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Author: Herman Pieters

Public Notice: GRDM Integrated Development Plan, Budget, Performance Management Time Schedule adopted by Council; 2024/2025 Draft Unaudited Annual Report is also now available for Public Comment

Public Notice: GRDM Integrated Development Plan, Budget and Performance Management Time Schedule adopted by Council;  2024/2025 Draft Unaudited Annual Report is also now available for Public Comment

Notice number: 81/2025

Notice is hereby given that the 2026/2027 IDP, Budget and PMS Time Schedule has been adopted in terms of Section 21 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (Act 56 of 2003) by the Garden Route District Municipal Council, at a Council meeting held on 22 August 2025.

Furthermore, the 2024/2025 Draft Unaudited Annual Report has been noted by Council in terms of Circular 63 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003. The Unaudited Draft Annual Report for the 2024/2025 financial year is open for comments. Comments must be lodged in writing to The Municipal Manager, PO Box 12, George, 6530 or by e-mail at rekords@gardenroute.gov.za before or on 30 September 2025.

The document will be available for public inspection during office hours at the IDP unit, Garden Route District Municipality, 54 York Street, George as well as at all the satellite offices of the Garden Route District Municipality: Riversdale, Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Knysna and Bitou. Copies will also be accessible at all main local libraries and on the municipal website here: https://www.gardenroute.gov.za/document-category/2024-25-annual-report/

Those who are unable to read or write are encouraged to contact the Garden Route District Municipality during ordinary office hours, where they will be assisted to formulate their written comments or objections. For any further enquiries, please contact: Ms M James (IDP Unit: Garden Route District Municipality) on telephone number: 044 803 1431.

Access the following documentation by clicking on the links below:

M G Stratu, Municipal Manager


28 August 2025 Media Release: Groundbreaking initiative launched to combat high risk environmental threats in the Garden Route

Media Release: Groundbreaking initiative launched to combat high risk environmental threats in the Garden Route

28 August 2025

A first-of-its-kind platform to combat primarily Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs) in the Garden Route was launched today during an engagement, chaired by Paul Gerber from the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). Through this initiative, the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) also joined hands with the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and key partners to address some of the region’s most urgent environmental and wildfire risks, bringing together government, conservation bodies, and local stakeholders.

The key obstacle to achieving high-impact and effective results remains the lack of funding, which was one of the issues that cut across the board.

Cobus Meiring from GREF, said: “The drive to launch this platform is also rooted in past occurrences and helps prevent similar instances like the Knysna and Bitou wildfires of 2017 and the Outeniqua fires of 2018, where IAPs fuelled the intensity and spread of these disasters. Furthermore, rather than just sharing information, stakeholders involved in this platform will focus on executing tangible actions”.

“It is important to note that while post-fire rehabilitation has progressed, AIPs have re-emerged more aggressively, worsening the wildfire risk for the region and threatening the Garden Route’s biodiversity.”

The platform has set a bold interim vision: to reduce IAP coverage across the Garden Route by 30% by 2030. This will support biodiversity conservation, water security, and wildfire risk reduction.

“We cannot afford to lose further control of wildfires. IAPs are choking our rivers, threatening ecosystems, and putting lives, infrastructure, and local economies at risk. This platform is about coordinated action,” said Cobus.

According to Gerhard Otto, GRDM Head of Disaster Management, “We need to roll out block burning to achieve greater impact over the next two to three years. IAPs have already been flagged by the GRDM as one of the highest risks for the region and we need to focus on block-burning the highest risk areas.”

GRDM Fire Chief Deon Stoffels emphasised that, “fynbos fires are part of the natural cycle, but IAPs create unnaturally high fuel loads that make fires catastrophic.”

A Coordinated Effort for Risk Reduction

The multi-stakeholder Task Team includes DFFE, GRDM Disaster Management and Fire Services, local municipalities, CapeNature, SANParks, the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association, and several NGOs and research institutions.

Together, the team will:

  • Coordinate alien invasive plant management across administrative boundaries.
  • Strengthen fire management capacity through integrated planning and joint operations.
  • Support ecological rehabilitation in exit plantation areas (such as Buffelsnek, Bergplaas and Jonkersberg).
  • Explore leveraging technology like drone mapping, geo-referenced data, and machine learning for cost-effective clearing and monitoring.
  • Engage landowners and communities in coordinated clearance and fire mitigation efforts.

Stakeholders stressed that the funding challenge is immense. Clearing the IAPs between George and Nature’s Valley alone would cost R2.3 billion (2018 figures). This is far beyond individual landowners’ means. GRDM over the past few years submitted two multi-million rand funding applications of which none were approved; financial resources therefore remain limited.

Call-to-Action

The Task Team is open to consult with all stakeholders who play a role or is responsible for the management of IAPs, including private landowners. Participation is vital to ensure that IAP clearance takes place at an ecological and landscape level, not just in fragmented administrative blocks. More details about how to get involved will be communicated soon.

Next Steps

In the coming quarter, the sub-teams will be to “connect the dots” of what has been done so far, enforcement efforts, consolidate available funds and more.

ENDS

25 August 2025 Media Release: Wildfire preparedness done through risk mapping

Media Release: Wildfire preparedness done through risk mapping

25 August 2025

Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and its stakeholders prioritise risk mapping as part of its Integrated Fire Management (IFM) strategy. Risk mapping helps firefighters to identify potential fire hazards and gives them the necessary time to prioritise, mitigate, and manage such risks.

GRDM Fire Chief, Deon Stoffels explains: “By mapping areas most prone to wildfires, stakeholders are able to allocate resources strategically, improve decision-making, and ensure rapid response to predetermined risks, especially when severe weather alerts are issued”.

“This process is continuously being refined through innovation and improved software applications, like exploring OroraTech’s Wildfire Solutions and the CSIR Meraka Institute’s Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS).”

Historical Perspective: Past Wildfires

The 2017 wildfires that swept through Knysna and parts of Plettenberg Bay, in a way contributed quite significantly to the Garden Route’s current wildfire management strategies. It also paved the way for new collaborative agreements to be drawn up between municipalities, forestry companies, and landowners to share the costs of year-round aerial firefighting services. The Western Cape Provincial Government and the Department Forestry’s Fisheries and the Environment, however, still funds the provision of first hour aerial firefighting deployment for incidents in high-risk areas over the high summer season.

As of now, improvements include:

  • Enhanced early warning systems aligned with known risks;
  • Increased public awareness programmes, particularly in high-risk rural communities and schools;
  • Greater emphasis on prevention and risk reduction;
  • Enhanced Integrated Fire Management, including fire awareness, fire prevention, prescribed burning, resource coordination, fire detection, and fire suppression;
  • Rapid deployment of most suitable resources, including aerial firefighting; and
  • Increased capacity, particularly over the summer period.

 Role Players in Fire Risk Mapping

Several partners contribute to wildfire risk mapping in the Garden Route. They include the GRDM Fire and Rescue Services, Disaster Management, South African National Parks, CapeNature, Forestry companies, Southern Cape Fire Protection Association (SCFPA), Working on Fire, landowners, and communities.

To strengthen this approach, GRDM collaborates with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Advanced Fire Information Systems (AFIS); a satellite-based tool providing near real-time fire data and veld age maps to update local risk profiles.

Academic and Research Partnerships

Although no direct partnerships currently exist with universities or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) at a district level, Stellenbosch University (SU) regularly participates in provincial platforms. In May 2025, SU contributed to a Western Cape wildfire workshop focusing on evidence-based fire management policies. This workshop highlighted the Five E’s of Fire Services: Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Response, and Economics.

Future workshops are planned, including one in Central Karoo in 2026, building on the inaugural session in Overberg in 2024.

Why Certain Areas Are Riskier

Wildfire risks do increase because of the following:

  • Human negligence (cigarettes, broken glass, uncontrolled burning, unsafe burning practices, illegal burning) and lack of awareness;
  • Lightning strikes in mountainous areas;
  • Extreme weather such as berg winds;
  • Variable climate patterns (heat, droughts and floods);
  • Lack of control over alien invasive plants;
  • Poor land management practices; and
  • Insufficient enforcement of legislation and more.

Addressing these risks requires education, compliance, and preventative measures such as alien invasive plant removal and rehabilitation, fire breaks, and risk planning.

Public’s Role in Reducing Fire Risks

Residents and landowners can play a significant role in lowering their properties’ fire risks by:

  • Clearing alien invasive plants (with guidance from municipalities, Fire Protection Associations, and environmental authorities);
  • Creating and upkeeping fire breaks;
  • Reporting incidents and risks to either the GRDM, local municipalities, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, or the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association;
  • Municipalities monitor compliance, while enforcement is a priority improvement area for the district and relevant environmental departments;
  • Fire Scaping your properties and homes; and
  • Applying for permits to burn and burning in designated places.

Looking Ahead

While measurable district-wide data (such as hectares cleared or number of prescribed burns) is not yet centralised, municipalities and the SCFPA maintain their own records. GRDM is working towards a centralised fire permit system to strengthen data capturing and future reporting.

ENDS

Feature image: A fire break, essential for providing firefighters a place where a back-burn fire can be started.