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Local Economic Development

2 September 2020 Media Release: Innovative Re-Imagine Garden Route WebiShop video and presentations now accessible online

Media Release: Innovative Re-Imagine Garden Route WebiShop video and presentations now accessible online

For Immediate Release
2 September 2020

A first ever WebiShop was hosted by the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) in collaboration with the South Cape Economic Partnership (SCEP) and Western Cape Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (WESGRO) on 12 August 2020. This WebiShop aimed to address several topics relevant to re-imagining the Garden Route in an innovative and creative way. It also provided a platform for representatives from various think tanks, based locally and internationally, to share how they do things differently in a streamlined way to enable a “next” normal. Presenters logged in from as far as the United Kingdom and Finland to share their ideas.

At the beginning of the WebiShop (attended by close to 100 people), Alderman Memory Booysen, Executive Mayor for GRDM, said: “I am in awe when looking at all the brainpower together today”.

“I would like to see all of us putting our ‘thinking caps’ on and come up with innovative ideas,” said Alderman Booysen.

The panel included representatives from the GRDM, SCEP, TOMA-Now, FreedThinkers, Vodacom, The Depository & Clearing Corporation (UK), African Crowd Funding Association, Moxworld (Finland), Brilliance in Business and the Institute for Future’s Research.

The following themes/topics were discussed on 12 August 2020:

  • The place to be – Garden Route as a first choice;
  • Keeping it tight – the Circular Economy Model, concepts and examples;
  • Design it right – service design for the ‘new normal’;
  • Get Smart – solutions for a SMART region;
  • Funding for impact – Crowd Funding as an alternative to conventional funding;
  • The next normal – alternative business models;
  • Time to hold onto customers – practical steps to keeping your customers and attracting new ones;
  • Where to from here – next steps and way forward; and
  • Scenario planning concepts.

The themes and topics discussed provided a perfect baseline from which to begin with a process of re-imagining the Garden Route. The next phase would be to initiate sector-specific workshops. “These will consist of journey-mapping exercises led by three focus sectors namely Tourism, Agriculture, and Construction,” said Mr Paul Hoffman, Project Manager for SCEP. He added that a variety of sector-specific workshops and webinars, training opportunities, sector expert advisors, and business mentors will visit the Garden Route virtually and physically over the next few months to assist individual businesses. “We need to rebuild our economy, and these interventions form part of the Garden Route Recovery Plan that is in progress,” said Hoffman.

Towards the end of the four-and-a-half hour WebiShop, Mr Monde Stratu (Municipal Manager) reflected on the contents of the programme. He also said: “It is clear that COVID-19 has shown us that one sector is not going to be successful without another.” Stratu also stated that government is interested in building partnerships with the private sector. Proof of this commitment is the platforms the GRDM created to attract investment to the Garden Route – including the Garden Route Investment Conference, Green Energy Summit, to name but a few.

“In a month or two we will launch our Growth and Development Strategy for the region. This strategy will help the region to see what needs to be done to change the economic trajectory of the district. Coupled with this, the GRDM is finalising an investment prospectus. “We are trying to show people outside and inside our region what opportunities are available in the district, and that we are open for business,” said Stratu.

View the WebiShop online by browsing to this Youtube page.

Mpho Dondolo: Vodacom

Jaisheila Rajput: TOMA Now

Vicky Bridge: Get SMART

Danielle Ehrlich: Design it Right

Doris Viljoen: Flip it

Samantha Hillion-Burns: Brilliance Customer Experience 

Tarja Castel: Moxworld

Elizabeth Howard: African Crowdfunding Association

ENDS

16 April 2020 Call for applications: COVID-19 Agricultural disaster support fund for smallholder and communal farmers

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development hereby calls for applications from small holder farmers/producers who are currently in production and preparing for winter crops.

The main objective of this support is to complete the current production cycle in an effort to ensure adequate food production and supplies. The targeted beneficiaries are smallholder and communal producers with a turnover between R20 000 and R1 million per annum. 50% women, 40% youth and 6% people with disability will be targeted.  The Funding is a grant and the voucher system will apply in partnership with distributors and manufactures of these inputs and the grant shall not exceed R50 000 per farming operation.

The specific targeted commodities to be supported are the following: (this is guided by the country’s self-sufficiency index)

Commodity Specific Support
Poultry Day old chicks, Point of lay chickens, feed, medication and sawdust;
Vegetables Seed, Seedlings, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and soil correction.
Fruits Final spraying programmes for fruits that are ready for harvest.
Livestock Feed and medication
Winter Crops Soil correction, fertilizer, seeds, herbicides and pesticides.

Application Form

Agricultural Support Application Form

 Closing Date for the application is 22 APRIL 2020 by 16h00. Late applications will not be considered.

 Disclaimer: due to limitation of funds not all qualifying farmers will be funded.

Minimum Requirements

  • Smallholder farmers/producers must have a minimum turnover of R20 000 per annum but not exceeding R1 million. (produce financial records or evidence if financial statement cannot be produced during this lockdown period )
  • South African Certified ID copy; not older than 3 months
  • Valid confirmation of land tenure/ownership (title deeds, Tribal Resolution, Permission to Occupy, minimum 5 years lease agreement)
  • Already farming
  • Application form completed
  • Farming operation able to create permanent and/or seasonal jobs
  • In cases where the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Certificate is necessary for the operations, evidence of such to be provided.
  • Proof of access to water for irrigation in case of fruits, vegetables and winter crops (i.e. water license/rights or proof that it had been applied for, borehole or other sources).
  • Non-Government Employees

More detail on the selection criteria please visit the respective provincial Department of Agriculture OR national department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development or visit www.dalrrd.gov.za

The applications will be evaluated in line with the agreed selection criteria.

Application forms are available at Both National and Provincial Departments of Agriculture offices as well as at the district and National offices of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. DALRRD website: www.dalrrd.gov.za.

Completed application forms with the supporting documents must be submitted to the nearest Local, District Municipality or DALRRD.

Garden Route Business Impact and Continuity Survey March 2020

Recently our lives and specifically our businesses have been affected and disrupted by droughts, crime, energy issues / load shedding and now the Corona COVID -19 virus.

We wish to gather information from you as business owners and leaders as to the impact the disruptions are having on your business. Hence the survey is designed to gather a high-level insight into the impact on businesses and measures taken to ensure sustainable business operations. Read more…

Please click on the link below to complete the survey.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BusinessImpactSurveyMar2020

The survey consists of 12 questions and should not take you more than 10 minutes to complete.

Media Release: Garden Route students graduate after completing Cater Care Training Programme

Media Release: Garden Route students graduate after completing Cater Care Training Programme

For Immediate Release
5 February 2020

Friday, 31 January 2020, marked another prestigious highlight for representatives of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and the Francois Ferreira School of Culinary Art, when they witnessed the graduation of seventeen (17) Cater Care students from the Garden Route, in the presence of their parents. The ceremony took place at the Francois Ferreira Academy, which is located at the Mount View Resort in George.

Councillors and Management of Garden Route District Municipality and Mr Francois Ferreira, Head of the Francois Ferreira Academy of Culinary Arts, with the Cater Care students who graduated on Friday, 31 January 2020 in George.

The purpose of this collaborative programme between GRDM and the Francois Ferreira Academy is to address the high rate of unemployment within the Garden Route district through the Cater Care Training programme.  The course commenced on 4 September 2019 and concluded on 29 November 2019. During this period, the programme required all students to attend classes from Mondays to Thursdays from 8:30 to 15:00. It was expected from each student to attend class in uniform supplied to them while in training at a wing of the academy which is based in Oubaai, George.

“Take your eagle wings and fly”

Executive Deputy Mayor of GRDM, Cllr Rosina Ruiters, during her keynote address at the event.

During her keynote address at the event, Executive Deputy Mayor of GRDM, Cllr Rosina Ruiters, said: “A total of R350 000 was funded by the GRDM to train previously disadvantaged individuals in the Cater Care Programme with the intent to equip people to access jobs in the local Hospitality industry and Tourism sector”. She furthermore shared a motivational message with students and referred to the story of the eagle that was raised by a chicken and explained: “The chicken found a lost egg not knowing where it came from and then brooded the egg to become like a chicken”.  With these words Cllr Ruiters encouraged all students: “Take your eagle wings and fly – do not become a chicken”.

At the event, it became evident, that this journey was not only for students to be awarded with another certificate, but it served as proof of their overall passion and enthusiasm for the industry. This became known when two former students, Jackson Lencoe and David Griffins, shared their personal stories with the audience. Lencoe encouraged the students with the words: “If you want something, you have to be relentless and creative.” He furthermore shared words of appreciation to the Academy and GRDM who helped him discover the chef in him.  David Griffins furthermore said:  “I appreciate the opportunity provided to me” and shared these words with the students: “When I entered the academy, I knew nothing about being a chef, but with positive attitude and determination, everything else will follow; I learned, practised and never gave up,” he concluded.

Head of the Francois Fereirra Academy, Mr Francois Ferreira, focused predominantly on work ethics when entering the workplace, during his speech.

Adding to the words of Cllr Ruiters and the former students, the Head of the Academy, Mr Francois Ferreira, applauded all members of the team for their sheer commitment and congratulated them with the following words: “All of you worked very well throughout the course. We could see it in your theory and practical marks, with the lowest class percentage of 67% and the highest at 91%. Very well done”, he cheered. Mr Ferreira also sensitised all students and said that now becomes the harder part of finding permanent employment. To all who are not employed, he said: “Search for opportunities who fits your skills set and to students who are already employed, he said: “Look after your jobs as it is so skaars soos hoendertande”. He concluded: “You must have the right attitude and the right work ethic. Work hard at creating your career with the opportunity provided to you by Garden Route District Municipality”.

The ceremony concluded when Mr Ferreira extended a word of gratitude to the representatives of GRDM when he said:  “Thank you for taking hands with us to improve the lives of our youth in the Garden Route”.

Durban FilmMart attended by Garden Routers

Eleven (11) delegates from the Garden Route, including Garden Route Film Office (GRFO) members, visited the Durban FilmMart (DFM) between 18 and 22 July 2019. This festival is a joint programme of the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and takes place in conjunction with Durban International Film Festival that spans over a 10-day period, between 18 and 28 July 2019.

Mr Jacques van der Merwe (Director: GRFO), Mr Philip de Vries (Chairperson: GRFO) and Mr Clyde Berning.

Cllr Liza Stroebel, who represented Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) at the DFM, said: “The presence at such a festival is vibrant and exciting.   To see the hype of activities within the film industry under one roof and to be able to meet and greet foreign contingents, attend panel discussions and interact socially with artistic individuals within the broader film industry in South Africa and abroad, was an amazing experience.    I learnt so much about the film industry and will now be able to better represent the Garden Route District Municipality in the film industry in the Garden Route.”

Mr Jacques van der Merwe (Director: GRFO), left, with students at the DIFF, (fltr): Cara Botha, Amy Jansen, Antonie Botha, Moses Williams, and Stefan Kloppers (Standing)

“The purpose of the inclusion of learners from our region to the DFM was to expose them to the functioning of the industry on ground level and the value which could be added and brought to the Garden Route,” said Cllr Stroebel.

What the Durban FilmMart offers

On an annual basis, the DFM offers creatives, producers and other film industry experts the opportunity to develop content, skills and expertise, while also paving the way for cross-border collaborations and networks. Moreover, it offers a jam-packed programme of panel discussions, seminars, workshops, masterclasses, a finance forum and mini-conferences and exhibitions formed part of the festival.

Team of delegates

  • Mr Philip de Vries (GRFO Chairperson);
  • Mr Jacques van der Merwe (Director: GRFO);
  • Patrick Walton (Director: GRFO);
  • Lika Berning (Director: GRFO and owner of Ikasi Media;
  • Cllr Liza Stroebel (Garden Route District Municipality Councillor and EXCO member of GRFO);
  • Amy  Jansen (GRFO Secretary);
  • Stefan Kloppers (Learner);
  • Cara Botha (Learner);
  • Antonie Botha (Learner);
  • Moses Williams (Learner).

 

Visit http://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/ to read more about the International Film Festival.

More information is available on the DFM website too – http://www.durbanfilmmart.co.za/

Students overfilled with joy after completing 3-month Cater Care Course

“The day you were born you were given many gifts. One such gift is the gift of ‘free will’. What you do with opportunities presented to you, like for instance, being offered the opportunity to study here – depends on you. It is, therefore, without a doubt, a fact that the sky is the limit,” said Councillor Liza Stroebel.  In her concluding remarks, she emphasised the importance of decisions of students and that they need to take every opportunity presented to them, “or someone else will”.  Councillor Stroebel shared these wise words during the Cater Care Certificate handover ceremony which took place on 12 July 2019 in George.

The group of GRDM Councillors who witnessed the certificate handovers (seated, fltr): Rowan Spies (Portfolio Chairperson, Roads and Transport Planning Services), Jennifer Harnick, Joslyn Johnson (Portfolio Chairperson: Property Management & Development), Liza Stroebel, Khayalethu Lose (Portfolio Chairperson: Community Services), Erica Meyer (Portfolio Chairperson: Strategic Services) and Daniel Saayman. At the back (fltr), are: Cheri-Lynn Speelman (FFA, Senior Lecturer), Elizabeth Theron (FFA, Academic Manager), Denver Johnson (GR&KK Tourism Officer), Patricia Khumalo, Johannes Jafta (Economic Development Officer), Jessica Kalse, Jackson Lencoe, Sandiswa Booysen, Kyle Titus, David Griffith, Ronaldo Booysen, Markus Pretorius, Asanele Magama, Jabes Honne, Pheliswa Salman, Melanie Wilson (Manager: Tourism and Local Economic Development), Sindile Malobola, Denise Lindley (FFA Vice-Principal), Amagene Koeberg (GR&KK Tourism Coordinator), Asanele Magama, Natalie Raubenheimer (GR&KK Senior Local Development Officer) and Francois Ferreira (FFA Principal).

It was a chest-cramming task to single out 15 learners from a list of 37 hopeful applicants who applied for a three-month course Cater Care Course that started on 4 March and ended on 31 May 2019. Garden Route District Municipality fully funded the course of R300 000.00. Francois Ferreira Academy equipped the humble youth from the Garden Route with various hospitality and culinary skills.

Councillor Liza Stroebel delivering a keynote address to students where she highlighted that everyone is in control of their own destiny and that one should grab every opportunity in life that presents itself.

Selection Criteria for Cater Care Course

GRDM was responsible for the coordination and the mobilising of trainees through a formal recruitment and selection process. This has been the case for nearly 10 years.
Students are carefully selected by making use of the following criteria:
• Between the ages of 18 and 35;
• Be unemployed;
• Completed Grade 12;
• Showcase eagerness to make the hospitality industry a career; and
• Live in the Garden Route District.

Francois Ferreira’s Cater Care Course is underpinned by not only basic food preparation, but also life skills. These skills include, but are not limited to:

  • personal money management;
  • entrepreneurship,
  • conflict handling,
  • personal hygiene,
  • applying for a job,
  • teamwork; and
  • writing a curriculum vitae.

Additionally, the training course is the “first step” for aspiring chefs to a sustainable career in the hospitality and culinary industry.

Additional opportunities arranged for 30 learners

FFA subsequently applied and secured additional funding from a Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority Discretionary Grant and for an “Assistant Chef Skills” programme. A total of 30 learners will benefit from this training, which will include the 15 learners who completed their Level 1 Skills in Basic Food Preparation and Basic Service Skills. Students have already started with the “Assistant Chef” course and will continue until the end of August 2019.

During his opening remarks at the Certificate Ceremony which was held on 12 July 2019, Chef Francois Ferreira, Francois Ferreira Academy Principal, said: “It was a joy to teach a group with such enthusiasm and willingness to absorb information.” He also commended students for their “collective positive attitude as a team” which set them apart from previous groups. “You set the bar for future cater care students – each and every one of you have excelled.”

Francois Ferreira Academy Principal during the Certificate Ceremony boasting about the students’ teamwork and dedication to the programme.

Editor’s note:
Youth development is an essential component of GRDM’s efforts to grow the economy. A consequence of saddening statistics that indicate that the Garden Route District has the highest levels of youth unemployment amongst districts within the Western Cape. Youth are under-represented among the employed segment of Garden Routers.

The Municipal Structures Act 117 of 2000, Section 84(1)(m) reads: “Division of functions and powers between the district and local municipalities:
(1) A district municipality has the following functions and powers:
(m) Promotion of local tourism for the area of the district municipality”.