Author: Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe

Following the successful application for a Budget Facility for Infrastructure funding (“BFI”) grant, two components of the 12 have broken ground and are underway while others will follow shortly. The 20 Ml/d treatment plant extension to the New Water Treatment Works (New WTW Denneoord) is component 2 of the 12 and the Sludge plant is component 1. These two components are grouped together in a single project with two construction contracts.

The first contract for the civil engineering construction has been awarded and construction has commenced on site for both components. This is the largest single component of the Water Security and Remedial Works project (BFI)  and is valued at R263 million. The tender for the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation (MEI) works is currently live and will close shortly.

The potable Water Security and Remedial Works project will also include the refurbishment of the existing sludge discharge system; upgrade of Garden Route Dam outlet supply; new generator for Garden Route Dam pump station to ease supply of raw water during power failures; new 30Ml Balancing Dam and pipeline to New Water Treatment Plant; rehabilitation of Old water treatment works; replacement for Kaaimans River Pump station pumps; new Pacaltsdorp (West) Reservoir; new Pacaltsdorp (East) Reservoir, Tower and pump station; new Thembalethu (West) Reservoir and Pump station and a new Thembalethu (East) Reservoir, Tower and pump station.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk together with Portfolio Councillor Jackie Von Brandis ( Civil Engineering Services: Capital Projects & BFI) and Portfolio Councillor Henry Hill (Planning and Development) undertook a site inspection last week.  “The size of the site works illustrates the enormous scale of the project being undertaken. Discussions with the engineers on site outlined the various components of this huge Water Security and Remedial Works project that will need to be managed over the next few years,” said Ald Van Wyk.

According to Gerard De Swardt, Project Manager for George Civil Engineering Services, the earthworks are currently under way with the major excavation for the Water Treatment Works extension consisting of some 20 000 cubic meters of earth material that will be excavated and stockpiled on site for re-use elsewhere. The high clay content of the soil renders the material useful for earth dam construction and possible other uses where low permeability is required to prevent groundwater pollution. Such projects have already been identified with one being component 6 of the Water Security and Remedial Works project, that is the construction of an earth dam to provide an additional 30 Ml raw water storage for water supplied to the two treatment plants.

The excavation for the 20 Ml/d WTW module is nearing full depth for the construction of the structures, depending on the outcome of Geotechnical testing which will determine the bearing capacity of the in-situ soil. Some further excavation and material replacement may be required if the conditions are not suitable. The placing of concrete will commence shortly and for this purpose two tower cranes of 23m height will be installed on site.

It is well-known that there is widespread concern about the state of water and wastewater infrastructure in South Africa and that significant amounts of funding will be required to rehabilitate this infrastructure within municipalities. The George management team recognised that the capital expenditure required for such a project would be significant and place enormous strain on the municipality’s financial resources. The initiative was taken to approach National Treasury to search for a solution. This approach culminated in the application being launched and in being awarded the BFI facility, George has become the flag-bearer among non-metro municipalities to lead the restoration of water treatment as well as wastewater facilities in the country.

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Caption: Group pic from left: Henry Hill (Portfolio Cllr Planning and Development),  Jannie Koegelenberg (Engineer, Royal Haskoning DHV), Gerard De Swardt (Project Manager: George Civil Engineering Services), Ald Leon Van Wyk, Jackie Von Brandis (Portfolio Cllr Civil Engineering Services: Capital Projects & BFI) and Jonathan Bernon (Construction Manager, Icon Construction).

George Municipality is currently replacing a 40-year-old water pipeline infrastructure in Parkdene that is causing high water losses due to frequent pipe bursts. According to Lionel Daniels, Acting Director: Civil Engineering, the Parkdene pipe replacement is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation, worth approximately R3 million. The existing very old pipework is replaced with Un-plasticised Poli-vinyl Chloride (PVC-u) pipes with new fire and gate valves to facilitate maintenance and operations going forward.

Multi-year pipe replacement programme

Daniels said that this is the start of a comprehensive pipe replacement programme for the Parkdene, Conville and Protea Park Areas over a multi-year period.  The initial phase will be funded by the department through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant or WSIG programme, which aims to accelerate backlog reduction and enhance the sustainability of services.  This programme supports the Municipality in implementing water conservation and water demand management (WC/WDM) projects.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk noted during his site inspection that the administration endeavours to conduct pre-emptive placement of these water lines to ensure breakages can be dealt with efficiently. “PVC allows for the introduction of valves and metres. The valves make it easier to isolate areas and meters will help with the management of water flow. “

Job Creation

Currently, approximately ten people are being employed out of the community with accredited training to be rolled out through a number of municipal projects to increase the capacity of the communities served by the projects to enhance their job creation potential going forward.

Safety

The work is undertaken in short sections to allow the trenches to be closed at the end of each day’s work.  This minimises inconvenience to residents and ensures access to each property at the end of each day as well as the safety of pedestrians.  The work is challenging due to a number of existing services being located within the sidewalk.

Duration of Work

The four-month contract is currently just over the halfway mark in terms of time, with a due completion date expected in early June 2022.  There have been some delays in the recent past with the rainfall experienced in the region.

Next steps

Approximately 800m of a 160mm diameter water pipeline along Main Road, Parkdene, needs to be replaced, with all associated fire hydrants and isolating valves.  At the same time, new erf connection pipework will be provided under Main Street by directional drilling. To protect the recently resurfaced Main Road, a number of the existing erf connections will be reinstated with new connection lines being drilled under the road thereby saving the newly resurfaced road.

Captions:

164508: Trenches on site are closed off daily to ensure access to properties.

155512:  Sites are being rehabilitated after work is completed in a section.

135443:  Several existing services like electrical cables, provide challenges in laying a new pipeline.

Parkdene water: Executive Mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk, Adrian van Molendorff from Civil Engineering Services and Cllr Henry Hill visited the site in Parkdene.

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Issued by George Mun 3 May 2022 for immediate release

Text: George Tourism held a successful tourism conference in George recently and had the support of 36 attendees from local tourism stakeholders.

Dr Kosie Haarhoff, Deputy Director; Strategic Growth and Development, discussed in his presentation the George’s Film policy, which purpose is to facilitate, regulate and standardize filming within the George Municipal area and provide for the issuing of a film permit; to provide for filming in environmentally sensitive areas. Dr. Haarhoff also shared the Events Assistance Policy that prescribes processes to be followed by the Municipality for event support provision, commercial partnerships, event permit applications and more.

Santa Sternsdorf from George Fire Department discussed the importance of population certificates and the importance of the timeous applications of such certificates.

The Garden Route Film Commission shared its focus with the audience. Its first focus is to develop the region as a “Film Friendly” destination for filmmakers. This is achieved through skills development and training in the short term, education of stakeholders and the supply chain and further support for production development.

A second focus is an economic focus which the GRFC must facilitate through its focus; job creation, tourism growth through film events, attracting productions to the region by creating platforms, permitting access to locations and much more.

Chairperson of the Regional Tourism Liaison Committee (RTLC), Denver Johnson, explained the role of this committee and how the different regions in the Western Cape can benefit from being part of the committee.

Cape Town Air Access touched on its mandate to broaden Western Cape air access for targeted international markets, to improve economic competitiveness and shared recovery figures of Cape Town and George Airports since the pandemic. Between presentations, local artists from the Dotsure George Arts Theatre entertained the attendees.

Feedback from some of the attendees was very positive:

Nicola McDevitt from the Fat Fish restaurant raved about the super conference and said stakeholders who did not attend really missed out. She thanked the Tourism team for the time and effort they put into the conference and said the information that was shared was extremely useful and beneficial. She said the resources the Tourism office makes available to stakeholders are appreciated and make a huge difference.

Anthony Rosenbaum from Wide Open Spaces thanked George Tourism for a very informative conference, and it was good to catch up with team members at the event.

Sharon House, Senior Tourism Officer said: “We would like to extend a big thank you to all our tourism stakeholders who attended the tourism conference – it was fantastic to network with you in person, finally – after such a long spell of not being able to meet face-to-face due to Covid-19.  It was fabulous to hear feedback throughout the day from the tourism industry, and especially the insights into what is happening in private business ‘on the ground’.  We hope to see more tourism stakeholders attend future engagements and encourage all tourism products to engage with our office.  Please send us your marketing photos, videos and deals, specials or events to members@visitgeorge.co.za.”

Captions:

Tour 1: Denver Johnson, from Garden Route District Municipality, Sharon House (George Tourism), Melanie Martins (George Tourism), Joan Shaw, (George Tourism Manager), Lika Berning, (Garden Route Film Commission), Kosie Haarhoff (Deputy Director: Strategic Growth and Development at George Municipality) and Danyaal Samuels, WESGRO Air Access Unit at the conference.

Tour2: Melanie Martins, Sharon House, Lindi Harley, Rayvian Moolman, Joan Shaw and Caydyn Louis, the George Tourism team at the conference.

Tour 3, 4, 5: Local artists entertained the attendees at the conference at the venue, Dotsure George Arts Theatre.

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MEDIA STATEMENT                                                        

28 April 2022

Statistics South Africa will continue to collect census data from households in the Western Cape for an additional two weeks until 14 May. The extension follows a strong response by residents of the province to the call to get counted.

Stats SA data collectors will be visiting communities with low response rates across the province. Almost 1,1 million households in the province have completed the census questionnaire since data collection began in February.

Completing the questionnaire only takes 15 – 30 minutes. Stats SA assures respondents that all personal information collected for the purpose of the census is kept strictly confidential.

The online questionnaire is available on https://getcounted.statssa.gov.za (datafree) allowing residents to answer the questions at a time and place convenient to themselves.

Households have until the close of counting on 14 May to complete the questionnaire online. With over 600 000 households yet to be visited, Western Cape households that have not been counted are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

Census information is essential for determining the funding allocation to provinces and municipalities. Census data will provide detailed information on where schools, clinics and houses should be built and where electricity, water and sewerage infrastructure is needed. Census has an impact on the life of every resident and everyone is encouraged to be counted.

Western Cape households are requested to please cooperate with the data collectors by answering the questions accurately and completely.

The Census call centre is open to assist with any enquiries – 0800 110 248 or email census2022@statssa.gov.za.

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For media inquiries contact: Trevor Oosterwyk Email: trevoro@statssa.gov.za

In the past week I attended two important meetings that once again signify how important it is to pay attention to economic activity within George.

At the annual general meeting of the George Business Chamber, Mr Nelius van Greunen, a leading commercial farmer, addressed the attendees. He mentioned the importance of the agricultural sector for the local economy and region and  that George needs to ensure it becomes more sustainable by also expanding from being pre-dominantly a “consuming” economy.

These comments are totally aligned to my philosophy that George needs to evolve towards a “producing” economy where we produce goods and services that are “exported” both nationally and internationally.

On Friday, the municipal manager, Dr Michele Gratz (now appointed for five years) and I attended a Meet and Greet Session in Cape Town where we were allocated a maximum of 20 minutes with each of the ten Provincial Ministers and the Premier to raise matters for their attention. We made full use of the opportunity to continue the discussion relating to the coordination required for increasing economic activity in George to improve job creation. There are already numerous initiatives underway that the Municipality and Provincial departments are involved in.

While we are looking closely at developing the agro-processing sector and expanding tourism event activity as examples, other niches are being explored as well. It is therefore critical that the private sector engage with us on opportunities that can be nurtured and grown. The Economic Growth and Development Strategy is currently under revision and further engagements are being arranged to foster the necessary collaboration.

It is generally accepted that George is experiencing in-migration. Some businesses are commenting that turnover is now 30% above pre-Covid-19 levels. The Municipality has been responding to these increases with increased spending on the capital budget to increase water and wastewater treatment capacity and refurbishment of existing infrastructure.

There is however an important role that George business leaders and residents need to play in their communication with the Municipality on how we can provide the enabling environment to ensure economic growth and the necessary collaboration can take place.

There is a very urgent call to Residents to participate in Census 2022 which has been extended to 30 April so that many stragglers in the Western Cape complete the Census. The Census can be completed very easily on mobile phones by using the following link:   https://getcounted.statssa.gov.za/#!/home

It is essential to complete the Census because this is used to determine the Grants that National Government allocates to municipalities. George has seen rapid growth in its population and if residents fail to register we do not receive our required allocation of funding with the burden shifting to municipal accounts. Comments are welcomed at: supportbusiness@george.gov.za

Issued by George Municipality, 25 April 2022

The Executive Mayor of George, Ald. Leon van Wyk welcomes Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) extension of the online questionnaire for Census 2022 until the end of April 2022 and encourages the George Municipality’s citizens to take full advantage of this opportunity to complete the census questionnaire.

Statistics generated from the census are a crucial part of any development, especially local government, as this crucial information gives a true reflection of the situation and needs of citizens,” said Mayor van Wyk. “Fiscal allocations and grants are greatly influenced by the data and information emanating from the census; therefore it is the responsibility of each and every citizen to participate in the census and make use of this extended time to help to get the most accurate statistics for the George Municipality’s precinct.”

Stats SA announced on its website last week, 21 April 2022, that it has reopened the online completion of census survey questionnaires by the respondents themselves until the end of April 2022.  “Households that are not counted can go to https://getcounted.statssa.gov.za/#!/home and fill in their name, surname, and cellphone number. After successfully registering, an OTP will be shared which will give access to the census questionnaire. Once the questionnaire is completed, households will get a reference number which they should keep in a safe place for when they are visited by a census fieldworker, or during the Post-Enumeration Survey, which is a quality check for the census project,” Stats SA said in the statement.

“Data collection challenges, particularly in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, which was heavily impacted by the recent extreme weather conditions, led to the decision to extend the census mop-up period to the end of April. All provinces will be able to take advantage of the extended period to ensure that they count as many households as possible,” Stats SA added.

Stats SA is calling on all households to ensure that they get counted in the 2022 Census, either online or by a fieldworker. “The country’s socio-economic dynamics have changed a lot since the last census was conducted in 2011. Government and business need accurate information in order to plan, and the census is the only source of population and housing data at a local level. The more people who participate, the more accurate the data,” said Project Director Calvin Molongoana. “It is critical that every household participates in the census, and makes sure that they get counted”.

Stats SA is appealing to all who live within the borders of South Africa, irrespective of their status, to do the right thing and be counted. The Statistics Act (Act 6 of 1999) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (Act 4 of 2013) complement each other in ensuring that all data collected by Statistics SA remains confidential. Data on an individual cannot be shared with any other agency; any data released by Stats SA is aggregated and confidential to ensure anonymity.

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Issued by George Municipality on 25 April 2022

The George Municipality is embarking on a pre-paid electricity metering software update for its approximately 49 500 prepaid consumers as the current software will expire in November 2024, not only in George but in the entire Country. Failure to update before the deadline will result in consumers not being able to recharge their meter with the new tokens and therefore will not have power.

Standard Transfer Specification (STS) prepaid meters use encrypted tokens to transfer units purchased onto the meters as per the STS standards and industry guidelines. Each token is encoded with a unique Token Identifier (TID), which has a limited range and will run out (rollover) on 24 November 2024.

After this date, all STS compliant meters will stop accepting credit tokens, unless an intervention takes place.  This implies that all these meters need to receive the TID Rollover Key Change with a new base date before the said date. Failing to act timeously will have a negative impact on consumers as they will be unable to load electricity on the meter.

Households that are in line for the municipal ongoing meter replacement program must be aware that all new meters installed will eventually be updated, but we are working through older stock now. Older stock, even though newly installed, would need to be updated. The new compliant-ready meters are in the municipality stock stores now. Some of the field staff are already updating the meters if they are on-site doing a meter change or site inspection.

As the update unfolds, consumers must ensure that all their old pre-paid electricity tokens must be entered prior to the update being completed, as the old token will not work once the update has been done.

Details about the specific dates of updates in various areas in George will be released in due course. A team conducting the audits from the George Municipality, in conjunction with the teams from the service providers, Alegro and Ontec will be wearing shirts and/or jackets indicating the “Alegro” name as well as ID cards and correspondence confirming and authenticating them being assigned to conduct the audit. Covid-19 health and safety protocols will be adhered to.

Customers may phone the George Municipality on 044 801 9222 or Ontec for verification on 044 873 5474. For more information on the TID Rollover please visit the George Municipality’s website to view frequently asked questions (FAQ): https://www.george.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/TID-ROLLOVER-FAQ-English-Updated-Version-May-2022.pdf

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CAPTION:

A team conducting the audits from the George Municipality, in conjunction with the teams from the service providers, Alegro and Ontec will be wearing shirts and/or jackets indicating the “Alegro” name as well as ID cards and correspondence confirming and authenticating them being assigned to conduct the audit.