Update

MOSSEL BAY  NEWS - After a marathon meeting that lasted more than nine hours on Tuesday, 7 August, Mossel Bay's executive mayor, Alderman Harry Levendal thanked the community representatives of Asla Park for the amicable manner in which the deliberations on their concerns and demands were conducted.

He added that continued community engagement in good faith is imperative, especially to ensure that the community's needs are articulated and properly noted and acted upon.

The meeting followed a meeting two weeks ago between the mayor, community representatives and the municipal executive management team where 15 concerns and demands were tabled in response to the violent service delivery unrest that disrupted Mossel Bay on 23 and 24 July.

After much deliberation the leaders decided on a number of further meetings where the community will be furnished with detailed feedback on the various concerns and demands that were raised with the municipality.

Land for the landless
"Let's work together, let's engage and speak regularly on the issues of the availability of land and other issues," Levendal urged when the community representatives amended their demands for land to also include opportunities for the farmers among them.

"There is enough land, give the landless access to land," community leader Mr Skoen argued. "Land is a burning issue."

The municipal manager, Adv Thys Giliomee, stressed that land is an important issue. "Land without improvements is meaningless. When land is given to landless people, it must be done in a manner that expresses respect for the dignity of the people. There should be services such as water and electricity, and to supply those services on unserviced land takes time and a lot of money - money that is only allocated per year," he said.

The mayor added that negotiations on important issues such as the availability of land are not settled in one day. "Negotiations should aim to benefit all participants, it is not a quick-fix solution. As leaders we should address the concerns and demands of the people together, so that everyone may know what the direction is we are following. I have spoken to outside departments for assistance, however, if there is no trust, we cannot progress. The availability of land is the single biggest issue. Let's agree to work together, let's agree on a committee to take this matter forward."

Erf 2001
Both the director of planning and integrated services, Carel Venter, and the director of community services, Elize Nel, explained the need for the development of a regional cemetery on Erf 2001, the land the Asla Park community insist should rather be made available for informal and low-cost housing. This cemetery is intended to serve all the communities in the greater Mossel Bay. 

The community representatives, however, reiterated their demand for the entire erf, with services, in order for all informal settlements to be rehomed there. The municipal manager repeatedly stressed that the municipality cannot rush into decisions on the availability of land. 

"Should the municipality now have to reallocate and rework approved priorities, the planning process will be set back by at least five years if not more."

Mr Venter said Erf 2001, south of Louis Fourie Road, has been identified for future expansion of Mossel Bay as part of Council's spatial development framework (SDF). The type of land use is intended to be a mixture of business, public and social facilities as well as residential areas. No detailed planning of the area has been done at this point. The land is not serviced with any municipal services and no streets exist. As this must still be done, it is not possible to provide accurate time frames of when development of this area will realise.

"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 municipal services. More detailed town planning in respect of erf 2001 is envisaged to start in the 2018/2019 financial year."

Mayor Levendal said holistic planning for human settlement development should be done. "The Louis Fourie Corridor was approved with several human settlement options available. Now we need to identify land for schools."

Housing indaba
Mr Skoen agreed with the mayor that there needs to be a system of regular and continued engagement. "However, we want specific time frames. Note that we will not budge on our demand for land."

It was decided that a housing indaba will be called with the community on a date to be confirmed to explain the current human settlement plans and proposals so that everyone can agree on a way forward.