Media Release: GRDM and LGSETA New Venture Creation Learnership classes conclude
For immediate release 19 August 2022
Today, 19 August 2022, the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) in collaboration with the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA), facilitated their last training class to students who enrolled for the New Venture Creation Learnership early this year.
LGSETA through a discretionary grant, sponsored the training programme to unemployed ten (10) unemployed learners who reside in the Garden Route district. The training was facilitated by African Global Skills Academy, a training company that delivers training and other related services to adult learners and supplies training related services nationally. Their main focus areas are Hospitality, Tourism, Guiding, Event Management, Conservation, Sport and Craft production training.
Now that the theoretical classes came to a close, the students will have the opportunity to undergo practical training for a nine (9) month period. Through this phase they will be placed at (various workplaces within Garden Route) where they will apply the knowledge gained for the last three (3) months.
Feature Photo:
From left (front row): Olwethu Skippers, Siphosethu Mali and Busisiwe Xhanywe (students), Mrs Aneeka Jacobs (Western Cape Provincial Manager – LGSETA), Khomotso Ngoetsana (Facilitator – African Global Skills Academy) and Angeline Naidoo (Human Resources Practitioner: Training – GRDM).
From left (back row): Cheslyn Robertson and Moustapha Esau (students), Trix Holtzhausen (Executive Manager: Corporate Services – GRDM), as well as Graham Redelinghuys, Winnefred Seenzele and Asemahle Jonas (students).
Impact Based Severe Weather Warning: Damaging Winds
The Cape Town Weather Office has issued an Impact Based Warning for Damaging Winds valid from 17 August (1:00) to 21 August 2022 (00:00) as follow:
Legal notice:
“This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance.
It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”
Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 044 805 5071.
Impact Based Severe Weather Warning: Damaging Winds and Disruptive Rain
The Cape Town Weather Office has issued Impact Based Warnings for Damaging Winds valid from 16 August (21:00) to 18 August 2022 (00:00) and Disruptive Rain valid from 17 August 2022 (9:00 to 23:00) as follow:
Legal notice:
“This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance.
It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”
Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 044 805 5071.
Are you planning to join our Garden Route Skills Mecca Quarterly Stakeholder Engagement? It will take place on 25 August 2022 at 09h00 am.
Why should you join? Find out what possible skills programmes and interventions are planned for Local Government in the Garden Route (including Hessequa, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Bitou, Greater Oudtshoorn, Kannaland and the Garden Route District Municipalities).
How to get involved? We will share how you can become a mentor or share the expertise you’ve built up over the years to empower communities.
Media Release: Another successful Echo Outdoor Gathering event hosted at Calitzdorp Hot Springs
15 August 2022 For Immediate Release
In the heart of the Klein Karoo, nestled on the slopes of the mountains lies Calitzdorp Hot Springs where Echo Outdoor Gatherings recently hosted another successful music and arts festival from 29 – 31 July 2022. Approximately 650 festival-goers from all over South Africa attended the event.
DJs, also travelled from across the country to showcase their skills at the 3-day event, which delivered a multi-sensory and sonic experience. Additionally, the use of one of the four classical elements from ancient Greek philosophy and science, in this case fire, made it an event guests looked forward to and that created a magical experience.
Popular for festival-goers all year round.
From early mornings till late evenings, DJs, one after another, entertained festival-goers with high-quality techno music. There were always enthusiastic dancers on the dance floor and fire shows. Others enjoyed the food stalls that served a variety of food, art stalls, and enjoyed the outdoor sun in the pools with their children. Those who preferred more privacy gathered in their own intimate groups on the lawns or in the indoor heated Roman Bath area that was recently upgraded. A couple of nature lovers couldn’t resist the opportunity to get in a few kilometres of hiking.
With the sun setting, fires were lit which festival-goers also gathered around to warm themselves. Just after sunset, the fire dancers captivated guests with their art of rhythm and fire. Amidst the chilly evening weather, festival-goers, young and old, stayed outside until late and enjoyed the festivities.
A relaxing atmosphere around the hot springs pool and cold swimming pool areas.
Jade John, a boutique clothing stall holder from Cape Town, who has attended Echo Outdoor Gatherings for almost 10 years, shared his experience by saying that he has travelled all the way to experience a community of family who comes together to have fun. “The venue is amazing and we are thrilled to support the community and to contribute to the economy in this way,” he said.
One of the DJs who performed during the event, Corrie, applauded the Hot Springs and said: “From the first time we visited Calitzdorp Hot Springs in March until yesterday, we were really impressed by all the upgrades that have been made. We hope you keep up with it, because this is really an amazing venue with great potential. It would be awesome if this could be a fully equipped festival venue that can accommodate thousands of festival goers.”
According to the Echo Outdoor Gatherings Founder, Daniel Mentz, festival-goers were very excited to return to Calitzdorp Hot Springs after their prior experience. “We decided to bring our brand to two of the Garden Route District Municipality’s venues, De Hoek Mountain Resort and Calitzdorp Hot Springs with entertainers and guests from all over South Africa. Our aim is not just to have a dance party, but a family gathering, where one can also experience music, craft, food and handcrafted art, clothing and jewellery.” In conclusion he said that his guest felt extremely welcome and safe at both venues and that he has received numerous compliments on how well things are being run in order to make the event a success.
As previously reported, Echo Outdoor Gatherings wanted to thank the community of Calitzdorp for its warm welcome and decided to give back by holding a food and blanket drive for Friends of Calitzdorp Animals (FOCA). To supplement the Winter Warmer Drive, Echo Outdoor Gatherings and Feel Good Entertainment also donated 10% of the bar proceedings for the weekend to FOCA. A total of 6 000 worth of tickets were donated by Echo Gatherings and with the help of Dolly du Plessis who crocheted 30 Route 62 beanies, the festival raised R3000,00 (from festival goers), 326kg of dog food, 42kg of cat food, four (4) packets of cat sweets, eight (8) big cans of dog food, five (5) small cans of dog food, seven dog pillows, four blankets, and cat toys.
The Garden Route District Municipality is once again proud to have hosted the past Echo Outdoor Gatherings event. By hosting these events, healthy family life is promoted, district resources are marketed and promoted, income is generated, and visitor flow is increased.
Public Notice: Public Participation for the Garden Route Coastal Management Programme
The Garden Route District Coastal Management Programme was reviewed and updated, in terms of Section 48 of the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Act (Act No 24 of 2008). As per the provisions of the ICM Act, any amendments that are made to the existing Coastal Management Programme must be subject to the public participation requirements in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Municipal Systems Act, prior to being Gazetted.
Notice is hereby given that the Draft Garden Route District Coastal Management Programme will be available for review and comment from 20 June 2022 to 20 August 2022. The draft Garden Route District Coastal Management Programme will be available for viewing at the following Places:
Garden Route District Municipality, 54 York Street, George;
Mossel Bay Public Library, 99 Marsh Street, Mossel Bay;
Hessequa Public Library (Gouritsmond Library), 9 Kerk Street, Gouritz;
Albertinia Public Library, 2 Horne Street, Albertinia;
Still Bay Public Library, Main Road, Still Bay West;
Riversdale Public Library, Van Den Berg Street, Riversdale;
Hessequa Municipal Office, Mitchell Street, Riversdale;
Plettenberg Bay Public Library; Saringa Way, New Horizons, Plettenberg Bay;
Knysna Public Library, Memorial Square, 2 Main Street, Knysna;
George Public Library, Corner Caledon and Courtenay Streets, Camphersdrift, George, and;
The District Municipality hereby invites comments from interested and affected parties on the draft reviewed Garden Route District Coastal Management Programme. Any comments and inputs submitted will be considered during the finalisation of the draft document for final approval and Gazetting.
Written submissions may be directed to the Municipal Manager using the following address: Garden Route District Municipality, Municipal Manager, Monde Stratu, 54 York Street, George or Private Bag 12, George, 6530 or via email to info@gardenroute.gov.za on or before 20 August 2022.
Any person who is unable to write can submit their input verbally to the Council’s offices where they will be assisted by a staff member to put their comments in writing.
Click here to download the Official Notice and Garden Route District Coastal Management Programme.
Enquiries can be directed to Dr Nina Viljoen at 044 803 1318 or e-mail to nina@gardenroute.gov.za.
M Stratu
MUNICIPAL MANAGER
GARDEN ROUTE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
Media Release: GRDM Fire Fighting Training accreditation – check marked
11 August 2022 For Immediate Release
The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) has achieved a significant milestone for applying to the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) to become an accredited Skills Development Provider for Fire Fighting Training. When successful the milestone will implicate that GRDM can offer training, in particular, for a National Occupational Qualification of Firefighters, NQF-4.
According to the GRDM Executive Manager for Corporate Services, Trix Holtzhausen: “QCTO is one of three National Quality Councils that have the statutory authority to accredit teaching and learning programme providers in the country”.
“QCTO accredits all occupational programmes from NQF 1 to NQF 8, a role previously performed by SETAs but now centralised under QCTO,” she said.
This significant achievement was realised on Tuesday, 2 August 2022 when the District Firefighting Training Centre of GRDM was audited and verified by representatives of QCTO. This was the first milestone in a series of processes that will allow GRDM to become a nationally, and possibly internationally recognized organisation for its expertise in disaster management, firefighting, law enforcement and traffic control.
According to Dr Florus Prinsloo, Skills Mecca Coordinator: “The Garden Route Skills Mecca (GRSM) and Training Unit of the GRDM facilitated the accreditation process”. According to Dr Prinsloo, this is one of many resolutions of the Garden Route Skills Summit of 2019. The theme was to “continue and accelerate collaboration and cooperation among all District skills development role players.” Dr Florus Prinsloo also commented on the accreditation process for the GRSM Fire Fighting team, saying that, in his over eighteen years of working with skills development, including accreditation processes, this process was a real pleasure because of the commitment from the GRDM leadership and staff. GRDM’s investment in their people to become qualified OD-ETDP Practitioners was a major factor in this accreditation process, and they deserve high praise for growing their own timber.
This achievement is also a critical step in the process for the construction and operationalisation of a modern sustainable multi-purpose Training Academy. Funding was already made available by Belgium’s Flanders Government, through close collaboration with the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment. The academy will be designed and constructed over the next eighteen months and be located in the Garden Route.
Holtzhausen expressed her appreciation for the Fire Fighting Team led by Johan Brand, Deon Stoffels and Brian Afrikander. Additionally, she commended her Training and Development Unit led by Reginald Salmons and Angeline Naidoo for their support and hard work, as well as Jessica Erasmus from the GRDM Community Services Department for her role in populating the detailed Learning Programme Matrix and demonstrating the use of the Collaborator System as a home-grown Learner Management System.
According to Holtzhausen, the envisaged plans for the GRDM Training Academy Programme Qualification Mix Academy include not only accredited Fire Fighting Training. “We will also offer training in Wildfire Management, Veld Fire Management, Law Enforcement, Traffic Control and Disaster Management. These are all highly specialised knowledge domains that the Municipalities in the Garden Route district have exceptional expertise in.”
DISCUSSIONS WITH NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY
Discussions are also taking place between the GRDM Skills Mecca team and the George Campus of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) to see how these programmes can be aligned to the existing Veld Fire Management Programmes offered at the University. This will allow for significant sharing of expertise and resources between the two partners and provide career development opportunities for many employed and unemployed persons in the Garden Route.
Today, I am honoured to greet my fellow women on this Women’s Day. A day dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in social, cultural, and political fields. A day when we recognise the value and importance of women in our lives and around the world.
I want to encourage women to always strive to be themselves; to live their lives as they feel comfortable; and to take time for themselves, as women are often the backbone of their families who put others before themselves.
Over the years, women have contributed massively to the lives of their families, sometimes under difficult and unfair circumstances. However, they still manage to juggle through life while accomplishing their individual and professional goals.
As Speaker van die Tuinroete Distriksmunisipaliteit kan ek met selfvertroue noem dat hierdie munisipaliteit altyd daarna sal strewe, om die kwessies waarmee vroue te kampe kom, op te probeer los en bewusheid oor geslagsgelykheid te vermeerder.
The world is moving towards gender equality and it is moving towards a balance between both men and women.
I would like to encourage women and victims of gender-based violence to be courageous, to stand up, to show strength, and to make their voices heard, as doing so helping them take control and provide motivation for those who have lost their voices and dignity.
‘Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo’ – YES – When You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock…
For more information, please contact the GRDM Performance Manager, Ms Ilse Saaiman at: E-mail: performance@gardenroute.gov.za Switchboard: 044 803 1300
