MunicipalitiesSA

Beaufort West Local Municipality

WC053 Local Western Cape Governed by DA

72 972 Population Census 2022
21 917 Square kilometres 3.3 per km2
19 216 Households
13 Council seats

Beaufort West Local Municipality is a local municipality in Western Cape, covering 21 917 square kilometres. It falls within the Central Karoo District Municipality. It takes in the towns and settlements of Beaufort West, Merweville, Murraysburg and Nelspoort.

Census 2022 counted 72 972 residents, making it the 20th most populous of the 30 municipalities in Western Cape and 198th of 257 nationally. That works out to 3.3 people per square kilometre. The population is very sparsely distributed across a large area. There are 19 216 households, averaging 3.8 people each. 27.7% of residents are under 15 and 6.5% are over 65. Among residents aged 20 and over, 6.8% hold a higher education qualification and 5.2% have had no schooling.

The council has 13 seats across 5 parties, with DA holding the largest share at 7 seats (53.8%). DA governs the municipality. Ms Georgina Juliana Duimpies serves as executive mayor (DA), and Mr Amos C Makendlana 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, Beaufort West scores 38.5 out of 100 for 2024/25, a grade of E, described as distressed. Its most recent audit outcome was recorded as “financially unqualified”. In 2024/25 it reported R437.3 million in operating revenue against R464.1 million in expenditure, an operating deficit of R26.8 million. At the last census, 87.2% of households had piped water inside the dwelling, 97.3% used electricity for lighting and 79.6% had refuse removed weekly.

Council and management

Seats: Electoral Commission, 2021 local government elections

  • DA 7
  • ANC 3
  • GOOD 1
  • KDF 1
  • PA 1

Office bearers

Executive Mayor Ms Georgina Juliana Duimpies DA
Deputy Mayor Mr October Haarvoor DA
Speaker Mr Elvico Links DA
Chief Whip n/a
Municipal Manager Mr Amos C Makendlana
Chief Financial Officer Mr Bradley Jacobs
Mayoral Committee Mrs Anna Magdalena Slabbert
Mayoral Committee Mr Castro Luyanda de Bruin
Mayoral Committee Mr Gideon Pieterse
Mayoral Committee Mr Lesley Boyce Jason Mdudumani
Mayoral Committee Mrs Lulama Valentia Piti
Mayoral Committee Mr Samula Jooste
Mayoral Committee Mr Schaun Michell Meyers
Mayoral Committee Ms Sharifa Essop
Senior Management Mr Christo de Koker Manager: Electricians
Senior Management Mr Christopher Ben Wright Senior Manager: Water, Sanitation and PMU
Senior Management Mr Dons le Roux Manager: Lines and Construction
Senior Management Mr Lewellyn Lakay IDP Coordinator
Senior Management Mr Luzuko Nqotola Director: Infrastructure Services
Senior Management Mr Malcolm Lawrence Manager: Protection Services
Senior Management Mr Monwabisi Collin Tshibo Community Services
Senior Management Mr Petrus Strampher ICT Officer and Senior Manager: Corporate Services
Senior Management Mr Stephanus Luwatlin Pheiffers Manager: OHS
Senior Management Ms Vuyokazi Ruiters Manager: Waste Environmental and Facilities Management
Communications Ms Siyasanga Nombila Manager: ITC Manager

Finances

National Treasury, audited outcomes

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
AUDIT OUTCOMEFinancially unqualifiedQualified auditQualified auditQualified auditQualified audit

Financial performance

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Property rates55 32646 61445 59745 48442 007
Service charges164 388107 695127 431131 052121 140
Investment revenue3 0592 6842 121541192
Transfers recognised - operational99 321115 12292 21581 64389 882
Other own revenue115 206134 25265 56342 69749 565
Total Revenue (excluding capital transfers and contributions)437 301406 366332 927301 417302 787
Employee costs133 434124 332125 625124 977122 961
Remuneration of councillors6 5366 0186 2666 1736 228
Depreciation and amortisation31 60126 49320 84724 29921 321
Finance charges10 8624 4648 28411 38411 370
Inventory consumed and bulk purchases127 427107 28391 75290 74784 154
Transfers and subsidies--588500615
Other expenditure154 215136 701115 83869 203107 499
Total Expenditure464 075405 290369 200327 283354 149
Surplus/(Deficit)-26 7751 076-36 273-25 866-51 362
Transfers and subsidies - capital (monetary allocations)27 72515 94552 31414 81222 446
Transfers and subsidies - capital (in-kind)4602852 965794-
Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions1 41017 30619 007-10 260-28 916
Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate-----
Surplus/(Deficit) for the year1 41017 30619 007-10 260-28 916

Capital expenditure & funds sources

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Capital expenditure29 50716 88950 74127 8230
Transfers recognised - capital24 15513 86948 41626 1127 327
Borrowing-----
Internally generated funds5 3531 1901 9121 710-7 327
Total sources of capital funds29 50715 05950 32727 8230

Financial position

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Total current assets77 382132 085153 267174 604100 796
Total non current assets468 655452 716465 256436 672541 489
Total current liabilities128 765178 040218 201231 716159 221
Total non current liabilities102 32581 25650 60550 53746 939
Community wealth/Equity313 537308 199330 710339 284465 041

Cash flows

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Net cash from (used) operating-12 964-438 4193 028 1783 116 8691 926 959
Net cash from (used) investing-10 9955 992-50 350-17 560-19 948
Net cash from (used) financing-1 181-1 182-759-613-
Cash/cash equivalents at the year end-6 971-418 3372 992 8203 119 9131 924 612

Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Unauthorised expenditure6 69212 67721 279146 586103 899
Irregular expenditure15 60920 68927 7818 30123 273
Fruitless & wasteful expenditure2 4491 2138 96210 1743

Source: Audited Outcome A1 2026 Q1

People

Statistics South Africa, Census

Measure202220162011
Population72 97251 08049 586

Age structure

Measure202220162011
Population under 1527.7%26.6%31.5%
Population 15 to 6465.8%66.5%62.6%
Population over 656.5%6.9%5.9%

Dependency ratio

Measure202220162011
Per 100 (15-64)5250.559.7

Sex ratio

Measure202220162011
Males per 100 females91.492.794.8

Population growth

Measure202220162011
Per annum3.8%0.7%n/a

Labour market

Measure202220162011
Unemployment rate (official)n/an/a25.5
Youth unemployment rate (official) 15-34n/an/a34.5

Education (aged 20 +)

Measure202220162011
No schooling5.2%5.4%10.1%
Matricn/a31.823.6
Higher education6.8%3.8%6.3%

Household dynamics

Measure202220162011
Households19 21614 93513 088
Average household size3.83.43.8
Female headed householdsn/a39.837.7
Formal dwellings99.4%99.6%97.9%
Housing ownedn/a66.460.7

Household services

Measure202220162011
Flush toilet connected to sewerage98.0%95.3%92.4%
Weekly refuse removal79.6%91.7%83.7%
Piped water inside dwelling87.2%77.9%81.3%
Electricity for lighting97.3%96.0%92.0%

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 provided15 93415 93415 93415 93415 934
Number of domestic households/delivery points14 96114 96114 96114 96114 961
Inside the yard14 62114 62114 62114 62114 621
Less than 200m from yard8080808080
More than 200m from yard260260260260260
Domestic households with access to free basic service4 5934 5716 6276 5294 776

Electricity

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided14 16513 81313 69713 69713 448
Domestic households with access to free basic service4 5934 5716 6076 5496 505

Sewerage and sanitation

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided15 31015 31015 31015 31014 951
Flush toilet - public sewerage12 38312 38312 38312 38312 055
Flush toilet - septic tank1 5681 5681 5681 5681 568
Ventilated pit latrine355355355355355
Bucket system00000
Other313131310
Domestic households with access to free basic service4 5934 5714 8894 8004 638

Solid waste services

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided12 97812 97812 97812 97812 182
Domestic households with access to free basic service4 5935 4712 5892 5392 236

Staffing

National Treasury

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Employment Costs (R’000)125 625124 977122 961116 205106 439
Remuneration of councillors (R’000)6 2666 1736 2286 286608
Total Employee Positions465532511511481
Total Vacant Employee Positions87344138
Total Vacancy Percentage1.7%13.7%0.8%0.8%28.7%
Managerial Positions – S54A and S5666666
Vacant Managerial Positions – S54A and S5655112
Managerial Positions - by organogram1717171716
Vacant Managerial Positions - by organogram31336

Published documents

Hosted by National Treasury

Annual Reports

Audit Reports

Audited Financial Statements

Integrated Development Plans