Geography, History & Economy
Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality is part of Namakwa District Municipality.
MDB code: NC066
Description: The Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality is a Category B municipality situated in the Namakwa District of the Northern Cape Province. It is the second-largest of the six municipalities in the district, making up a quarter of its geographical area.
Although the municipality’s towns are separated by more than 100km by road, they share many administrative tasks. Jan Julies was elected the first COPE mayor of the municipality in 2011, as a COPE-DA coalition took control of the council after the election of 18 May 2011.
Hoogland is an Afrikaans word meaning ‘highland’ and Karoo is a Khoi word meaning ‘hard’ or ‘dry’. The name reflects the area, which has dry, arid and desert-like conditions.
Area: 30 230km²
Cities/Towns: Frasersburg, Sutherland, Williston
Main Economic Sectors: Community, social and personal services (42.5%), transport, storage and communication (15%), wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation (13.7%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (13%), finance, insurance, real estate and business services (8.8%), manufacturing (5.9%)