MunicipalitiesSA

Witzenberg Local Municipality

WC022 Local Western Cape Governed by DA Coalition

103 765 Population Census 2022
10 753 Square kilometres 9.6 per km2
26 227 Households
23 Council seats Coalition governed

Witzenberg Local Municipality is a local municipality in Western Cape, covering 10 753 square kilometres. It falls within the Cape Winelands District Municipality. It takes in the towns and settlements of Ceres, Op-Die-Berg, Prince Alfred Hamlet, Tulbagh and Wolseley.

Census 2022 counted 103 765 residents, making it the 16th most populous of the 30 municipalities in Western Cape and 182nd of 257 nationally. That works out to 9.6 people per square kilometre. The population is very sparsely distributed across a large area. There are 26 227 households, averaging 4.0 people each. 22.4% of residents are under 15 and 5.7% are over 65. Among residents aged 20 and over, 8.2% hold a higher education qualification and 5.1% have had no schooling.

The council has 23 seats across 9 parties, with DA holding the largest share at 9 seats (39.1%). It is governed by a coalition: DA Coalition. Mr Trevor Abrahams serves as executive mayor (DA), and Mr David Nasson 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, Witzenberg scores 85.2 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 R902.5 million in operating revenue against R945.7 million in expenditure, an operating deficit of R43.2 million. At the last census, 84.4% of households had piped water inside the dwelling, 95.8% used electricity for lighting and 75.6% had refuse removed weekly.

Council and management

Seats: Electoral Commission, 2021 local government elections

  • DA 9
  • ANC 7
  • EFF 1
  • GOOD 1
  • ICOSA 1
  • PA 1
  • VF PLUS 1
  • WA 1
  • WP 1

Office bearers

Mayor Mr Trevor Abrahams DA
Deputy Mayor Mr Jonathan Nel ICOSA
Speaker Mrs Elizabeth Sidego DA
Chief Whip n/a
Municipal Manager Mr David Nasson
Chief Financial Officer Mr Cobus Kritzinger
Mayoral Committee Mr Hendrik Smit (Portfolio Chairperson: Technical Services) DA
Mayoral Committee Mr John Fredericks (Portfolio Chairperson: Corporate and Financial Services) VF
Mayoral Committee Mr Karriem Adams (Portfolio Chairperson: Housing Matters) DA
Mayoral Committee Mr Ronald Visagie (Portfolio Chairperson: Local Economic Development and Tourism) DA
Senior Management Mr Adrian Hofmeester Manager: IDP
Senior Management Ms Charlotte Mackenzie Manager: Municipal Housing
Senior Management Mr Hennie Taljaard Manager: Municipal Planning and Building Control
Senior Management Monwabisi Mpeluza Director: Corporate Services
Senior Management Mr Reginald Rhode ICT Officer
Senior Management Mr Riaan Fick Manager: Local- Socio-Economic Development
Communications Ms Rowena Hendricks 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 rates107 320101 31798 15788 70980 674
Service charges508 072528 792437 257431 573376 201
Investment revenue18 75822 01914 3905 5803 078
Transfers recognised - operational150 058145 661142 884124 169131 244
Other own revenue118 278130 82870 70065 18832 210
Total Revenue (excluding capital transfers and contributions)902 486928 616763 389715 220623 407
Employee costs269 855243 756217 108202 247201 544
Remuneration of councillors12 31511 63110 76610 0709 897
Depreciation and amortisation39 44634 24134 73038 33133 376
Finance charges7 8476 5429 9107 6764 484
Inventory consumed and bulk purchases415 900347 330298 471300 157252 332
Transfers and subsidies4 6332 8782 2082 6246 534
Other expenditure195 685223 188126 975127 629139 833
Total Expenditure945 681869 565700 168688 735648 000
Surplus/(Deficit)-43 19559 05063 22126 486-24 593
Transfers and subsidies - capital (monetary allocations)40 83436 53665 69364 24452 768
Transfers and subsidies - capital (in-kind)1 458----
Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions-90295 587128 91490 73028 175
Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate-----
Surplus/(Deficit) for the year-90295 587128 91490 73028 175

Capital expenditure & funds sources

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Capital expenditure82 87486 610-3 08072 390117 174
Transfers recognised - capital40 72137 92665 69364 14352 852
Borrowing7 8071 460-1 478-
Internally generated funds28 59143 81521 4969 39814 202
Total sources of capital funds77 11983 20287 19075 01967 054

Financial position

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Total current assets343 429356 662349 875276 846-9 410
Total non current assets1 144 1121 099 6321 099 2761 063 49788 792
Total current liabilities143 684131 793167 944120 826-11 885
Total non current liabilities93 51473 669117 555178 22559 572
Community wealth/Equity1 250 3431 252 3521 155 1331 040 0613 520

Cash flows

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Net cash from (used) operating306 379578 872528 557800 776604 669
Net cash from (used) investing-70 852-77 797-51 3662 1381 424
Net cash from (used) financing680-2 553607--
Cash/cash equivalents at the year end425 199725 324622 677918 219606 094

Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure

Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21
Unauthorised expenditure---8 9341 936
Irregular expenditure-5 8925 437--
Fruitless & wasteful expenditure-----

Source: Audited Outcome A1 2026 Q1

People

Statistics South Africa, Census

Measure202220162011
Population103 765130 548115 946

Age structure

Measure202220162011
Population under 1522.4%25.5%25.4%
Population 15 to 6471.9%70.9%70.4%
Population over 655.7%3.5%4.2%

Dependency ratio

Measure202220162011
Per 100 (15-64)394142

Sex ratio

Measure202220162011
Males per 100 females97.7108.4105.6

Population growth

Measure202220162011
Per annum-1.1%2.7%n/a

Labour market

Measure202220162011
Unemployment rate (official)n/an/a7.6
Youth unemployment rate (official) 15-34n/an/a9.9

Education (aged 20 +)

Measure202220162011
No schooling5.1%3.7%6.6%
Matricn/a24.718.2
Higher education8.2%5.9%5.7%

Household dynamics

Measure202220162011
Households26 22735 97627 419
Average household size43.64.2
Female headed householdsn/a29.328.9
Formal dwellings87.7%83.3%86.2%
Housing ownedn/a42.834.5

Household services

Measure202220162011
Flush toilet connected to sewerage96.1%92.4%91.5%
Weekly refuse removal75.6%87.1%69.9%
Piped water inside dwelling84.4%82.2%78.8%
Electricity for lighting95.8%94.5%93.4%

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 provided19 62718 58217 68116 48915 314
Number of domestic households/delivery points19 62718 58217 68116 48915 314
Inside the yard13 21413 21413 16712 70412 347
Less than 200m from yard6 4135 3684 5143 7852 531
More than 200m from yard0000436
Domestic households with access to free basic service3 1053 2053 1112 6423 701

Electricity

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided16 18016 18015 66615 61615 175
Domestic households with access to free basic service3 1053 2053 1112 6423 701

Sewerage and sanitation

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided20 39519 28218 83017 60916 219
Flush toilet - public sewerage13 16713 16713 16712 70412 697
Flush toilet - septic tank717717717717717
Ventilated pit latrine00000
Bucket system00000
Other6 5115 3984 6723 9142 531
Domestic households with access to free basic service3 1053 2053 1112 6423 701

Solid waste services

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Does the municipality provide?YesYesYesYesYes
Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided13 48613 46313 46317 10615 764
Domestic households with access to free basic service3 1053 2053 1112 6423 701

Staffing

National Treasury

Measure2022/232021/222020/212019/202018/19
Employment Costs (R’000)217 108202 247201 544180 139149 124
Remuneration of councillors (R’000)10 76610 0709 89710 60410 136
Total Employee Positions666602588570595
Total Vacant Employee Positions795711471
Total Vacancy Percentage11.9%9.5%1.9%0.7%11.9%
Managerial Positions – S54A and S5655555
Vacant Managerial Positions – S54A and S5611322
Managerial Positions - by organogram2928272725
Vacant Managerial Positions - by organogram710824

Published documents

Hosted by National Treasury

Annual Reports

Audit Reports

Audited Financial Statements

Integrated Development Plans