The Demarcation Board has proposed some startling changes to the 15 current wards within the Kouga Municipal boundaries.
The ANC wants Paradise Beach to form part of a St Francis Bay ward.
There are 55 278 registered voters within Kouga and when divided by the 15 wards, there should be approximately 3 685 voters per ward.
A variance of 15 % is permissible, according to DA Councillor Nico Botha.
“This means that there could be 3 132 voters per ward with a maximum of 4 238,” explained Botha at a public meeting held on Friday morning in Jeffreys Bay.
Taking Ward 14 (Paradise Beach, Aston Bay, Tokyo Sexwale) as an example, there are currently 4 543 voters registered, while in Ward 2 (Pellsrus) there are only 2 040 registered voters.
Changes to the ward boundaries are therefore necessary to ensure voters are equally distributed throughout all 15 wards.
However, the Demarcation Board has come up with dramatic proposals that will totally change some wards.
Paradise Beach will form part of St Francis Bay, while Ocean View will join Aston Bay in a new Ward 14 are some of the changes proposed by the Demarcation Board.
Other proposals include Sea Vista in St Francis Bay (currently Ward 12) forming part of Oyster Bay (Ward 1).
The proposals will be presented to the entire community of Kouga at a public meeting to be held at the Humansdorp Country Club at 10 am on 28 January.
This will be the opportunity for residents to have their say about the proposed changes to the 15 wards in Kouga.
The next local government election will take place in 2016. The date of the election has not yet been announced but must take place within 90 days of the previous election date, which was 18 May.
Currently the ANC hold 15 of the seats in the Kouga Council, with the DA holding the remaining 14 seats.
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