Hantam Local Municipality

Hantam Municipality (Afrikaans: Hantam Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within the Namakwa District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

Hantam
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 31°15′S 19°45′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	Namakwa
Seat	Calvinia
Wards	7
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Roger Nieldo Swartz (ANC)[2]
Area
• Total	36,128 km2 (13,949 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[3]
• Total	22,281
• Density	0.62/km2 (1.6/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2022) [4]
• Black African	1.4%
• Coloured	87.5%
• White	10.5%
First languages (2011) [4]
• Afrikaans	96.7%
• English	1.1%
• Other	2.2%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	NC065

Hantam is a Khoekhoe word that means "mountains where the bulbs grow". The municipality is named after the Hantam Mountains found in the area.^[5]

Main places

The 2011 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[6]

Place	Code	Population	Area (km2)
Brandvlei	366001	2,859	29.3
Calvinia	366005	9,680	154.5
Loeriesfontein	366003	2,744	34.5
Nieuwoudtville	366004	2,093	26.3
Tankwa Karoo National Park	366006	28	267.9
Remainder	366002	4,175	35,615.7
Total		21,578	36,128.0

Demographics

According to the 2022 South African census, the municipality had a population of 22,281 people. Of these, 87.5% identified as "Coloured," 10.5% as "White," and 1.4% as "Black African."^[7]

Finances

In the 2018/19 financial year, 78% of the council's expenditure was deemed unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful, down from 95% the previous year. At the end of the 2019 year, the council had a cash balance to cover its operating costs for ten days.^[8]

Politics

Main article: Hantam Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of thirteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seven wards, while the remaining six are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 1 November 2021 no party obtained a majority of seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.^[9][10]

Hantam local election, 1 November 2021
Party		Votes				Seats
		Ward	List	Total	%	Ward	List	Total
	African National Congress	3,660	3,637	7,297	44.5%	5	1	6
	Democratic Alliance	2,322	2,359	4,681	28.6%	2	2	4
	Patriotic Alliance	602	623	1,225	7.5%	0	1	1
	Freedom Front Plus	604	587	1,191	7.3%	0	1	1
	Namakwa Civic Movement	338	390	728	4.4%	0	1	1
	Good	240	254	494	3.0%	0	0	0
	Congress of the People	144	216	360	2.2%	0	0	0
	Independent candidates	207	–	207	1.3%	0	–	0
	Economic Freedom Fighters	75	82	157	1.0%	0	0	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	26	21	47	0.3%	0	0	0
Total		8,218	8,169	16,387		7	6	13
Valid votes		8,218	8,169	16,387	98.0%
Spoilt votes		161	172	333	2.0%
Total votes cast		8,379	8,341	16,720
Voter turnout		8,393
Registered voters		13,732
Turnout percentage		61.1%