Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - After the recent violent protests in Asla Park, the executive mayor of Mossel Bay, Alderman Harry Levendal, municipal manager Advocate Thys Giliomee and municipal executives met with representatives of the community to thrash out the concerns they have raised with the municipality.

At the start of the meeting, the representatives of the Asla community raised concerns about the lack of a representative from either the Department of Justice or the national prosecuting authority at the meeting.

The community representatives emphasised the importance of those community members who were arrested, charged, brought before a court of law and were given bail, which they could not afford to pay.

Although the municipal manager explained the powers of the different spheres and departments of government and indicated that no one department or sphere of government can instruct the judiciary, the community representatives requested an intervention by the mayor and the municipal manager to secure the release of the arrested community members.

The municipal manager agreed to investigate whether and how he may personally assist. The community requested to be part of any discussions with the judiciary.

The meeting then dealt with the issues raised by the community:

Landless people must be given land
Availing land for landless people in Mossel Bay is done in line with the provision of housing opportunities by means of serviced sites or formal structures for residential purposes.

The municipality, in close relation with the provincial and national government, is delivering housing opportunities in line with its approved human settlement pipeline, housing demand database (waiting list) and resources provided by provincial and national government.

The current human settlement pipeline provides for the upgrading and formalisation of informal settlements. A total of 21 informal settlements will be upgraded with formal services comprising more than 4 000 serviced sites to be transferred to qualifying beneficiaries.

The formalisation of informal settlements is influenced by several factors, which includes environmental impact assessment studies and the availability of adequate funding. After due consideration of all planning and environmental requirements, the priority order for the formalisation of informal settlements has been determined as follows:

PHASE 1 (2018/2019 Financial Year)
Establishment of a Temporary Relocation Area (Transitional Camp) comprising 250 service sites with new shelters / structures. This phase should be completed during 2019.

PHASE 2 (2019/2020 Financial Year)
The following informal settlements will be formalised under Phase 2, namely:

Emfuleni / Marikana, Transand Camp, Asla E and Asla C. This phase should be completed during 2020, pending available funds from the DoHS.

PHASE 3 (2020/2021 Financial Year)
The following informal settlements will be formalised under Phase 3, namely:

Sinethemba, 7de Laan, Asla A, Asla D, Gwentswana, PA Camp and Wolwedans. This phase will follow after completion of the above phases and pending available funds.

The upgrading of informal settlements will be done as close as possible to the present location of informal settlements with a view to minimising social disruption and to minimise cost for the provision of bulk service infrastructure.

Human Settlement (Housing) is a national and provincial function. The responsibility to provide land for human settlement is that of National and Provincial Government. The Municipality has been proactive to mitigate this challenge and has commenced with the process to purchase additional land from private owners for this project.

The upgrading / formalisation of informal settlements were thoroughly planned by the Municipality taking into consideration land and infrastructure provision. The Municipality is committed to formalise all informal settlements in accordance with its human settlement pipeline and assures the community that adequate and suitable land will be secured via the National and Provincial Government to execute the programme.

Qualifying criteria
All qualifying beneficiaries for the informal settlement upgrading project will receive a serviced stand. Title will be given to those who qualify for a subsidy based on the following criteria:

• 18 years and older;
• Earn less than R3 500 per month;
• Must have financial dependents;
• Must be a RSA citizen;
• Does not own property

Beneficiary Liaison Committees have been established in all informal settlements. Continuous liaison with these committees is taking place during the project. The respective ward councillors also play a critical role in this by keeping the community updated on progress and phasing.

Discussion at meeting held on 7 August
a) The Municipality explained that the purchase of land was not a quick process. The Asla Park community was assured that they are part of the upgrading of informal settlement programme (UISP). It was agreed that the required presentation was not done to this community, compared to the other informal committees, due to the deadlock regarding applicable land portions for upgrading. The Municipality are always willing to inform the community accordingly and the community should set the platform for such a report back. However, if there is a deadlock regarding the land issue, little progress will be made in this instance.

b) Follow up meetings regarding the UISP could be arranged for the Asla Park Community in coordination with the ward councillor and the Beneficiary Liaison Committee.

ERF 2001 to be serviced for all informal settlement and backyard dwellers
Erf 2001, being the land south of Louis Fourie Road has been identified for future town expansion. The type of land use will be a mixture of business, residential, public facilities and the like. The land under discussion, namely the new cemetery, is not serviced at all. Detail planning of the area must still be done. The layout, roads, services and the like still needs to be planned.

Due to not offering any services, erf 2001 is currently not suitable for human settlement. It will be irresponsible and not in anyone’s interest to allow settlement on this property without proper planning and availability of municipal services. In order to ensure orderly settlement and provision of basic services the municipality needs time. The town planning in respect of erf 2001 will start in the 2018/2019 financial year and only thereafter implementation of services will follow.

Discussion at meeting held on 7 August
The Community Representatives request the municipality to provide documents to state how erf 2001 will be serviced for the benefit of people staying in informal units and backyard dwellers, especially those in Asla Park. The community representatives requested that the money available for UISP be used for services on erf 2001.

The Municipality explained the lengthy process in approving and establishing the cemetery on part of erf 2001. It was also explained that a lot of planning and design by professionals are needed before the start of the installation of any services. Installation of services can only follow once funds are secured from various sources of which there is nothing at this point in time.

It was agreed that the Municipality will request the Provincial Department to facilitate a session between the BLC and municipality to try and facilitate a possible solution and get the outstanding Social Compact signed.

Stop cutting water and reduce electricity to those who fail to pay services
The Municipality is committed to equitably provide basic services of a high standard to all its residents. Poor and Indigent households’ municipal accounts are subsidised through the implementation of the Municipality’s Indigent Policy. All these households receive 6 000 litres of free water per month. This is in line with the basic services provision guidelines set by National Government. Mossel Bay Municipality, like any other municipality within the Republic of South Africa, can unfortunately not provide more services free of charge, hence the threshold on the total litres of free water provision.

The onus is on each household to use water sparingly and to monitor its monthly water consumption. Outstanding debt on water should be settled within the set payment timeframe to avoid the levying of electricity auxiliaries to recover outstanding cost on water.

If not paid, the Municipality recover the cost for water used in excess of the 6 000 free litres by deducting a percentage with every prepaid electricity purchase. This practice is in accordance with the Municipality’s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy.

The Municipality does not cut water supply, but in rare cases restrict the flow of water. When water is put on drip due to non-payment, the drip system is designed to allow for a low-pressure flow of water to the household.

The community should also take note of the fact that indigent subsidies are only given to owners of the property and not the lessee or tenants. All non-benefiting property owners that meet the indigent criteria are encouraged to visit the Municipality to address such problems and to verify their particulars.

Discussion held on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality must educate staff and consultants in customer relations and customer care to ensure the public is in all instances treated in an acceptable manner

Mossel Bay Municipality will investigate the estimation of water readings on the account; investigate and rectify the water problem in Calitzdorp street and surrounding area; address the sewer problems experienced in the Asla Park area; and accelerate the provision of sewer services on conditions that an agreement can be reached on the UISP.

Return the electricity meter boxes from the houses which you have removed
Mossel Bay Municipality, like any other government institution has the constitutional obligation to deliver quality, cost-effective services in a sustainable manner. In order to fulfil this obligation, it is required of municipalities to plan and have policies in place that guides decision making and provides a framework for service delivery to ensure operational efficiency. In turn, communities have the obligation to pay municipalities to deliver services in line with these policy and operational guidelines.

Members of the local community must observe the mechanisms, processes and procedures of the Municipality and must comply with the by-laws of the Municipality when making use of municipal services.

It is in line with the Municipality’s service delivery policy guidelines that the Municipality removed approximately 70 electricity meter boxes in the 2017/2018 financial year due to tampering and or vandalism.

It is illegal to tamper with an electricity meter box
The Municipality incurs cost in the form of employee overtime, standby allowance, materials and supply to replace an electricity meter box and will not replace an electricity meter box if all evidence proves that the damage is caused as a result of tampering or vandalism.

Many of the electricity meters have been damaged to the extent that they are unsafe to reuse and must be replaced with new meters.

The Municipality’s tariff structure makes provision for a tariff to be paid for the replacement of electricity meter boxes in such instances. These electricity meter boxes can only be replaced once the individual households have paid the tampering fees as per the tariff structure.

Discussion held on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality will investigate whether the 70 electricity meter boxes that have been removed can be re-used. The owner of the property shall be responsible for the meter reinstallation costs.

Convene 2017-2018 IDP meeting
The IDP meetings for Ward 3 are scheduled for 21 August in the Asla Park Community Hall and on 28 August in the African Gospel Church Hall.

Discussion held on 7 August
The IDP meeting that will be held on 21 August 2018 must take the form of:

• Report back on the IDP and budget in respect of 2018/19 first; and
• Input on the 20119/20 IDP process.

Stop load shedding at formal houses next to informal settlement area
The Municipality do not implement load shedding. Sporadic electricity interruptions occurs in the said area, but this is mainly caused by illegal connections by people in the nearby informal settlements. These illegal connections cause short circuit faults and overload conditions resulting in the electricity interruptions.

Planned operations are carried out regularly in conjunction with the South African Police Service (SAPS) for the disconnection of illegal supplies in the informal settlements.

Discussion on 7 August
The director of technical services, Mr Naidoo informed the community representatives that the municipality applied to the Department of Energy for the installation of solar geysers. If approved this will bring relief during peak times. This needs to be followed up.

The possible overhead solar lights for the Calitzdorp Street area and others needs to be followed up.

The municipality needs to investigate solutions to the problem where people have illegal pole connections that affects the power supply to others.

Give free units for electricity and water to the household without them having to buy electricity first
The Mossel Bay Municipality is committed to enhance its internal arrangements and processes to improve service delivery and has as a result resolved to provide the monthly free 50 kWh of electricity to all qualifying households upfront by SMS, without having to purchase electricity first.

Households are requested to visit the Municipality to register and verify their contact details (cell phone numbers.) These numbers can be provided at any Municipal office or the office of ONTEC. Households that do not receive the free units upfront through their cell phones, will receive the free units with their first electricity purchase of the month.

Discussion on 7 August
The demand has already been implemented. The qualifying community members must ensure that their correct cell phone numbers are registered on the system by visiting any municipal office. This needs to be communicated at the IDP meetings.

The social grants and low-income households must get services of municipality for free
The Council’s policy states that residential properties with a valuation below R81 000 and households earning less than R3 480 per month, qualifies for indigent subsidy and get 50 units of electricity free, 6 000 litres of water free, as well as sewerage and refuse removal free and they do not pay rates.

Households earning four times the social pension - or so called poor man - qualifies for the subsidy and get 25 units of electricity, 6 000 litres of water free and their rates, refuse removal and sewerage is subsidised with 50%.

Thresholds and limitations must be placed on free basic services delivery to ensure sustainability. The intention of the government is to bring relief to the poor and needy through the indigent grant subsidies.

Discussion on 7 August
The possibility of not allowing additional levies, that is, stopping or slowing supply once the free units are exhausted, must be investigated.

Let us buy electricity directly from Eskom
Asla Park falls within the Mossel Bay Municipal licenced area of jurisdiction. As the existing electrical distribution networks belongs to Mossel Bay Municipality, it will not be possible to transfer the customers to Eskom.

Eskom only supply electricity to the Mossel Bay intake point, thereafter electricity is distributed via the Mossel Bay Municipality distribution network. This infrastructure was developed with municipal funds, funded by its ratepayers and cannot be transferred to Eskom.

Discussion on 7 August
As Asla Park is part of the Greater Mosselbay Municipality and Eskom only render service in rural areas around Mossel Bay, this is impossible.

Small business must be supported, not destroyed
The Mossel Bay Municipality has a fully-flexed Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) Unit that is tasked with the support, development and capacity building of SMME. In this unit a database of all SMME’s are kept, new businesses are assisted with registration and training opportunities are provided. The Municipality is doing this in partnership with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT).

The Municipality acknowledges the need for more economic infrastructure (Beehives) to be developed and is in the process to upgrade the existing container facilities to formal structures. Formal structures for small businesses will also be developed along the Mayixhale Street Corridor as part of the Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading initiative.

The Municipality, after consultation with the relevant structures in the Ward will investigate the possibility to demarcate and formalise more hawker stands to allow for informal trading. This will need to be consulted with other role players.

Discussion on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality must provide information about the list of SMME at the Thusong centre – leases, valid leases, waiting list and the like. Mossel Bay Municipality should investigate the possibility for braai on streets, as well as the possibility for small business at Asla Park hall.

Mossel Bay Municipality will include small business in Tourism indaba and move the Local Economic Development Unit to the Thusong Centre.

The suitability of containers for the businesses operated from it by foreigners will be investigated by Mossel Bay Municipality.

Mossel Bay Municipality will investigate possibilities of incorporating the Asla Park businesses in the Mossel Bay Business Chamber and investigate starting a Beehive next to the Asla Park taxi rank.

The taxi industry must also be supported to be involved in plans of local economic development

Mossel Bay Municipality will set up a meeting with all taxi associations, the LED office and other stakeholders to unpack the taxi industry’s involvement in the planning and development of the town. This meeting will take place before 30 September.

Discussion on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality will include taxi business in Tourism indaba.

Reduce the unemployment rate by involving the ward in plan
The Municipal Youth Office will set up an engagement with the youth of Ward 3 to discuss the matter further. This engagement will take place before 30 September.

Discussion on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality will involve the community in planning projects that create job opportunities. A community meeting must be arranged as soon as possible to discuss the opportunities.

Mossel Bay Municipality must create labour intensive projects to decrease unemployment for the youth. Mossel Bay Municipality needs to find projects to accelerate employment, especially employment in respect of the youth.

The shake-shake proses is not viable in Asla Park as the contractor / CLO employ people from outside Mossel Bay. The N2 project did not favour the community of Asla Park.

Reduce the high rate of using drugs in this ward by supporting good activities for youth
This matter will be discussed at the engagement to be scheduled before 30 September to obtain the inputs of the youth and interested parties of Ward 3.

The Mossel Bay Municipality established a Local Drug Action Committee and coordinate its programmes and interventions through this committee by means of the following:

• Work with the Local Drug Action Committee and Youth Office of Mossel Bay Municipality.
• Work with the Department of Social Development (who has a constitutional mandate) to alleviate the problem.
• At all times assist and welcome input at the proposed meeting.

Discussion on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality must facilitate a meeting between Ward 3 and the Department of Social Development.

The SA Police needs to engage with the community to return trust in SAPS.

Investigate Asla Park taxi rank
Overview/Background of Taxi Rank Development

The need for the development of a Taxi rank was identified by the Asla Park Community and further prioritised for implementation by the than Ward Committee of Ward 11 during the year 2011 and 2012.

The emphasis of the motivation of the community and relevant stakeholders was the lack of shelter for taxi commuters and the lack of infrastructure for small business development.

The general feeling was that a formalised taxi rank will create and stimulate opportunities for growth of informal traders and that the taxi rank will be the new hub of business activity in the area.

The minutes of an IDP Public Participation Meeting of Ward 11 held on 13 September 2011, minutes of a Ward Committee Meeting of Ward 11 held on 10 October 2012, and Ward Committee Project Prioritisation for 2012/2013 Capital Budget serves as supporting documentation.

IDP Priority
The need for a Taxi Rank in the area was identified and prioritised in the third generation IDP and the municipal budgets linked to the implementation of the IDP. The Taxi Rank was implemented in phases as a multi-year project as follows;

2012/2013
New Minibus Taxi Facilities c/o Andriaans /Crotz Street, Phase 2- R500 000

2013/2012
New Minibus Taxi Facilities c/o Andriaans /Crotz Street, Phase 2- R1 000 000

Interventions to save the taxi rank and to put it in full use
a) After a protest a meeting was held with community members regarding the future of the taxi rank. At this meeting it was agreed that all the entrances to the building should be closed.

b) That wrap wiring will be fitted to the steel poles to avoid people from climbing onto the roofs.

c) The roof screws will be tacked to avoid the roof sheets from being removed.

d) The parapet will be removed so that the people will not be able to hide behind it.

e )The community is invited to bring proposals as to what could be done with the building.

f) The future and use of this Taxi Rank will be discussed with the Taxi Associations as part of the meeting that will be convened by Mossel Bay Municipality before 30 September 2018.

Discussion on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality must do a full investigation: Who was on the ward committee that approved of this rank; how the contract was awarded; who was the contractor; why was no official hand over ever done.

Ministers of Human Settlement to meet with the community
Mossel Bay Municipality has no mandate or authority to instruct any national of provincial minister.

Discussion on 7 August
Mossel Bay Municipality will invite the Provincial Ministers of Human Settlement to meet with the community to discuss the purchase of land and housing for informal dwellers and backyard dwellers of Asla Park and ward 11; invite the National Ministers of Human Settlement to meet with the community to discuss the purchase of land and housing for informal dwellers and backyard dwellers of Asla Park and ward 11; and invite the National Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.

The community will invite the National Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.

The meeting adjourned at 21:35