The first recorded invasion by Kunzea ericoides in South Africa was recently discovered in Van Riebeeck Gardens, Camphersdrift, George by a Nelson Mandela University research team.

The find was reported to the early detection and rapid response team of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), who arranged for its quick removal. The team also investigated up and downstream for more infection sites but found none so far.

The origin of the infestation is uncertain but is most likely from a nearby residential garden.

Kunzea ericoides, also known as Burgan, kanuka or white teatree, is an evergreen shrub or small tree up to 5m high, and native to south-eastern Australia and New Zealand where it grows in a wide range of habitats. It is a member of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The bark is grey and flaky; leaves are aromatic, quite thick, soft, typically 4-12mm long and 1-2mm wide. It can be distinguished from similar species in South Africa by its clusters of flowers and fruits which are borne on long stalks and stamens which are much longer than the petals. Burgan easily invades any habitat containing open forest complexes and proceeds to out-compete other young trees and shrubs, shading out ground layer plants.

It is not currently legislated in South Africa as invasive, but environmental organisations are pushing for its ban from the nursery trade and prioritised for eradication (category 1a under CARA).

Please report presence of Kunzea ericoides in natural areas to the early detection and rapid response team of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Details at www.sanbi.org

Caption: Ashley Baloyi from the early detection and rapid response team of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) on site in Van Riebeeck Gardens where Kunzea ericoides have been detected and eradicated.

Link to George Municipal Ordinary Council 25 March 2021

Construction work is currently taking place on the 4th floor of the Main Municipal Building, 71 York Street and we encourage Building Control customers to please use the online portal, email and or telephone details listed below to make contact until further notice. Updates will be provided on the status of construction

Building plans can be submitted online. See https://www.george.gov.za/planning-development/building-control/ for more information.
Building Control General enquiries: 044 801 9019 / 044 801 9370 / 044 801 9166
Request for existing building plans (Registration Department):
Phindiswa Lingani: 044 801 9370 pmlingani@george.gov.za
Sinazo Moshani: 044 801 9019 smoshani@george.gov.za
Musa Dyakop: 044 801 9166 mdyakop@george.gov.za
Status on building plan approvals: Vasti Laws: 044 801 9509 vnlaws@george.gov.za
Andrea Griessel: 044 801 9502 agriessel@george.gov.za
Please contact Building Inspectors directly during office hours:
James Vollenhoven: 076 823 0412
Fuzisa Siguba: 083 949 8651
Illegal activity: Nolan Noemdoe 083 757 3717

PUBLIC NOTICE: DIRECTORATE PLANNING – New email address for Town Planning Complaints

In continued efforts to improve service delivery and promote ease of doing business  the Planning Section of the Directorate: Planning and Development  is pleased to announce that a dedicated, centralised departmental email address has been created in addition to the other official enquiry portals of the municipality where complainants may file their complaints and enquiries regarding suspected illegal land use activities.

The e-mail address, town.planning.complaints@george.gov.za is monitored by designated officials who are tasked with ensuring that complainants receive acknowledgement of their complaint or enquiry and that the complaint is duly uploaded to the centralised electronic complaints register of the municipality, during which process a reference number and case officer will be assigned.

Town Planning information is available at https://www.george.gov.za/town-planning/. The George Municipal mobile application which can be downloaded from https://george.comunity.me/d/george/ to your desktop or cellphone.

Clients are encouraged to only make use of these official portals and refrain from lodging complaints of this nature directly to the e-mail addresses of municipal officials.  The above will take effect and commence as from 01 April 2021.

PUBLIC NOTICE: DIRECTORATE PLANNING – New email address for Building Control Complaints

In order to effectively address complaints lodged with regards to the Building Control Section of the Directorate: Planning and Development, the department has set up a new email address
building.control.complaints@george.gov.za where illegal building activity complaints and complaints related to building plan applications can be lodged. Officials have been designated to monitor the emails received and upload these to the electronic complaints register.

The above is in addition to the complaints / enquiry portals available on the George Municipal mobile application which can be downloaded from https://george.comunity.me/d/george/ to your desktop or cellphone.

The above will take effect and commence as from 1 April 2021. It is requested that no complaints of this nature are lodged directly to municipal officials as of this date.

Building Control information is available at https://www.george.gov.za/planning…/building-control

NEW BANK DETAILS FOR MUNICIPALITY
George Municipality bank account details for the payment of accounts and services are changing from 1 December 2020.
In future, for utilities such as rates, refuse, water and electricity please use:
Bank: First National Bank (FNB)
Account Name: George Municipality
Account Type: Public Sector Cheque Account
Account Number: 62869623150
Branch Code: 210554
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ

For traffic fines only:
Bank: First National Bank (FNB)
Account Name: George Municipality
Account Type: Public Sector Cheque Account
Account Number: 62869623168
Branch Code: 210554
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ

• The old account is being phased out, please amend as soon as possible, but is still currently active and payments made so far will have been received.
• If you have a debit order on your account, details will automatically be updated. If you have created an account for online banking, please delete the old account and create a new one with the details as below.

Daar word tans heelwat aandag aan die moeilike tye wat munisipaliteite ervaar in die media gegee. Ek wil graag George se prentjie in die lig hiervan skilder.

Dit word genoem dat indien munisipaliteite sou misluk, dit dan bydra tot die agteruitgang van die land se ekonomie. Baie munisipaitieite buite die Metros en die sekondêre stede sukkel met effektiewe bestuur van die dienslewering wat verskaf moet word. Hulle sukkel om betroubare water, riool-dienste en elektrisiteit te voorsien en betalings vir dienste gelewer in te vorder. Dikwels is hierdie probleme as gevolg van swak bestuur en oorsig deur die stadsrade.

In George is ons tans hard besig met regstellende aksies om te verseker dat dienslewering van hoë gehalte gelewer word. Daar word tans na die versterking van bestuur gekyk asook om toe te sien dat begrotings spandeer word om infrastruktuur te onderhou, te herbou en uit te brei om ekonomiese aktiwiteite te bevorder. Daar word gevolglik klem gesit om ‘n omgewing te skep wat sake sal vergemaklik en beleggers lok om die plaaslike en streeks- ekonomieë te laat uitbrei en werksgeleenthede sal skep.

George is in die gelukkige posisie dat die munisipalitieit een van die 19 “sekondêre stede” in die land is terwyl daar ook die 8 “Metros” bestaan. Ons word dus met Drakenstein en Stellenbosch in die WesKaap vergelyk asook Mbombela, Rustenburg, Emfuleni en Polokwane elders in the die land. Die sekondêre stede vervul dus ‘n belangrik rol om die streeks-ekonomieë te bevorder.

Die agt Metros het in die jaar tot 30 Junie 2020, R249bn (59%) van die totale bedryfs- en kapitaal-uitgawes vir alle munisipaliteite spandeer, terwyl die sekondere stede R49bn (12%) spandeer het. Al die ander kleiner plaaslike munisipaliteite het saam R82bn (20%)  spandeer terwyl die Distrik-munisipaliteite saam R39bn (9%) spandeer het.

Ons is tans ook in die proses om die begroting vir die komende 2021/22 boekjaar voor te berei. Die kern funksies van ‘n munisiplaitieit verlang dat  basiese dienste verskaf moet word: voorsiening van water, riool-dienste, elektrisiteit, vullis-verwydering en strate en stormwater. Hierdie dienste behels tans ongeveer 74% van die bedryfsuitgawes. Bykomende dienste vir ons munisipaliteit bestaan uit beplanning, ekonomiese ontwikkeling en toerisme, brandweer, verkeer en wetstoepassing wat ongeveer 12% van die begroting opneem. Die administrasie insluitend afdelings wat regs-, rekenaar- en interne oudit-dienste insluit, behels ‘n verdere 8,5% van die begroting. Die oorblywende 5,5% van die begroting word gebruik om na gemeenskap en sosiale-dienste verpligtinge om te sien.

Daar word beplan dat die kapitaal-begroting vir die 2021/22 jaar grootliks gebruik sal word om die rioolwerke te vergroot asook om uitbreidings aan die waterwerke te loods. Hierdie beleggings in infrastruktuur word benodig om meer kapasiteit vir die groei van George te verskaf. Ons riool-pompstasies en paaie verg ook aandag.

Mayor Newsletter: 8 February 2021

The recent opening of beaches and of liquor stores has hopefully provided a more positive outlook for all of us as we continue to deal with the new normal that we are experiencing since the arrival of Covid-19.

This news has coincided with the ongoing efforts this past week to examine how the Municipality can improve the effectiveness of its operations. The Acting Municipal Manager is leading this process with exercises being undertaken to examine ways of reducing costs while maintaining productivity.

This exercise provides the opportunity for renewal and is essential as the Municipality needs to ensure cost containment measures are put in place to curtail our Expenditure to the level of Revenue being generated.

It is evident from discussions with the business sector that the second Covid-19 wave halted the more positive outlook that had emerged by October. It is apparent that many in the retail sector experienced a year-on-year decline in turnover over December and January in George. This trend is concerning as virtually all of our customer base have been affected to a lesser or greater extent.

This impacts on the Municipality’s finances through the reduction in Revenue and lower debtor collection rates of our monthly accounts and therefore also on cash flow. We are constantly re-examining the estimated effects on our cash flow for the rest of the financial year to 30 June 2021 and the adjustments that will be required.

While we are dealing with the above financial impact we are also in the midst of a major capital expansion project to enlarge the capacities of our waste water and water treatment plants along with refurbishment that will require the funding and affordability of projects amounting to approximately R1 billion over the next three years. Growth in housing stock and other infrastructure in George has continued year by year resulting in the requirement to undertake the expansion. Amendments are being made to policies to enable the appointment of the necessary expertise to manage these projects.

As I have indicated above we live in interesting times as we search for hope, positivity and optimism. From a municipal perspective, we are striving to balance the present challenges while planning for the future. We will be continuing our engagements with the community under the “First Thursday” brand with the intention of holding collaborative discussions with various sectors to inter alia understand how we can facilitate additional economic activity within the George economy. We need to both preserve and grow jobs. This needs to be our constant objective. Any suggestions for such engagements can be forwarded to: mayor@george.gov.za

Mayor Newsletter: 11 January 2021

In mid-December there was eager anticipation for the holiday period in the Garden Route after enduring the Covid-19 pandemic for many months. We needed an economic boost for the tourism and business sectors so dependent on seasonal business.

At the same time, the second wave of Covid-19 was reaching its peak in George with active positive cases well above the first-wave peak but followed by a decline in numbers in the second half of December. Although healthcare workers were under severe pressure, thankfully they were managing. We saw increases in the numbers of persons who died, including municipal employees. Tragically, many of us now know someone who had have been ill or who have succumbed to the disease.

Suddenly from 15 December, after the announcement of the beach closures, there was a spate of cancellations of accommodation bookings. Many of our businesses rely on the core six-week December-January holiday season to generate 25-30% of their annual turnover which is usually crucial to support their overheads for the rest of the year.

In attempting to manage the financial effects of the pandemic we have become acutely aware of the delicate balance required between health and the effect on the economy. Without the benefit of good turnovers over the holiday period, further jobs could be lost as businesses find it tough in the coming year. As a result, it is likely that the George Municipality will experience a reduction in revenue and debtors’ collection.

The municipality is constantly looking to adapt how it conducts business safely with a hybrid model of working virtually and face-to-face. It is crucial that the health of employees and the public is considered. Our core services continue 24/7 and staff work around the clock to ensure the provision of water, sewerage and electricity, fire services, law enforcement, etc. We encourage our citizens to make use of available online methods of conducting business with the municipality where possible and is being communicated widely. Citizens are encouraged to download the George Municipality mobile application ( https://george.comunity.me ) to their phones which enables the receipt of important notifications.

On Monday 4 January 2021 we welcomed Dr Michele Gratz as Acting Municipal Manager (AMM) as well as Mr Allan Paulse as Acting Director: Community Services. Both are highly experienced administrators. The AMM has immediately commenced with measures that will improve workflow, efficiencies and use of resources and assets. Over the next few weeks and months, we can expect improvements in service delivery as processes are upgraded.

Please continue to keep safe by adopting the Covis-19 health protocols wherever you are. Every citizen needs to adhere to the protocols to ensure our safety.

Following the departure of two senior officials in the past week, we will shortly move forward to implement remedial measures to improve and correct management practices to effect a positive impact on standards of service delivery.

Over the past few years the Council has been dealing with allegations of financial misconduct and forensic investigations. These incidents are indicative of the challenges encountered in ensuring that effective governance is maintained. Successful local government requires a fine balance between legislation, available budgets, service delivery needs, governance, management and the execution of projects and services. Any disruption of this balance ideally needs to be avoided.

We have encountered such a disruption of the fine balance during the recent decline in refuse collection standards where many residents have expressed their displeasure. We are grateful to the managers who have stepped in to restore service delivery standards. While some administrative processes are still receiving attention, steady progress is being made to restore service standards.

We are heartened by some sage, understanding and encouraging comments expressed by residents who appreciate the complexity of issues that are being dealt with in the municipal space at present. It is so important to remain positive and express hope as we deal with the above issues and those below.

During 2020 we have encountered both the weak economy and the Covid-19 pandemic. We are now experiencing a spike of active positive cases in George and in the Garden Route. As of Monday 7 December the Municipality has 48 staff members in isolation with a total of 159 persons (1 in 9 of the staff complement) who have already experienced the virus (with 4 deaths to date). This should provide some context to the trials being faced. Within the health sector, the George Hospital staff complement is being overwhelmed. As we enter the holiday season, we need to appeal to all our citizens to take extra care in observing the critical health protocols of wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining social distancing, avoiding crowded and poorly ventilated spaces, staying home when feeling sick.

The gross financial effects of Covid-19 on the Municipality is such that the equivalent of one month’s Revenue has either been lost or may not be recovered. An exercise to contain Expenditure has been underway for the past few months as we need to match Expenditure to expected Revenue levels. This remains an ongoing challenge.

Our economy has been adversely affected impacting on both our business and individual customers. We are extremely grateful to our customers who have managed to continue to pay their accounts thereby assisting the Municipality to maintain financial stability since the commencement of the pandemic.

We wish all our residents and visitors a wonderful and safe Festive Season.