93.7%89.1%
Weekly refuse removal81.5%90.8%78.7%
Piped water inside dwelling87.1%73.8%77.2%
Electricity for lighting96.6%95.1%89.4%

Service delivery

National Treasury, non-financial census of municipalities

Water

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?NoNoNoNoNo
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided00000
Number of domestic households/delivery points00000
Inside the yard00000
Less than 200m from yard00000
More than 200m from yard00000
Domestic households with access to free basic service00000

Electricity

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?NoNoNoNoNo
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided00000
Domestic households with access to free basic service00000

Sewerage and sanitation

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?NoNoNoNoNo
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided00000
Flush toilet - public sewerage00000
Flush toilet - septic tank00000
Ventilated pit latrine00000
Bucket system00000
Other00000
Domestic households with access to free basic service00000

Solid waste services

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?NoNoNoNoNo
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided00000
Domestic households with access to free basic service00000

Staffing

National Treasury

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Employment Costs (R’000)62 40053 43549 17054 17745 742
Remuneration of councillors (R’000)4 8293 8793 7773 8453 659
Total Employee Positions180172163152163
Total Vacant Employee Positions2323300
Total Vacancy Percentage12.8%13.4%1.8%0.0%0.0%
Managerial Positions – S54A and S5633333
Vacant Managerial Positions – S54A and S5620100
Managerial Positions - by organogram1111111110
Vacant Managerial Positions - by organogram32200

Published documents

Hosted by National Treasury

Annual Reports

Audit Reports

Audited Financial Statements

Integrated Development Plans