MunicipalitiesSA

Drakenstein Local Municipality

WC023 Local Western Cape Governed by DA

276 800 Population Census 2022
1 537 Square kilometres 180.1 per km2
76 776 Households
65 Council seats

Drakenstein Local Municipality is a local municipality in Western Cape, covering 1 537 square kilometres. It falls within the Cape Winelands District Municipality. It takes in 9 recognised towns and settlements, among them Gouda, Paarl, Saron, Wellington, Mbekweni, Simondium, Hermon, Gouda.

Census 2022 counted 276 800 residents, making it the 7th most populous of the 30 municipalities in Western Cape and 87th of 257 nationally. That works out to 180.1 people per square kilometre. Settlement is concentrated rather than scattered. There are 76 776 households, averaging 3.6 people each. 22.4% of residents are under 15 and 7.2% are over 65. Among residents aged 20 and over, 16.9% hold a higher education qualification and 2.2% have had no schooling.

The council has 65 seats across 11 parties, with DA holding the largest share at 35 seats (53.8%). DA governs the municipality. Mr Stephen Korabie serves as executive mayor (DA), and Dr Johan Leibbrandt 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, Drakenstein scores 95.7 out of 100 for 2024/25, a grade of A, described as strong. Its most recent audit outcome was recorded as “clean audit”. In 2024/25 it reported R3.5 billion in operating revenue against R3.3 billion in expenditure, an operating surplus of R245.6 million. At the last census, 88.6% of households had piped water inside the dwelling, 97.9% used electricity for lighting and 89.2% had refuse removed weekly.

Council and management

Seats: Electoral Commission, 2021 local government elections

  • DA 35
  • ANC 13
  • GOOD 4
  • VF PLUS 3
  • CDR 3
  • PA 2
  • PAC 1
  • ICOSA 1
  • EFF 1
  • ALJAMA 1
  • ACDP 1

Office bearers

Mayor Mr Stephen Korabie DA
Deputy Mayor Mr Gert Combrink (Finance and Portfolio Coordination) DA
Speaker Adv Koos le Roux DA
Chief Whip Ms Christephine Kearns
Municipal Manager Dr Johan Leibbrandt
Chief Financial Officer Mr Bradley Brown
Mayoral Committee Mr Anré Koegelenberg Waste, Roads, and Stormwater Management
Mayoral Committee Ms Avron Appollis Public Safety and Social Development
Mayoral Committee Mr Derrick America Corporate Services
Mayoral Committee Ms Elizabeth Baron Urbanisation and Human Settlements
Mayoral Committee Ms Elizabeth Solomons Cemetries and Facilities
Mayoral Committee Adv Johan Miller Governance, Planning, Economic Development, and Implementation Support
Mayoral Committee Ms Laurichia van Niekerk Tourism, Sport and Recreation
Mayoral Committee Mr Lorenzo Arendse Electricity, Water and Wastewater
Mayoral Committee Ms Lorraine Cyster Parks, Resorts and Open Spaces
Mayoral Committee Ms Rita Andreas Communication and Intergovernmental Relations [IGR]
Senior Management Ms Cheryl Phillips Economic Development and Tourism
Senior Management Ms Cindy Lategan Budget Assets and Financial
Senior Management Mr David Delaney Planning Services
Senior Management Ms Eda Barnard Executive Director: Safety and Community Services
Senior Management Mr Faarieg Rhoda Housing
Senior Management Mr Frans Serfontein Information and Communication Technology
Senior Management Mr Harry Liedeman Road, Storm Water and Traffic Engineering
Senior Management Mr Heinrich Vergotine Manager: Supply Chain Management
Senior Management Mr Joseph Barnard Water and Waste Water Services
Senior Management Mr Leon Laing Electro-Technical Services
Senior Management Mr Louis Pienaar Executive Director: Engineering Services
Senior Management Ms Nicola October Legal and Administration
Senior Management Ms Nthabiseng Keketsi Senior Manager: Revenue and Expenditure
Senior Management Mr Phillip Pansegrouw Technical Support, Projects and Programmes
Senior Management Mr Seraj Johaar Executive Director: Corporate and Planning Services
Senior Management Mr Thys Serfontein Solid Waste
Communications Ms Riana Geldenhuys Manager: Communication and Marketing

Finances

National Treasury, audited outcomes

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
AUDIT OUTCOMEClean auditClean auditClean auditClean auditClean audit

Financial performance

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Property rates503 780466 405437 183416 884343 711
Service charges2 360 1182 096 6771 873 2441 826 3711 627 177
Investment revenue91 78873 65736 8309 6735 223
Transfers recognised - operational251 503231 790206 950204 172233 236
Other own revenue323 548247 753226 557192 768192 223
Total Revenue (excluding capital transfers and contributions)3 530 7373 116 2832 780 7642 649 8672 401 570
Employee costs837 839801 749749 944720 232711 273
Remuneration of councillors34 84234 34033 21331 65431 101
Depreciation and amortisation247 456249 616246 679243 355227 235
Finance charges158 197167 822176 391180 162179 831
Inventory consumed and bulk purchases1 449 4371 227 9811 033 3991 037 912881 456
Transfers and subsidies38 00914 85124 90715 3448 534
Other expenditure519 321495 496492 993395 543436 770
Total Expenditure3 285 1012 991 8552 757 5262 624 2012 476 201
Surplus/(Deficit)245 636124 42823 23725 666-74 631
Transfers and subsidies - capital (monetary allocations)461 488450 75797 668107 364143 772
Transfers and subsidies - capital (in-kind)14 4128 19621 84710 44932 187
Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions721 536583 380142 751143 478101 327
Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate-----
Surplus/(Deficit) for the year721 536583 380142 751143 478101 327

Capital expenditure & funds sources

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Capital expenditure574 975487 716190 904157 051221 646
Transfers recognised - capital462 499401 279115 698112 773143 697
Borrowing-----
Internally generated funds112 47686 43775 20644 27877 950
Total sources of capital funds574 975487 716190 904157 051221 646

Financial position

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Total current assets1 919 0581 250 373909 825710 669557 898
Total non current assets7 245 1796 881 9516 647 6096 674 3496 270 876
Total current liabilities895 114572 496451 038586 310692 868
Total non current liabilities1 900 2731 892 4442 044 5551 884 2411 875 616
Community wealth/Equity6 368 8515 667 3855 061 8044 914 4674 316 964

Cash flows

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Net cash from (used) operating3 111 9051 229 5444 277 1461 456 8761 449 074
Net cash from (used) investing-567 491-483 318-190 825-157 042-124 054
Net cash from (used) financing2 400-1 029-27-1 387-
Cash/cash equivalents at the year end3 244 3191 190 4684 316 1771 437 5891 402 773

Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Unauthorised expenditure-----
Irregular expenditure27 765172 27344927 4073 113
Fruitless & wasteful expenditure177911 454--

Source: Audited Outcome A1 2026 Q1

People

Statistics South Africa, Census

Measure202220162011
Population276 800280 195251 262

Age structure

Measure202220162011
Population under 1522.4%26.4%25.6%
Population 15 to 6470.5%69.0%69.2%
Population over 657.2%4.6%5.2%

Dependency ratio

Measure202220162011
Per 100 (15-64)41.94544.5

Sex ratio

Measure202220162011
Males per 100 females93.897.696.7

Population growth

Measure202220162011
Per annum0.9%2.5%n/a

Labour market

Measure202220162011
Unemployment rate (official)n/an/a17.6
Youth unemployment rate (official) 15-34n/an/a24.6

Education (aged 20 +)

Measure202220162011
No schooling2.2%2.1%3.3%
Matricn/a33.727.4
Higher education16.9%11.1%11.6%

Household dynamics

Measure202220162011
Households76 77671 68659 773
Average household size3.63.94.2
Female headed householdsn/a34.133.6
Formal dwellings90.0%90.3%85.1%
Housing ownedn/a54.846.3

Household services

Measure202220162011
Flush toilet connected to sewerage96.7%96.9%93.5%
Weekly refuse removal89.2%90.6%86.1%
Piped water inside dwelling88.6%84.5%80.0%
Electricity for lighting97.9%95.5%95.0%

Service delivery

National Treasury, non-financial census of municipalities

Water

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided81 21378 99274 51774 40346 681
Number of domestic households/delivery points80 34978 12873 64073 52645 802
Inside the yard71 89170 44966 32066 32045 802
Less than 200m from yard8 0517 2727 1126 9980
More than 200m from yard4074072082080
Domestic households with access to free basic service15 21017 68221 21820 16219 805

Electricity

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided54 88154 88153 89953 89953 228
Domestic households with access to free basic service15 21020 84321 58821 29919 185

Sewerage and sanitation

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided78 39477 30275 76573 75550 034
Flush toilet - public sewerage67 79966 20758 82057 06840 543
Flush toilet - septic tank9 0468 8948 7448 5968 309
Ventilated pit latrine142142142142142
Bucket system378378378378378
Other1658177 0196 9090
Domestic households with access to free basic service15 21017 68221 21820 16219 805

Solid waste services

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided52 40150 90842 63542 02737 713
Domestic households with access to free basic service15 21017 68221 21820 16219 805

Staffing

National Treasury

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Employment Costs (R’000)749 944720 232711 273665 366669 025
Remuneration of councillors (R’000)33 21331 65431 10131 02729 945
Total Employee Positions2 0261 9501 7761 8832 215
Total Vacant Employee Positions29822651307
Total Vacancy Percentage14.7%11.6%0.3%0.1%13.9%
Managerial Positions – S54A and S5666666
Vacant Managerial Positions – S54A and S5600000
Managerial Positions - by organogram7272818161
Vacant Managerial Positions - by organogram33518

Published documents

Hosted by National Treasury

Annual Reports

Audit Reports

Audited Financial Statements

Integrated Development Plans