Bitou Local Municipality (; , formerly known as Plettenberg Bay Municipality) is a municipality part of Garden Route District Municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Its municipality code is WC047. Geography The municipality covers an area of between the Indian Ocean and the Tsitsikamma Mountains around the town of Plettenberg Bay. It is the easternmost municipality on the coast of the Western Cape, with its eastern edge at the Bloukrans River forming the border with the Eastern Cape. It abuts on the Knysna Municipality to the west, the George Municipality to the northwest, and the Kou-Kamma Municipality to the east. According to the 2011 census the municipality has a population of 49,162 people in 16,645 households. Of this population, 45.2% describe themselves as "Black African", 31.2% as "Coloured", and 16.9% as "White". The first language of 43.4% of the population is Afrikaans, while 38.0% speak Xhosa and 13.3% speak English. A majority of residents of the municipality live in the town of Plettenberg Bay, which in 2011 had a population of 31,804. On the other side of the Keurbooms River mouth from Plettenberg Bay is the coastal resort of Keurboomstrand (pop. 475), while the resort of Nature's Valley (pop. 460) is situated further east at the mouth of the Groot River. The Griqua settlement of Kranshoek (pop. 5,597) is situated west of Plettenberg Bay. In the interior of the municipality are villages at Kurland (pop. 4,033) and Wittedrif (pop. 1,822). History At the end of the apartheid era, the area that is today the Bitou Municipality formed part of the South Cape Regional Services Council (RSC). The town of Plettenberg Bay was governed by a municipal council elected by the white residents while the coloured residents of New Horizons were governed by a management committee subordinate to the white council. The village of Kurland was also governed by a management committee, while the Griqua settlement at Kranshoek was governed by a board of management. The villages of Wittedrif, Keurboomstrand and Nature's Valley were governed by local councils. After the national elections of 1994 a process of local government transformation began, in which negotiations were held between the existing local authorities, political parties, and local community organisations. As a result of these negotiations, the existing local authorities were dissolved and the Greater Plettenberg Bay Transitional Local Council (TLC) was established to replace all of them in December