Author: Marlene Nqumse
EXTENSION OF THE LEASE CONTRACT FOR THE PROVISION OF A FIRE STATION
FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
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Eden District Municipality intends to extend the lease of the contract for the provision of a fire station. The initial contract with Terblanche Transport (Pty) Ltd was valid for the period of 01 January 2015 until 31 December 2016. |
| This contract was extended for a further period up until 31 December 2017. A further extension was requested and also approved up until June 2018. A new request was made to Council for a further extension. On the 29th of May 2018 Council approved a further extension to June 2019.
In terms of Section 116 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003, a contract of agreement procured through the Supply Chain Management policy, may be amended by the parties, but only after the local community has been given reasonable notice of the intention to amend the contract or agreement. The local community is henceforth invited to provide comments, if any, in writing to Mr Monde Stratu, Municipal Manager of Eden District Municipality to 54 York Street, George, 6530 or topa.mm@edendm.gov.za before 31 July 2018. For any further information, contact the Chief Fire Officer, Mr Freddy Thaver at Firechief@edendm.gov.za. This notice is available on the notice boards of Eden District Municipality and the website. |
Acting Speaker unanimously elected by Council
During a Special Council meeting which was held on 13 June 2018, Cllr Barend Groenewald was unanimously elected as the Acting Speaker of Eden District Municipality. Cllr Groenwald’s appointment follows the resignation of Cllr Mark Willemse on Monday, 11 June 2018.
Cllr Mark Willemse has recently been elected as the Executive Mayor of Knysna Municipality.
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Eden DM hosts an EPWP Workshop
As the Political Champion for the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) at Eden District Municipality (Eden DM), Executive Mayor Cllr Memory Booysen recently initiated a workshop with internal and external stakeholders, aimed at providing them with a better knowledge and understanding of EPWP. A workshop, which was held on 6 June 2018, also sought to institutionalise EPWP within the organisation and therefore, this platform was used to enable Eden DM to coordinate EPWP for the entire region.
The Eden DM Council committed to an EPWP vision that strives to achieve long-term socio–economic goals, through the empowerment of youth and designated groups within the district. Council also strongly agrees that a multi- sectoral and all-inclusive approach must be utilised, to ultimately achieve the goals of the programme.
FLTR (back): Mr Richard Dyantyi – Eden DM EPWP Manager, Mr John Cloete – Deputy Director Coordination, Provincial Department of Public Works, Mr Jacobus Nakoo – EPWP Technical Support: Infrastructure Sector, National Department of Public Work, Mr Tembela Ndlazi – Social Sector – Deputy Director, National Department of Public Works, Cllr Memory Booysen – Eden DM Executive Mayor, Mr Mzimkulu Gusha – National EPWP Chief Director, National Department Public Works, Mr Monde Stratu – Eden DM Municipal Manager and Mr Lusanda Menze – Executive Manager: Planning and Economic Development.
Representatives from the National and Provincial Department of Public Works were invited to present on the following topics.
• A Historical Overview of the EPWP Programme;
• The Current National Stance;
• Recruitment and Selection Guidelines; and
• Funding Models.
After presentations, attendees were given the opportunity to pose questions, which in many cases prompted robust discussions amongst attendees. The representative from the National Department of Public Works enlightened Council about all the different processes, which form part of the 4th phase EPWP Plans and informed them about the consultation process scheduled for 26 June 2018.
In conclusion, Mr Monde Stratu, Eden DM Municipal Manager, emphasised the fact that although the EPWP Programme is a political programme, it must not be politicised. He furthermore explained that the Programme does not belong to one department, but needs to be an organisational programme. He acknowledges the linkage between Skills Development, Training and EPWP, elaborating on the fact that Eden DM plan to develop the region into a Skills Mecca.
In stipulating the way forward, Council recommended that the Eden DM EPWP Section engage on the following processes:
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Coordinate the EPWP or other employment programmes and be point of entry (contact) for other sectors in the region.
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Review the current EPWP Policy and include the structure, its dual reporting and ensure compliance to the Ministerial Determination.
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That the EPWP Section, through its Executive Manager re-inforce the Internal Steering Committee.
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EPWP must form part of the agenda of the Executive Committees of Council and Management.
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That Eden DM should strengthen Institutional arrangements to coordinate EPWP within the Municipality and ensure that EPWP Champions are appointed for all departments within the Municipalities.
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EPWP targets for Phase 3 should be included in the scorecards/performance agreements of Heads of Departments and the Municipal Manager.
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Regular feedback to Council, the Municipal Manager and Senior Management on EPWP progress.
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Continued Technical support be provided by National- and Western Cape Department of Public Works in order to assist the Municipality.
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That Council commit its support for more capacity within the EPWP Section.
- Eden DM EPWP Section must focus on sustainable livelihood in terms of training and SMME development of the beneficiaries.
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The Eden DM EPWP Team that was responsible to organised the Workshop.
FLTR: Mr Sheldon Flemming, Mr Richard Dyantyi, Ms Henlene Festus, Cllr Memory Booysen – Eden DM Executive Mayor, Ms Beaunita van Ryn , Ms Carmen Hartnick and Mr Samkelo Mthalaliso.According to the EPWP Manager and organisers, the workshop managed to achieve the envisaged objective Council expected and they embark to have more sessions of this nature in future.
Municipalities, Sector Departments and Ward Committees discuss the 2018/19 – 2021/22 IDPs
The Eden District Municipality (Eden DM) hosted its first Integrated Development Planning (IDP)/Budget and Performance Management System (PMS) Representative Forum on 21 and 22 May 2018 at the Civic Centre of Mossel Bay.
The list of invitees included municipal officials from the Eden District, including Bitou, Mossel Bay, Knysna, George, Kannaland, Oudtshoorn and Hessequa municipalities, Ward Committee Members, as well as Provincial Government Department representatives. Their role at the event was to fill the gaps for services delivery which will ultimately be incorporated into the 2018/2019 – 2021/2022 IDPs of the participating municipalities within the area.
Back row (from left) are: Mr Thembinkosi Henge – IDP Manager of Bitou Municipality, Ms Kholiswa Jobela – Social Worker Manager: Mossel Bay & Hessequa, Mr Juan de Lora – Deputy Director: Department of Transport and Public Works, Dr Terence Marshall – District Manager: Department of Health Services, Ms Claire du Plessis – Property Planner: Department of Education, Mr David Ali – Chief Town & Regional Planner: Department of Human Settlements Planning and Mr Mzukisi Skosana – Social Services Manager: Eden & Central Karoo.
Front row (from left) are: Brigadier Centyana – South African Police Services, Ms Zingiswa William – Community Development Supervisor: Eden & Central Karoo and Cllr Memory Booysen – Eden DM Executive Mayor.
In officially starting off the event on the 21th of May, Executive Deputy Mayor of Eden DM, Cllr Rosina Ruiters, emphasised the importance of cooperative governance and said: “It is extremely important when Municipalities, Ward Committees and Government Departments work together on one IDP to effectively deliver services to the residents of the area”.
The Executive Mayor of Eden DM, once again, as in similar preceding occasions of this magnitude, emphasised the issue of competitiveness between municipalities, when he said: “We as municipalities do not have to compete with one another. “We have different roles to fulfil”. He also made an example of Imbizos hosted by Municipalities. “When a local municipality wants to host an Imbizo, they can do so and we as a district can assist. He also explained that when the District wants to host an Imbizo, it can also be done within a municipal jurisdiction of the Eden district, but it must be done in collaboration with the relevant B-municipality,” he clarified.
In the demographic profile presented by Mayor Booysen, he stated that the poverty rate per headcount stands at 48, 5% which is worrying.
Given the recent water challenges of the District, Mayor Booysen also raised the issue of Eden DM who applied to become a water services authority and said that some municipalities in the district do not have the capacity to deal with their water challenges. “By becoming a water services authority, we need to look at the realities of our district,” he said. “Through these efforts, Mayor Booysen highlighted: “We want to be a caring, respectful and resourceful District. We want to inspire and we want to excel in whatever we do,” he added.
On the 1st day’s programme, Municipalities presented their challenges and gaps within their respective areas, which included: water storage facilities, storm water management facilities, the issue of land, funding, waste management facilities, unemployed youth, to name but a few. In response to all the questions posed by delegates in relation to the land issues, Mayor Booysen responded by saying: “We probably need to host a land summit in the near future to cover the issues of land per area”.
On day 2 of the Forum, Governmental Sector Departments presented the various services which they deliver to the communities within the Eden District. These Departments include: The Department of Agriculture, South African Police Services, Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, Department of Community Safety, Department of Human Settlements, Department of Education Department of Transport and Public Works etc. Delegates used the time availed to them to pose questions. The need for drug rehabilitation centres, additional SAPS services or satellite offices, additional ambulance services etc. were amongst the issues raised. Limited funding to roll out projects and the effects of water shortages etc. were also mentioned.
Executive Mayors, Executive Deputy Mayors and Councillors as well as Senior Officials, representatives from sector departments and ward committee members were amongst the guests who attended and participated in the discussions that will contribute to the planning of IDPs for the 2018/19 financial year.
The event was successfully organised by the IDP Section of Eden District Municipality led by Mzukisi Cekiso and directed by Speaker of Eden DM, Councillor Mark Willemse.
