Author: Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe

In the past week, we had the privilege of hosting a visit by Premier Alan Winde and members of his Cabinet to George. During the engagement, there was recognition of the work that is ongoing to maintain and improve infrastructure while also visiting a few of the tourism-focused businesses ahead of this month being Tourism Month. During our discussions, attention was also given to the sharing and gathering of data that is so essential to interpreting trends that would influence growth and employment. We also raised matters that could be of mutual benefit to the Province and George.

Even though the visit had this focus, we remain ever mindful of the importance of ensuring that our citizens remain safe, that a caring environment is fostered and how citizens, civil society and businesses can assist in making the city a better place for all.

I have recently written about how the municipality is spending more of its budget to ensure that the safety of our citizens is improved. As mentioned, we will be increasing our complement of law enforcement officers and the size of our CCTV camera network beyond the current plus 600 cameras. There is no doubt that citizens should become more safety conscious and alert at home and in moving about.

Neighbourhood watches should be supported, and it would be a great benefit if additional cameras can be sourced by neighbourhoods and the business sector to complement those already in the municipal network. In this way, there will be greater surveillance over more parts of the city.

The tough economic and social conditions also contribute to many homeless and destitute persons on our streets. Even though this is not a municipal function, we are concerned about the wellbeing of these citizens. We are appreciative of the work that is being done within civil society to assist these persons and encourage further assistance.

The municipality has also been approached by citizens and businesses who are keen to play a role in improving the lives of George citizens. Some of their ideas range from education, the environment, sport to business.

We welcome discussion on these ideas and proposals as some could be turned into opportunities or possibly form part of the corporate social responsibility framework approved by council. The latter framework enables the corporate sector to benefit communities and society through projects that will simultaneously meet social responsibilities.

We would therefore like to encourage discussion of these ideas covering the above broad range of categories from safety, caring, social improvements to the facilitation of more opportunities that will be to the benefit of George. Suggestions can be sent to smartideas@george.gov.za and will be channeled to the appropriate Directorate for further interaction.

Ald. Leon van Wyk

Executive Mayor of George

On Friday, 2 September 2022, the Executive Mayor of George, Alderman Leon van Wyk accompanied by the Portfolio Councillor for Electrotechnical Services Cllr Nosicelo Mbete, the Director of Electrotechnical Services in the George Municipality Bongani Mandla, and the Electrotechnical Services team visited an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) installations on traffic intersections to mark the completion of the UPS installation programme.

As of 29 August 2022, 57 intersections with traffic lights have been installed with UPS units in George. The remaining intersections will be installed once the current road construction has been completed.

The first phase comprised installations of UPS units in the 40 major road intersections with traffic lights that were completed in the previous financial year (2021/2022), ending in June 2022. The second phase included 17 more intersections that were covered and were completed at the end of August 2022.

These units, which are eco-friendly and energy-saving, automatically kick in and operate the traffic lights should the electricity supply be interrupted for any reason with an average duration of 4 hours, before the battery needs recharging. This means that traffic intersections in George are free from Eskom’s load shedding and unplanned power outages for the durability of the batteries, thereby allowing seamless traffic flow.

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The Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) Blue Drop programme which was established to encourage continued progress and to acknowledge excellence in drinking water services management in South Africa is in the loom, and the George Municipality is ready to partake in this year’s programme that is set to start in September 2022.

The Blue Drop and Green Drop Certification Programmes are forms of Incentive-based Regulation (IBR) pioneered by the South African Water Sector since 2008. legislation, Water Services Act; Act 108 of 1997, Section 82 d, e & f. The programme seeks to focus on Improvement in Performance, Compliance and Efficiency.

George Municipality’s state of readiness for the upcoming Blue Drop Certification Programme

According to the Deputy Director for Water and Sanitation in the Civil Engineering Services Department in the George Municipality, Deon de Jager, the Blue Drop Certification is intended to monitor the drinking water quality supplied to consumers countrywide. “Both water quality and administrative aspects are combined in this certification with the emphasis being on the administrative aspects instead of water quality and George has put all the ducks in the row to be evaluated.”

“The first-round assessments for the upcoming Blue Drop evaluations are scheduled for September 2022.  After the first-round evaluations, the DWS will, if necessary, allow the George Municipality to implement and report on corrective measures to be implemented, to enable the Municipality to correct and submit the required information,” de Jager added.

De Jager confirmed that the draft water safety plans have been completed. He also said that the water treatment process audits are underway, and the George Municipality is assisted by IX Engineers and Chris Swartz consultants.  “All relevant personnel reporting to DWS have been registered on the IRIS reporting system.  The George Municipal Water Treatment and Laboratory sections are working around the clock to ensure that we comply with all legislative requirements as set out by the DWS.  Furthermore, the George Municipality is in the process of performing process audits on all its raw and potable water pump stations, towers, and storage reservoirs.”

Green Drop Certification – Updating its wastewater risk abatement plans and wastewater treatment process audits underway for George

Green Drop Certification is awarded to wastewater systems that obtain scores of 90% when compared against the criteria set for wastewater management. This assisted Water Services Authorities to strive for improvement in their management of wastewater as part of the incentive-based regulation approach.  Green Drop Certification is awarded to wastewater systems that obtain scores of above 90% when compared against the criteria set for wastewater management, while a system that achieved less than 31% is regarded as a dysfunctional system which would require appropriate interventions.

The next Green Drop Evaluations is scheduled for 2023 (dates to be confirmed by the DWS). In the meantime, the George Municipality is in the process of updating its wastewater risk abatement plans and wastewater treatment process audits.  Furthermore, the George Municipality appointed an external professional services provider to evaluate all sewer pump stations within the George Municipal area.  All of this contributes to the evaluation criteria.

What is a No Drop Programme?

The Department of Water and Sanitation developed the No Drop Programme to draw attention to and encourage progress in water use efficiency and water loss / Non-revenue Water management in the South African municipal sector.  No Drop Certification means that a municipality is accomplished in its water conservation and water demand management practice and receives public accolade and acknowledgement of its excellence in water supply management against a set of strict criteria.  The No Drop has been developed in a similar framework to the Blue Drop (drinking water quality) and Green Drop (wastewater management) in 2013, followed by a partial rollout to all non-metro municipalities in 2014 and a full rollout to all 8 metropolitan municipalities in 2014/15.  The No Drop evaluations form part of the Blue Drop evaluations.

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Link to Ald Leon van Wyk, Executive Mayor of George on the PV Solar Plant and SCADA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwA1TMBSAb0

The Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Minister Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister for Mobility Daylin Mitchell, Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk, Deputy Mayor Raybin Figland, and a delegation including members of the George Mayoral Committee, Municipal Manager Dr Michele Gratz, and senior officials s visited the 300 Kilo Watt peak Photovoltaic (PV) solar plant at the Civic Centre parking lot On Wednesday, 31 August 2022. This is the first solar project in a George Municipal property and was completed and commissioned last year September.

They also visited the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), a monitoring system which is basically an online web-based portal that allows remote monitoring of the performance of the PV plant in real-time. SCADA also allows viewing of historical production and other data such as the carbon dioxide emissions avoided.

This was part of the Western Cape Provincial Government’s oversight visit to several developments of infrastructural, civil engineering and electrotechnical services in the city of George. Minister Bredell applauded George Municipality for setting a leading example within the Western Cape by ensuring adequate long-term planning and investment in those resources – that is water, sewerage and electricity – which are required to keep our economy working.

“Today, we are visiting our solar PV Plant at the main building of the Municipality, and we are in the control room where we run the inverters as well as all the board which indicates how much solar we are generating in terms of Kilowatts,” said Mayor van Wyk. “This plant is typical with other plants we going to introduce in George in the next months and years.

The George Municipality is in a process of introducing seven envisaged solar projects that are to be rolled in three years to the following plants and buildings:

• 400 kilowatts (kW) PV at the Outeniqua wastewater treatment facility
• 500 kW at the PV Gwaing Wastewater treatment facility
• 400 kW PV plant at the Denneoord New Water Works facility
• 20 kW PV + 40-kilowatt hour (kWh) battery storage for the Electrotechnical Services building
• 4 kW PV + 10 kWh battery storage for the Tourism building
• 2 kW PV + 10 kWh battery storage for Schaapkop substation
• 9 MWp bigger solar farm (location still to be finalised)

The PV Plant coupled with the SCADA system is certainly starting to help the Municipality already and perform efficiently, Mayor van Wyk said. “The next step is to move towards battery storage, while we will also be rolling out these plants across various Municipal installations in due course.”

The installation of PV solar plants in municipal facilities and buildings is aimed at reducing Energy Consumption from Eskom and thereby cutting down on electricity costs while increasing sustainability.

From left: Deputy Mayor Raybin Figland, Bongani Mandla (Director: Electrotechnical Services), Thabo Yiga (Candidate Engineer: Electrical), Western Cape Minister for Mobility Daylin Mitchell, Portfolio Councillor Jacqulique Von Brandis (Civil Engineering Services: Capital Projects & FBI), Portfolio Councillor Nosicelo Mbete (Electrotechnical & Fleet Management), Dr Michel Gratz (Municipal Manager),  Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell, and Executive Mayor of George Ald Leon Van Wyk.

 Frome left: Thabo Yiga (Candidate Engineer: Electrical), Dr Michel Gratz (Municipal Manager),  Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell, and Executive Mayor of George Ald Leon Van Wyk.

The saying that, “a healthy body breeds a healthy mind” is, according to the newly elected chairperson of the George Municipality’s Internal Municipal Sports Club, John Bruiners, what drives more than just over 80 employees of the George Municipality to look forward to the Better Together Games that will take place in Riversdale on 30 September 2022.

The Better Together Games (BTG) is an annual sports event that is hosted by Sport and Recreation Services of the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport involving government officials in the various districts of the province as well as in the metropole to try their hand at soccer, mini-cricket, volleyball, tug of war, chess, athletics and many other codes at the Better Together Games (BTG) for government officials.

“The two-year gap caused by the arrival Covid19 pandemic certainly did not deter sportsmen and women’s interest in participating in the Better Together Games hosted by the Western Cape Provincial Government but has, instead, stimulated more interest to look forward to participating in these games,” said Bruiners.

The George Municipality has always been part of the Better Together Games since its inception in 2007 and successfully brought back gold, silver and bronze medallions and gone through to the final games. The George Municipality has last attended the finals known as the Corporate Games in 2019 and won gold in both Rugby cricket and dominoes.

The George Municipality has put all their ducks in a row to be prepared for these games. On Thursday, 26 August Internal Municipal Sports Club held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and adopted its constitution. A new committee consisting of the following members was elected:

• John Bruiners (Chairperson)
• Herman Janse Van Rensburg (Deputy Chairperson)
• Josephine Mpembe (Secretary)
• Rene Hendricks Treasurer
• Desmond Jumat (Additional member)
• Cathrone Muller (Additional member)
• Marius Windvogel (Additional member)

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George Municipality is proud to announce that Bongani Mandla, Director for Electrotechnical Services has been nominated as one of five finalists in the 2022 TransUnion South Africa Rising Star Awards 2022 in the Services: Public and Private category. The finalists that made it to the 11^th TransUnion Rising Star Awards were announced on 26 August 2022.

The Municipal Manager for George Municipality, Dr Michele Gratz congratulated Mandla for representing George very well to reach the final stage of the TransUnion South Africa Rising Star Competition. “We are proud to have one of us reaching the finals of this coveted Rising Star Competition and flying the flag of the George Municipality and Georgians high.”

Mandla, a registered Professional Engineer (ECSA) and a member of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (MSAIEE) joined the George Municipality last year, as Director for the Electrotechnical Services Directorate bringing a wealth of experience spanning over 10 years in the electrotechnical services engineering.

“This nomination demonstrates the rich talent and great quality of the employees in the George Municipality, we are looking forward to the announcement of winners per category during the finals of the TransUnion South Africa Rising Stars Awards in September this year,” Dr Gratz added.

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ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Background about the Rising Star Awards

The Rising Star Programme, operated by BlackBark Productions, has been established for the purposes of recognising, celebrating, and connecting young talented people who have a capacity for achievement and success and who contribute in an inspirational manner to the future of our nation. The qualities that elevate Rising Stars to the top go beyond performance and technical excellence. Rising Stars are polished, brilliant individuals with tremendous promise and great talent who excel for reasons that go far beyond their technical abilities alone. Talented people make things happen, are highly committed to achieving goals, innovate very rapidly, and create a great deal of value (for companies and/or themselves) when their talent is spotted and harnessed.

The Programme aims to be a significant and sustainable vehicle through which organisations, our country and our continent can identify and nurture these “organisational and national assets” who are set to play a key role in shaping the future of our country and our continent. The Rising Star Programme is establishing a living community of young African talent that will be developed, mentored and provided with platforms for development and communication, therefore enabling them to become role models, opinion leaders and the inspiration for other future African Talent.

Nominations

• Entrants are either nominated by their peers, or managers or are self-nominated for entry.
• All entrants are required to complete the first assessment, which consists of a questionnaire.
• The Master Judge will assess all entries and select the semi-finalists. These are the Top 10 in each category.

Semi-finalists:

• Each candidate will complete a short video interview and is required to answer a set of leadership-focused questions.
• The Judging Panel will select 5 candidates from each category, based on their video submissions – the finalists.

Finalists:

The finalist will be invited to another round of assessments including an interview in front of a panel of experts in September 2022. Subsequent to this final round of assessments, the TransUnion Rising Star Awards Finalists will be invited to attend the Celebratory Gala Awards Evening where the winners will be announced. The following 5 frontrunners in the Services: Public and Private category are; 

• Boitumelo Mancoe, Civil Engineer, Department of Police, Roads, and Transport
• Leanne Emery, Chief Marketing and Client Officer, Youth Employment Service
• Farai Mubaiwa, Chief Partnerships Officer, Youth Employment Service
• Bongani Mandla, Director: Electrotechnical Services, George Municipality
• Tebogo Mashifana, Head of Department and Senior Lecturer, University of Johannesburg