Author: Marillia Veldkornet
Garden Route District Municipality wins the IFFD Challenge
It was once again a glorious occasion for the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Fire Fighters, when they walked away in victory after winning the International Fire Fighters Day (IFFD) Challenge the past weekend. Overstrand Municipality ended up in the second place and Overberg District Municipality third.
The competition took place in Stellenbosch from 3 to 5 May 2019 and was hosted by the Stellenbosch Municipality at “Die Braak. This main purpose of the event was to acknowledge the significance of firefighters in the Western Cape Province and it also placed emphasis on the remembrance of fire fighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.
After the Communication Unit of GRDM spoke to the firefighters about their preparation for the competition, it became evident that no competition-focused practice sessions took place prior to the event, as all firefighters have to be fit at all time, to effectively perform their duties on a daily basis.
A team member who participates in competitions of this standard must show outstanding skills such as endurance, determination, to be focused and to have consistent strength. Participants resembled all these characteristics throughout the six challenges. The format of the event also included a parade through the streets, a ceremony to honor the lives of the fire fighters who passed away in their line of duty and squad drilling to depict the importance of the firefighters in society. Approximately 1500 people attended the event.
Senior Fire fighter, Mr Emile Conrad, is well-known for being the South African Toughest Fire fighter Alive and for his top performance at the all related competitions. For Senior Fire fighter, Mr Edwin Lottering, it was his nineth year of participation in competitions of this nature and therefore his skills and previous experience contributed greatly to their success. For Mr Hein Leslie (team leader), it was a third experience, for Mr Bennie van Vuuren’s, a third and for Mr Armien Bailey a second. The skill and knowledge of these participants, as well as their level of commitment and strength complemented each other to be able to achieve the outcome of their participation.
When sharing their overall experience of the competition, Mr Conrad said that he drew inspiration from how all firefighters came together to unite for one purpose, but also from seeing how firefighters which are already known to one another due to past competition participation, encouraged and motivated each other. On the other hand, Mr Bailey highlighted: “Seeing that I grew up in Stellenbosch, it was a privilege for me to notice that the residents from my home town saw the progress in me as firefighter, as all challenges were firefighting-related – it was indeed encouraging and it kept me going”.
The Garden District Municipality council, management and staff extended messages to the participants before, throughout and after the competition, to share their support with the team members. Congratulations once again to Heinrich Leslie as team leader, Emile Conrad (crew captain), Edwin Lottering, Armien Bailey and Bennie van Vuuren for making the entire Garden Route district proud!
The South African Toughest Fire Fighter Alive competition is expected to take place in Cape Town from 20 to 21 September 2019 and the GRDM team, if considered, is ready to participate in the competition.
Annual Fire Commemoration event to look at climate change
The Annual Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) event, to be hosted on 7 June to mark the devastating wildfire that ravaged the town and surrounds of Knysna in 2017, will broaden its scope in order to also look at the effects of climate change in the region,” says Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Municipal Manager, Mr Monde Stratu.
Continues Stratu, “Not only the Knysna wildfire disaster, but also regional wildfire disasters before and after the dramatic 7 June 2017 event, hint at a vulnerable environment grappling to deal with a change in climate, and a region exposed to risks associated with drought, wildfire and a constant loss of biodiversity and natural habitat”.
“What we want to achieve is to support and promote efforts for a better prepared, more resilient and climate-ready Southern Cape and Garden Route,” concludes Stratu.
Says Cobus Meiring on behalf of the GREF Secretariat, “Natural disasters on an unprecedented scale, such as the Outeniqua fires and the more recent tropical cyclone Idai, raising havoc in the city of Beira in bordering Mozambique, must serve as a clarion call for communities and authorities alike, that climate change is real and no-one is immune to its effects”.
According to Meiring vulnerable communities, such as those living in the Great and Klein Karoo continue to suffer the long-term knock-on effect of extended periods of drought, with farmers abandoning their operations, leaving reliant communities destitute.
More detail on the commemoration event will be made available in due course on the GREF website: www.scli.org.za/gref.
Photo caption: Natural disasters such as the 2017 Knysna fires, perpetual drought in the Klein and Great Karoo, and the more recent cyclone Idai in bordering Mozambique are indicators that the effects of climate change are real and likely to increase, and the Garden Route must plan for survival.
* The intense tropical cyclone Idai was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, leaving more than 1000 people dead and thousands more missing. Idai is the second-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin, behind only the 1892 Mauritius cyclone. In the Southern Hemisphere, it currently ranks as the third-deadliest tropical cyclone on record, behind the aforementioned 1892 Mauritius cyclone and the 1973 Flores cyclone. (Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Idai)
** The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a regional forum for collaboration in conservation, environmental adaptation and community interaction. The forum aims to coordinate regional conservation efforts, serve as a catalyst to drive climate adaption practices in the Southern Cape and strive to establish a better-coordinated approach to environmental management.
WEBSITE: http://www.scli.org.za/gref
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MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Cobus Meiring: Cobus Meiring: Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) Secretariat
Cell: 083 626 7619
Email: cobus@naturalbridge.co.za
Public Notice: Proposed Long-Term Lease of a Portion of Erf 419 Mossel Bay to Ikusasa Processing Engineer
Public Notice: Proposed Long-Term Lease of a Portion of Erf 419 Mossel Bay to Ikusasa Processing Engineer
Notice 59/2019
Notice is hereby given in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act (No 56 of 2003), read with the Municipal Asset Transfer Regulations (R878 of 2008), the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (No 3 of 2000), as well as the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act (No. 32 of 2000), that the Council of the Garden Route District Municipality, in terms of Resolution H.4 intends to enter into a long-term lease agreement (50 years) with Ikusasa Processing Engineering Consultants, to construct a chemical manufacturing plant on a portion of erf 419, Mossel Bay. This plant, as proposed, will have the capabilities to manufacture products for various sectors such as Agriculture, Water Treatment, Textiles and Roads, with the ability to expand its product range in the future. The Applicant will also be responsible for all the costs, which includes the sub-division costs of the property. The property is, in terms of the provisions of section 14 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act 56 of 2003), not required for the purposes of providing minimum basic municipal services.
Any comments and/or objections to the proposed long-term lease, with your reasons for such objection(s), must be submitted in writing and addressed to: The Municipal Manager, Garden Route District Municipality, P O Box 12, George, 6530, by no later than Friday, 14 June 2019. Any comments and/or objections which are received after the abovementioned closing date, will not be taken into consideration.
Any enquiries may be directed to Mr L Menze, Planning & Economic Development, at telephone number (044) 803 1398 or per email to properties@grdm.gov.za. This notice is also available on the website of the Municipality at www.gardenroute.gov.za.
M G Stratu
Municipal Manager
Garden Route District Municipality