Overstrand Local Municipality
Overstrand Local Municipality is a local municipality in Western Cape, covering 1 675 square kilometres. It falls within the Overberg District Municipality. It takes in 17 recognised towns and settlements, among them Betty’s Bay, Birkenhead, De Kelders, Fisherhaven, Franskraal, Gansbaai, Hawston, Hermanus.
Census 2022 counted 132 495 residents, making it the 15th most populous of the 30 municipalities in Western Cape and 149th of 257 nationally. That works out to 79.1 people per square kilometre. Population is spread thinly across the area. There are 59 980 households, averaging 2.2 people each. 18.6% of residents are under 15 and 15.2% are over 65. Among residents aged 20 and over, 20.2% hold a higher education qualification and 2.2% have had no schooling.
The council has 27 seats across 6 parties, with DA holding the largest share at 17 seats (63.0%). DA governs the municipality. Mr Archie Klaas serves as executive mayor (DA), and Dr Dean O’Neill 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, Overstrand scores 81.4 out of 100 for 2024/25, a grade of B, described as sound. Its most recent audit outcome was recorded as “clean audit”. In 2024/25 it reported R2.0 billion in operating revenue against R1.8 billion in expenditure, an operating surplus of R130.0 million. At the last census, 87.6% of households had piped water inside the dwelling, 96.3% used electricity for lighting and 91.4% had refuse removed weekly.
Council and management
Seats: Electoral Commission, 2021 local government elections
- DA 17 63.0%
- ANC 4 14.8%
- LAND 2 7.4%
- VF PLUS 2 7.4%
- ACDP 1 3.7%
- EFF 1 3.7%
Office bearers
Finances
National Treasury, audited outcomes
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUDIT OUTCOME | Clean audit | Clean audit | Clean audit | Clean audit | Clean audit |
Financial performance
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property rates | 367 109 | 339 596 | 297 101 | 278 154 | 261 222 |
| Service charges | 1 116 329 | 1 001 922 | 840 648 | 825 796 | 733 197 |
| Investment revenue | 73 160 | 68 418 | 51 751 | 31 884 | 30 476 |
| Transfers recognised - operational | 199 017 | 191 359 | 172 163 | 152 046 | 140 895 |
| Other own revenue | 198 264 | 166 288 | 215 331 | 188 869 | 124 855 |
| Total Revenue (excluding capital transfers and contributions) | 1 953 878 | 1 767 584 | 1 576 994 | 1 476 750 | 1 290 646 |
| Employee costs | 531 381 | 522 688 | 480 939 | 452 651 | 436 029 |
| Remuneration of councillors | 13 332 | 12 730 | 12 315 | 11 538 | 11 219 |
| Depreciation and amortisation | 152 838 | 153 790 | 148 404 | 147 004 | 138 195 |
| Finance charges | 48 767 | 48 571 | 48 152 | 47 584 | 48 805 |
| Inventory consumed and bulk purchases | 533 086 | 504 074 | 404 638 | 404 258 | 343 314 |
| Transfers and subsidies | 16 716 | 16 512 | 16 086 | 12 750 | 8 651 |
| Other expenditure | 527 749 | 494 436 | 460 551 | 422 908 | 334 722 |
| Total Expenditure | 1 823 868 | 1 752 801 | 1 571 085 | 1 498 694 | 1 320 935 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | 130 010 | 14 783 | 5 909 | -21 944 | -30 290 |
| Transfers and subsidies - capital (monetary allocations) | 72 989 | 92 977 | 99 175 | 40 274 | 42 381 |
| Transfers and subsidies - capital (in-kind) | 4 003 | 21 280 | 6 130 | 2 060 | 18 757 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions | 207 001 | 129 040 | 111 214 | 20 390 | 30 848 |
| Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate | - | - | - | - | - |
| Surplus/(Deficit) for the year | 207 001 | 129 040 | 111 214 | 20 390 | 30 848 |
Capital expenditure & funds sources
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital expenditure | - | - | - | - | - |
| Transfers recognised - capital | - | - | - | - | - |
| Borrowing | - | - | - | - | - |
| Internally generated funds | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total sources of capital funds | - | - | - | - | - |
Financial position
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total current assets | 1 178 762 | 918 773 | 1 695 786 | 1 506 572 | 1 355 186 |
| Total non current assets | 4 051 141 | 4 189 268 | 4 119 024 | 3 946 528 | 3 921 556 |
| Total current liabilities | 420 580 | 432 531 | 1 274 103 | 1 028 011 | 899 699 |
| Total non current liabilities | 641 008 | 713 656 | 707 060 | 703 137 | 678 212 |
| Community wealth/Equity | 4 168 316 | 3 961 854 | 3 971 774 | 3 721 952 | 3 698 830 |
Cash flows
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash from (used) operating | -1 016 287 | 237 225 | 712 503 | -221 731 | 105 431 |
| Net cash from (used) investing | -135 710 | -198 385 | -186 141 | -6 234 | -58 296 |
| Net cash from (used) financing | 62 368 | 50 000 | - | -10 511 | - |
| Cash/cash equivalents at the year end | -412 971 | 735 375 | 1 142 642 | 374 247 | 700 949 |
Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unauthorised expenditure | - | - | 26 062 | 14 108 | 14 254 |
| Irregular expenditure | 3 349 | 4 341 | 2 333 | 240 | 1 451 |
| Fruitless & wasteful expenditure | - | - | - | 27 | - |
Source: Audited Outcome A1 2026 Q1
People
Statistics South Africa, Census
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 132 495 | 93 407 | 80 358 |
Age structure
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population under 15 | 18.6% | 24.0% | 21.5% |
| Population 15 to 64 | 66.2% | 64.1% | 65.6% |
| Population over 65 | 15.2% | 11.9% | 12.9% |
Dependency ratio
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100 (15-64) | 51 | 56 | 52.3 |
Sex ratio
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Males per 100 females | 94.5 | 98.1 | 97.9 |
Population growth
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per annum | 4.9% | 3.4% | n/a |
Labour market
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate (official) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Youth unemployment rate (official) 15-34 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Education (aged 20 +)
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No schooling | 2.2% | 2.3% | 2.5% |
| Matric | n/a | 29.4 | 27.3 |
| Higher education | 20.2% | 15.6% | 16.3% |
Household dynamics
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 59 980 | 35 718 | 27 983 |
| Average household size | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| Female headed households | n/a | 33.8 | 32.3 |
| Formal dwellings | 90.2% | 79.0% | 80.1% |
| Housing owned | n/a | 52.7 | 53.7 |
Household services
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flush toilet connected to sewerage | 99.0% | 86.3% | 93.6% |
| Weekly refuse removal | 91.4% | 94.0% | 91.6% |
| Piped water inside dwelling | 87.6% | 77.6% | 75.8% |
| Electricity for lighting | 96.3% | 95.7% | 90.4% |
Service delivery
National Treasury, non-financial census of municipalities
Water
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 35 002 | 34 460 | 33 581 | 32 357 | 32 211 |
| Number of domestic households/delivery points | 31 532 | 30 990 | 30 111 | 29 946 | 29 800 |
| Inside the yard | 31 532 | 30 990 | 30 111 | 29 946 | 29 800 |
| Less than 200m from yard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 200m from yard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 1 491 | 7 367 | 7 278 | 7 595 | 7 630 |
Electricity
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 27 356 | 24 011 | 24 011 | 24 011 | 24 011 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 1 491 | 7 367 | 7 278 | 9 595 | 7 630 |
Sewerage and sanitation
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 35 967 | 35 425 | 34 388 | 34 223 | 34 069 |
| Flush toilet - public sewerage | 31 532 | 30 990 | 30 111 | 29 946 | 29 631 |
| Flush toilet - septic tank | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ventilated pit latrine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bucket system | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 1 491 | 7 367 | 7 278 | 7 595 | 7 630 |
Solid waste services
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 35 601 | 33 895 | 33 895 | 30 438 | 29 994 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 1 491 | 7 367 | 7 278 | 7 595 | 7 630 |
Staffing
National Treasury
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Costs (R’000) | 480 939 | 452 651 | 436 029 | 380 730 | 367 858 |
| Remuneration of councillors (R’000) | 12 315 | 11 538 | 11 219 | 11 282 | 10 573 |
| Total Employee Positions | 1 257 | 1 193 | 1 090 | 1 126 | 1 161 |
| Total Vacant Employee Positions | 103 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 84 |
| Total Vacancy Percentage | 8.2% | 8.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 7.2% |
| Managerial Positions – S54A and S56 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Vacant Managerial Positions – S54A and S56 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Managerial Positions - by organogram | 56 | 56 | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Vacant Managerial Positions - by organogram | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Published documents
Hosted by National Treasury