Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Municipality has in recent weeks embarked on several meaningful engagements with several sectors and representative groups of the local community.

An open door and effective engagement with the community have seen several burning issues addressed. Among others, there have been exhaustive talks with the community of Asla Park, who have made several demands about land availability and service delivery issues.

Recently a representative group of this community again met with the municipality to clarify demands. This was an amicable, yet much shorter meeting than the marathon meeting that followed the violent protests recently.

Community representatives indicated that the community expects acceptable answers to their demands, and that the answers they have received do not match their expectations.

The municipal manager thanked the representatives for their willingness to engage. He reiterated that the responsibility of the municipality is to cater for the good of the greater community of Mossel Bay, much of which requires a balancing act, considering available resources.

The representatives agreed to relay the municipality's reply to their demands to the Asla Park community.

Dana Bay
The Dana Bay community received an impromptu visit from the MEC for Community Safety in the Western Cape provincial government, Minister Dan Plato and the deputy provincial commissioner of police, Major-General Mpumelelo Manci, guests of ward councillor Marie de Klerk.

Several safety issues pertinent to the Dana Bay community were discussed, but the dismal working conditions at the KwaNonqaba Police Station were also highlighted.

Minister Plato undertook to personally investigate and promote the concerns raised by members of the Dana Bay ward committee and the Residents' Association of the Dana Bay Conservancy to the relevant higher authorities and to provide feedback as soon as possible.

Chairmen of the various farmers' unions in the greater Mossel Bay area in discussion with the deputy mayor of Mossel Bay, Councillor Dirk Kotzé and several other municipal councillors.

Mayixhale Street
Municipal manager Thys Giliomee and the executive manager in the office of the municipal manager, Colin Puren, this week again met with the leaders and residents off Mayixhale Street in KwaNonqaba.

This followed a request for more meaningful traffic calming measures along Mayixhale Street as the speed humps provided are seemingly not sufficient to make road users slow down. The municipal manager instructed the municipal engineers to devise a presentation on all the options available and will again meet with the community to discuss the options.

The community has expressed concern that school-going children especially are at risk when having to cross the busy road.

It was decided that a number of women in the affected community would be trained to assist the children to safely cross the road.

Farmers' unions
At a meeting with representatives of the various formal farmers' unions in the greater Mossel Bay area, the municipality raised the issue of availability of housing for people living on farms in the area.

Although several criteria exist, the farmers learnt that 5% of all housing developments are set aside to provide housing for farm workers who may qualify.

Representatives of the KwaNonqaba farmers met with municipal officials. Also present were Councillor Dawid Kamfer and Reagan Brown, an attorney.

Farmers interested in registering their farm workers for housing options were invited to liaise with Riaan Pienaar of the Housing Department (044 606 5187).

A very popular option in many other Western Cape towns is the availability of serviced erven at a discounted price that will allow farmers to assist their workers to erect a home of their own. Another concern is the lack of training facilities for farm workers.

Farmers rued the travelling costs from town to farms for people working on farms. However, they seemed excited about the housing options that will be made available in the Louis Fourie Corridor housing project. Another concern is the lack of training facilities for farm workers.

Joe Slovo
The municipality also responded to demands by the Joe Slovo community by doing an in loco inspection of the area.

On Friday, 7 September a delegation of the municipal executive and ward councillor Buda visited the area in the pouring rain to ascertain for themselves the veracity of the demands. The community insists that it wants full feedback on Saturday, 15 September.

The executive mayor, Alderman Harry Levendal (third from left), Ward Councillor Marie de Klerk and Councillor Niklaas Booisen (left), with the MEC of Community Safety, Minister Dan Plato (right) and Major-General Mpumelelo Manci, met with Dana Bay residents about safety concerns.

Some of the demands include traffic calming measures, palisade fencing for the créches in the area, electricity supplied to all informal dwellings, inside toilets for a number of dwellings in ward 12, and a play park for the children. Uppermost, however, is the demand for housing in the Asazani/Izinyoka housing development.

Formal home ownership issues were also listed. The municipality will revert to the community to address these concerns.

KwaNonqaba farmers
Discussions with the farmers in KwaNonqaba who have pig pens on a tract of land next to the N2 were held this week. At a follow-up meeting on Wednesday, 12 September the farmers were represented by legal counsel, Reagan Brown.

The municipality explained that part of the reason for engagement was to have the group of farmers formalised in a representative committee to assist with future engagement and negotiations and investigative discussions.

'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'