Notice number 71/2020:
The Garden Route District Municipality’s Final Reviewed 2020/2021 IDP is available. Please click on the link to download the document.
Please contact the District IDP Manager (Mr Mzukisi Cekiso) at 044 803 1300 with any enquiries.
For Immediate Release
29 May 2020
Community health workers across the Garden Route District have screened 92 441 people and referred 486 for testing as of 28 May 2020.
‘We would like to express our utmost appreciation and thanks to our health teams who have done great work under very challenging conditions to serve our communities by screening and educating as many people as possible,’ said District Manager, Mr Zee Brickles.
Community screening and testing (CST) is in its seventh week and health teams have been to the most vulnerable communities. During the CST, the support of the community is essential for the success in stopping the spread of the virus.
‘We would like to thank our communities for allowing our health care workers to screen them. We remind our communities to adhere to our 5 golden rules of good hygiene as we move towards the expected peak. Please continue to support each other as this pandemic affects us all,’ said Brickles.
5 Golden Rules of Good Hygiene:
When facing a threat on a global scale, such as Covid-19, it is normal to feel anxious, scared, confused, and overwhelmed. Even more so with the overload of information available and our numbers of positive cases increasing in the Province. However, by limiting your exposure to other people, you can protect your family and yourself. It is important that we stand together and that we support each other, especially our neighbours and friends who have tested positive for Covid-19. Anyone can be infected with Covid-19 and anyone can carry the virus, even without showing symptoms. The Coronavirus does not discriminate between age, gender, race, or disability. People who are especially vulnerable are those with underlying medical conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, lung disease, TB, and HIV. We should not stigmatise people who have tested positive. We must offer our support. Although you should avoid physical contact, you can support them by messaging or calling to ask how they are doing. As they and the rest of their household will be in isolation, you can offer to help by buying food or medication and dropping it off at their door. Remember, we are in this together and must support each other.
Garden Route screening statistics from 6 April to 28 May 2020
Community Screening and Testing for 1 to 5 June 2020:
1 June: De Rust, Oudtshoorn, Dysselsdorp, Heidelberg, Pacaltsdorp, Alma, Sedgefield
-END-
Nadia Ferreira
Principal Communications Officer
Garden Route and Central Karoo Districts
Western Cape Government Health
Town Clinic,Plettenberg Bay
Tel: 044 533 3846
For Immediate Release
29 May 2020
The National Minister of Basic Education, recently, announced the re-opening of South African schools for Grade 7 and Grade 12 learners on 01 June 2020.
To ensure that these learners enter a safe learning environment it was expected from teachers and principals to return to their schools on Monday, 25 May 2020. This period allowed officials/educators to prepare for the return of learners and to receive personal protective equipment. To ensure that the safe learning environment is maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Basic Education also issued a standard operating procedure which will be used by schools.
A crucial role-player in maintaining an overall healthy learning environment in the Garden Route, is the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Municipal Health Services function. Part of the responsibilities of Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) are to survey and prevent communicable diseases from spreading – this exclude the roll-out of immunization campaigns. It entails the training, awareness and education of all the school circuits within the Garden Route district.
When referring to this critical period, Manager of Municipal Health Services at GRDM, Mr Johan Compion, said: “Health promotion and safety protocols will be addressed to combat the spread of COVID-19. This will be done in collaboration with the Provincial Department of Health and the Department of Education,” he added.
He furthermore highlighted that training of the school governing bodies has already started on Tuesday, 26 May 2020 in each sub-district of the Garden Route, which was conducted by EHPs of GRDM. He added that this will ensure that schools in the Garden Route district are equipped with information to implement a plan which they can effectively execute regarding disinfection and sanitation, especially for high risk areas, e.g. but not limited to:
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa allocates Municipal Health Services as a Local Government function under Part B of Schedule 4, Section 156 (1) (a). This means that EHPs from the GRDM have to conduct environmental health inspections at school premises in the Garden Route district. Furthermore, the National Health Act, 2003 (Act 61 of 2003) defines Municipal Health Services in terms of the following 9 Key Performance Areas:
(1) Water quality monitoring
(2) Food control
(3) Waste management
(4) Health surveillance of premises
(5) Surveillance and prevention of communicable diseases, excluding immunizations
(6) Vector control
(7) Environmental pollution control
(8) Disposal of the dead
(9) Chemical safety
In maintaining the health standard of schools in the Garden Route, the district will continue to roll out awareness about COVID-19 through promoting proper hand washing techniques, social distancing, cough etiquette, cleaning, sanitizing and continual disinfection of frequently touched surfaces.
ENDS
For Immediate Release
28 May 2020
Council has appointed AON (underwritten by Lion of Africa) during 2015/2016, after a competitive bidding process was followed (Tender E/02/15-16). AON was appointed for a 3 year period to provide insurance coverage to council. The tender was extended until 30 June 2020 and a formal tender process was initiated during February/March 2020, but then the COVID19 pandemic struck South Africa which placed the procurement process on hold. On 27 May 2020, the Garden Route District Municipal Council discussed and approved the extension for 12 months from 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021 of the Service Level Agreement between AON (PTY) Ltd and Garden Route DM, having due regards for the requirements as per section 116 of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003.
AON is willing to continue to render the contracted insurance services to Garden Route District Municipality for the 12 month extension period.
In terms of Section 116 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Act 56 of 2003, a contract of agreement procured through the Supply Chain Management policy, may be amended by the parties, but only after the local community has been given reasonable notice of the intention to amend the contract or agreement.
The local community is henceforth invited to provide comments, if any, to Mr Monde Stratu, Municipal Manager, Garden Route District Municipality, via e-mail: info@gardenroute.gov.za before 15 June 2020.
For any information about the above, contact the Manager: BTO/AFS/Assets Ms. L Hoek at louise@gardenroute.gov.za or Senior Accountant: Assets Mr J Samery at john@gardenroute.gov.za, telephone: 044 803 1325
For Immediate Release
26 May 2020
“In an ongoing series of debates with experts in various fields, the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) seeks to highlight aspects related to COVID-19 demands on humanity, and that which is unfolding as climate change steadily brings about corresponding and irreversible changes with daunting challenges,” says Cobus Meiring of the GREF Secretariat.
The matter of the fairly new concept of ecological grief and human behaviour, which was instigated by COVID-19, highlights the looming plight of greater humanity: the destruction of our environment.
According to Hanna Kotze, an organisational culture consultant and clinical social worker, climate change brings an unknown threat to normality in terms of how humans will experience the environment, and it will do so in many respects that are more often than not difficult to comprehend or even believe. In as much as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is invisible, but the threat is very real and present, so is climate change, and humanity sense the danger, which in turn brings about a constant anxiety.
Says Kotze, “Ecological grief is a relatively new term for the subconscious but the concept embraces the collective grief humanity experiences when witnessing and experiencing loss of biodiversity and the destruction of the natural environment.”
“Natural disasters with their roots in climate change, such as the recent Knysna wildfire disaster, catastrophic drought in South Africa, Hurricane Katrina in the USA, wildfires in Australia and Europe, and the Idai tropical cyclone in Mozambique are all examples where humanity suffers from ecological grief, which no doubt impacts on the emotional well-being of nations affected,” explains Kotze.
“Many of us may feel paralysed by panic over climate change and overwhelmed by the pace and scale of ecological losses. Mourning nature does a great service by giving a name to this grief, setting us all within a community of others who mourn alongside us, and by guiding us to respond not with despair but with hope and courage”.
“Hopefully, the advent of COVID-19 will have the right kind of response in how we ensure a more sustainable future in South Africa and the world, and planning for what is to come will go a long way in ensuring just that,” concludes Kotze.
Humanity feels overwhelmed by the sheer destruction of our environment brought about by increasingly devastating natural disasters with their roots in a changing climate. (Photo: SCLI)
The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a public platform for environmental management entities in the Southern Cape, and a regional think tank on climate change mitigation and adaption.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Cobus Meiring: Chair of the Garden Route Environmental Forum Secretariat
Cell: 083 626 7619
Email: cobus@naturalbridge.co.za
Hanna Kotze: Organisational Culture Consultant, Clinical Social Worker and Trauma Counselling
Mobile Number: 084 341 0059
Email Address: hanna@hannakotze.co.za
Press Release
25 May 2020
For Immediate Release
Councillors and management from Garden Route District Municipality, together with representatives from labour unions and various government stakeholders, on 7 and 11 May 2020, convened through a virtual platform, a Strategic Planning Session, to review all operations of the municipality since July to March 2020 and also to discuss the strategic direction that the municipality aims to undertake over the short- and long term.
This annual engagement, as described by the facilitator, Dr Florus Prinsloo, allowed all participants to share their inputs with regards to the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic has done to the economy of the district and also the district’s readiness and the interventions of the municipality to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
When describing the objective of the session, Executive Mayor of GRDM, Councillor Memory Booysen, emphasised the importance of all stakeholders, especially representatives from the various political parties, around one table to discuss strategic issues of the municipality.
With reference to the COVID-19 pandemic that also affects the rest of the work, including Garden Route,, Executive Mayor Booysen said: “Nobody foresaw that by this time, we would all be affected by this pandemic”. He said: “We all have had to change our lifestyles; we now have to change our management styles as well as our political approach to provide direction to the management in our collective fight of this pandemic. We must use this time as an opportunity to prepare ourselves for change. All the initiatives we are busy with are all enforced by COVID-19. Some would not be sustainable and affordable, but we know that some initiatives have to be adjusted. We now have to realign how we use to do business and how we are going to adapt to the new norm,” Mayor Booysen added.
Municipal Manager of GRDM, Mr Monde Stratu, acknowledged that the pandemic has revealed the levels of poverty in South Africa, e.g. hunger, inhumane settlements etc., but also at the same time how the pandemic brought to the fore that government indeed works. He said: “As we plan for the new financial year, it will not be the same going forward. We have to re-look and review our strategies”.
Mr Stratu also provided feedback about the compliance of all committees from July to date and reported that all Council meetings that were scheduled to take place have been executed, all reports that were prepared to serve at oversight committees were processed and the annual report was approved in time. He furthermore provided an update on the application for GRDM to be registered as a Water Service Authority as well as an update regarding the catalytic projects such as the fresh produce market ,Renewable Energy Projects, Development Agency etc. which are still in its planning phases.
In respect of intergovernmental relations and public participation all forums took place including IDP forums. Mr Stratu furthermore reported that the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan and all planning processes to review the IDP and Budget have been undertaken and that all required financial reports have been submitted to the relevant structures. He therefore extended a word of appreciation to the political leadership for their role to ensure that the municipality complied with these legislative requirements. Mr Stratu also remembered and acknowledged the late Cllr Nomhiki Jacobs who participated in all these initiatives to ensure that Council adhered to all legislative requirements, however she sadly passed away on 18 March 2020.
In going forward, Mr Stratu highlighted the municipality is in a financially stable position, however, he said: “We now have to make serious changes in terms of the long term sustainability of the municipality”. He also acknowledged that the Cost Containment Regulations contributed to various strategies that had to be reviewed as many tourism and other projects came to a halt due to the lockdown. He concluded with the following words: “As a Council we do have the political will and we are confident to do everything possible to reignite the economy of the Garden Route in order to take our rightful place as a district municipality and lead as our vision reads”.
Dr Michael Sutcliffe, former City Manager of eThekwini Municipality made a presentation on the Municipal functions as outlined in section 84 of the Structures Act. He shared some findings on the research he has done on this functions and the recommendations that will be made with regards to possible review of Section 84 and 85 of the Structures Act. He acknowledged that the Garden Route District Municipality is capable of performing the functions of the district as outlined in Section 84. Dr Sutcliffe made an example that a district fresh model idea would address the needs of both the most impoverished communities to the richest of the rich.
Mr Walton Carelse from the Western Cape Government presented the Joint District Approach that started in July 2018. The model was developed in conjunction with Local Municipalities and was introduced at the Garden Route Municipal Managers Forum on 4 December 2018. The model included the identification and assessment of Municipal priorities throughout the district and developing a consolidated approach in achieving those priorities. Through these platforms the following themes were created to group the challenges of the municipalities, namely: climate change and water security, local economic development, immigration and urbanisation, infrastructure management, institutional governance, data management, intergovernmental planning alignment, partnering, partnerships and shared services, financial sustainability, citizen interface, political, administrative and social instability and waste management. Each district municipality had to identify their two/three top priorities from the five top priorities identified across the Western Cape namely: community participation, infrastructure management, urbanisation, climate change and water security, as well as waste management. All these were identified prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the municipality may have to review the priorities, in light of Covid-19 pandemic. Currently the District has identified the following priorities from the broad themes:
When presenting the COVID-19 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) support programme, Mr Rashid Teofy, Head of the Western Cape Government COVID-19 Economic Cluster, together with members of the Cluster, explained the role of the Cluster since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. These include the access to incentives, the collating of information on all support measures to ensure that these are available to SMMEs etc. Furthermore, together with Provincial Treasury, a database has also been developed to deal with personal protective equipment, which municipalities and government departments can access for procurement of personal protective equipment such as cloth masks. Together with this, WESGRO created a platform for the private sector where suppliers and buyers can interact with one another regarding Covid 19 PPE. The unit also engages with businesses and banks on a bi-weekly basis to discuss the challenges of SMMEs. Another initiative that is also in its planning phase is to transform spaza shops into mini supermarkets which will allow a more sophisticated shopping experience for the community.
The concept of a digital economy was furthermore presented, whereby various components and services have been brought into one platform that can be accessed by SMMEs as a guideline or a digital support tool. The platform, known as Jump for Entrepreneurs, furthermore seeks to assist small businesses to become more competitive and have access to more markets. This tool can be accessed via www.bizjump.co.za. The platform is updated on a regular basis and businesses are therefore encouraged to upload their profiles to interact with other businesses and remain competitive in this digital age.
The second day’s activities were in the form of presentations presented by the different Head of departments within the municipality. Executive Managers used the opportunity to reflect on the past financial year’s achievements as well as the challenges experienced. Councillors were enlightened with departments’ objective and strategies for the next financial year. The impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery was also discussed. These presentations outlined various exciting projects that the Municipality will be engaged in to ensure self-sustainability and improve the regional economy.
ENDS
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The council meeting will be live streamed on the municipality’s official Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC66RBZT0_U2_L4-zSn7yXJQ |
There are a number of factors which have deterred some individuals from wearing masks or from wearing it correctly. Many have embraced the wearing of masks by buying or making their own colourful homemade varieties around their ears, while healthcare workers and other medical responders mainly wear N95 masks. There are, however, two distinct differences between cloth masks and N95 masks. Cloth masks protect people around the wearer, whereas respirator N95 masks protect the wearer from those around him or her.
The main benefit of wearing a mask is that it provides a bit of respiratory protection which can reduce depositing of droplets of the virus on surfaces and to others. Preventing a person from spreading the disease to others is important, because some people do not show any symptoms.
“We now understand that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms and are therefore referred to as asymptomatic, said Gerhard Otto, Head of Garden Route District Municipality’s Disaster Management Centre. He further explains: “Those who eventually develop symptoms are called pre-symptomatic and can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms.”
The virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity — for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing — even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. This is important to note because one cough can produce up to 3 000 droplets. A recent study showed that humans spray thousands of droplets invisible to the naked eye into the air just by uttering the words “stay healthy”.
Remember wearing a mask is a precaution and courtesy to yourself and those nearby.
The GRDM Command Cenre therefore recommends that members of the public wear cloth face coverings in public settings. Businesses also have the right to prevent members of the public who are not wearing masks from entering their premises.
When combined with proper hand washing and social distancing, masks may help the spread of COVID-19 in a community.
Remember to:
Remember just because you can’t see the virus doesn’t mean that it is not there. Always wear your mask when required and badly fitting masks won’t protect you – wear your mask and wear it correctly to stay healthy.
Media Queries
Herman Pieters | Senior Communicator
Garden Route District Municipality
E-mail: communications@gardenroute.gov.za
