Media Release: Series of cold fronts headed for South Africa
For Immediate Release
09 June 2022
South Africans have been enjoying clear skies for the past few days, however, that is about to change as a series of cold fronts are expected to make landfall over the western parts of the country early next week and move eastwards, affecting most of South Africa. These cold fronts are expected to result in strong winds, high waves, heavy rainfall, light snow and a significant drop in temperatures.
Forecasted maximum temperatures for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (14, 15 and 16 June 2022) next week.
The first cold front is expected to reach the Western Cape on Sunday evening. Ahead of this front, strong north-westerly winds between 50-60 km/h, gusting up to 70-80 km/h, are expected over the southern parts of the Northern Cape and interior of the Western and Eastern Cape from Sunday. These strong winds are likely to result in damage to formal and informal settlements as well as possible structural damage in these areas.
In addition, westerly to south-westerly waves, with significant wave heights of 4.0 to 4.5 m, are expected between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas on Monday morning, 13 June 2022, continuing into the afternoon. Together with these waves, strong north-westerly winds (50-60 km/h) are expected along this coast. These conditions may result in difficulty to navigate at sea.
By Monday evening, another cold front will reach the Western Cape. As these fronts make landfall, high rainfall amounts are expected mainly in the south-western parts of the Western Cape, especially from Monday through to Wednesday afternoon. This rainfall will spread eastwards on Tuesday towards the Eastern Cape. Rainfall accumulations are expected to reach 50-80 mm over the mountainous areas of the Cape Metropole, the western parts of Cape Winelands and the western parts of the Overberg districts between Monday and Wednesday. These high rainfall accumulations are likely to cause flooding of roads and formal/ informal settlements in these areas. Even though the Eastern Cape is expected to receive some rainfall, the rainfall amounts are not anticipated to have any significant effect on the dam levels for that province.
Temperatures are expected to drop significantly over the entire Western Cape and Namakwa district on Monday. This cooling will spread eastwards, reaching Limpopo, Mpumalanga as well as KwaZulu-Natal between Wednesday, 15 June 2022 and Thursday, 16 June 2022 (fig. 1).
With this cooling, freezing levels are expected to also drop significantly, resulting in light snowfall over the southern high ground of Namakwa, as well as the high-lying areas in the western interior of the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, spreading to the north-eastern high ground of the Eastern Cape on Wednesday.
The South African Weather Service will continue to monitor any further developments relating to these cold fronts and will issue updates and warnings as required. Furthermore, the public are urged to regularly follow weather forecasts on television and radio. Weather information will be available at www.weathersa.co.za as well as via the SA Weather Service Twitter account @SAWeatherServic
Compiled by Surprise Mhlongo and Elizabeth Viljoen
For technical and weather enquiries: National Forecasting Centre: Tel: 012 367 6041
Media enquiries: Ms Hannelee Doubell: Acting Senior Manager, Communications;
Tel: (012) 367 6104 / Cell: 072 222 6305;
E-mail: hannelee.doubell@weathersa.co.za
2022-2027 DISTRICT IDP/BUDGET AND PMS PROCESS PLAN AND DISTRICT SECTION 27 FRAMEWORK
Notice is hereby given that the 2022-2027 Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Integrated Development Plan (IDP)/Budget/Performance Management System (PMS) Process Plan and District Framework have been adopted by Council in terms of Section 27, 28, and 29 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act (Act 32 of 2000) and the Municipal Finance Management Act (Act 56 of 2003), at a Council meeting held on 27 May 2022.
Media Release: Officials from Garden Route District Municipality celebrate Employee Wellness Day – 30 employees donated blood!
For immediate release 3 June 2022
Every year, National Employee Wellness Month is celebrated during the month of June. In view of this, the Garden Route District Municipality’s Employee Assistance Section organised a full-day programme filled with wellness activities to encourage employees to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being at work and overall.
Research indicates that work is closely linked to an individual’s health and well-being. And, as a result, several service providers were invited to interact with employees and advise them on how to improve and adopt a healthier workplace wellness culture since they spend most of their time at work.
Nedbank, Virgin Active, Bonitas- and LA Health Medical Scheme, the Western Cape Department of Health, the Western Cape Blood Services, and CANSA Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) representatives were among the service providers.
The GRDM Blood Donation Drive was one of the highlights of the day as the Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS) also urges all eligible donors to donate blood as blood stocks are critically low.
According to the South African National Blood Service (SANBS), ‘Donating a unit of this “precious gift of life” saves lives of those in dire need of blood. One must develop a habit of donating blood in order for SANBS to collect sufficient blood that will ensure that in cases of emergency quality blood is always available. Thousands of patients can die daily if there is insufficient quality blood in stock. When one donates blood, they give patients the gift money cannot buy or science cannot create. A unit of blood can save up to three lives as blood is separated into red blood cells, plasma and platelets.’
Thirty (30) employees from GRDM donated blood today.
Benefits of donating blood:
Improves overall cardiovascular health.
Enhances the production of new blood cells to produce new blood cells to maintain good health.
Lower the risk of strokes.
Reduces the chance of heart attacks.
Lower the risk of cancer.
Free health screening – vital signs, blood type, and other screening tests.
It saves lives – many lives are saved and hope is given to many whose situation may otherwise be hopeless.
Blood donors give such patients a second lease of life.
As part of the day’s activities, Virgin Active also hosted a Grid Class for employees to participate in.
Media Release: Crèche surprised with mattress donations by Garden Route District Municipality
For Immediate Release 2 June 2022
Crèches or day care facilities are required to provide safe sleep spaces for toddlers or little ones they care for on a daily basis. To ensure that these spaces are comfortable enough to provide a healthy sleeping routine, a mattress is regarded as an essential item for a toddler.
Towards the end of May 2022, Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP) from Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and their Portfolio Chairperson for Community Services, Cllr Nompumelelo Ndayi, paid a surprise visit to the St. Elizabeth Crèche in Avontuur. On arrival Cllr Ndayi, on behalf of GRDM, donated sixteen (16) mattresses to the crèche. A gratified Principal, Caroline Esau, accepted the items on behalf of the little ones and expressed her gratefulness towards GRDM for the donation, especially due to the timing of the donation. Avontuur experiences extremely cold weather during winter time, reaching low temperatures of 2°C during autumn and winter.
As part of the visit, the team also demonstrated the steps of proper hand wash techniques to the toddlers and daycare staff.
“Applying these steps will prevent you and your families from easily attracting several types of hygiene-related illnesses,” said Cllr Ndayi at the event.
In closing, the team also distributed pamphlets covering information on daily Health and Hygiene habits. The event ended on a yummy note, with the team sharing snack packs, contributed from their own pockets, with each toddler for behaving and cooperating exceptionally well during their visit.
Carike Soman, Environmental Health Practitioner at GRDM, demonstrates proper handing washing techniques to the toddlers present during the visit.
A few health and hygiene tips shared with the toddlers:
WHY IS HAND WASHING IMPORTANT?
Keeping hands clean can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea related illnesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as a cold or flu;
It can result in less illness and fewer missed school days;
When the family is healthy, you don’t have to worry about missing school, work or other activities.
STEPS TO WASH HANDS THOROUGHLY:
Wet first; apply soap; rub palms; rub tips of nails against palms or use a clean scrub; rub fingers between each other; place one hand over the back of the other and rub between fingers. Do the same with the other hand that is not washed; rub each thumb with opposite palms; rinse and dry.
USE OF HAND SANITIZER:
If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Feature Image: Garden Route District Municipality’s Portfolio Chairperson for Community Services, Cllr Nompumelelo Ndayi (left), hands over a mattress to the Principal of St. Elizabeth Crèche in Avontuur, Caroline Esau.
A toddler welcomes the pamphlet and snack pack handed to him/her by Cllr Nompumelelo Ndayi (right) in the presence of their principal, Caroline Esau (middle).
Cllr Nompumelelo Ndayi (right) and Carika Soman, GRDM EHP (middle), with Principal, Caroline Esau, distributing pamphlets and snack packs to the toddlers.
Media Release: Environmental Health Practitioners focus on restaurants about safe food handling
For Immediate Release 1 June 2022
Five (5) keys to safer food training is a key focus area for Garden Route District Municipality’s Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP) to educate the public about. EHPs focus mainly on formal and informal food traders about food safety. Recently, the Mossel Bay EHP team visited food handlers and management of Delfinos, Piza ē Vino, Kingfisher, Big Blu, Patricks and Kaai 4 for exactly this.
Neo-Lay Britz, an EHP from the Mossel Bay sub-office, explained: “Safe food handling is of utmost importance to ensure that quality food is sold to the public. Dangerous bacteria can contaminate food and cause food poisoning if the five keys to safer food are not adhered to”.
The GRDM EHPs, in their educational sessions, focus on the following 5 keys: keeping clean, the importance of separating raw and cooked food, cooking thoroughly, keeping food at safe temperatures; and using safe water and raw materials.
Here are the details of all the keys and their respective tips:
KEEP CLEAN
Hands should be washed before and during the food preparation process.
Premises should be kept clean, which includes the equipment used, in order to ensure that pests such as cockroaches, mice and rats do not gain access due to the availability of food (food spills, refuse bins and dirty dishes).
SEPARATE RAW AND COOKED FOOD
Use separate equipment and utensils for the different types of raw and cooked food.
Raw and cooked food should be stored in separate containers.
COOK THOROUGHLY
Proper cooking kills most dangerous bacteria, studies have shown that cooking food up to a temperature of 70˚C can help ensure food is safe for consumption.
KEEP FOOD AT SAFE TEMPERATURES
Bacteria can multiply very quickly if food is stored/ kept at room temperature, it should either be kept below 5˚C or above 60˚.
Food products should be defrosted/ thawed at the correct temperature and not be kept on the table in the hot kitchen during the course of the day.
USE SAFE WATER AND RAW MATERIALS
Safe water and raw materials such as fruit and vegetables should be used.
Only meat bought from an approved butchery/ abattoir should be used.
Choose safely processed foods such as pasteurized milk.
The GRDM EHPs are the first point of contact in ensuring that workplaces are safe, hygienic, and healthy places to work in.
If you become aware of non-compliance, please report it to 082 804 5161.
Feature Image:Environmental Health Practitioners from Garden Route District Municipality in Mossel Bay with employees from a local restaurant.
Media Release: 32 Small Businesses benefitted from the Garden Route District Municipality’s SMME Support and Development Programme For immediate release 31 May 2022
As small businesses are the backbone of the economy, the government has introduced various forms of relief to help Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A good example of this is when the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Council resolved, four years ago ‘to put their money where their mouths are’ by supporting and investing tangibly in SMME’s of the Garden Route. With a mentorship process funded by the GRDM, specific business needs were identified through one-on-one business assessments.
This resulted in the GRDM Economic Development and Tourism Departments SMME Support and Development Programme being introduced during the 2019/20 financial year (1 July 2019 – 30 June 2020). This Programme was initiated and is coordinated by the GRDM Economic Development and Tourism Department. Other stakeholders, such as the Department of Agriculture (DoA); Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT); Small Enterprises Development Agency (Seda), the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) and local municipalities in the district played a critical role in driving this.
In the past year, the GRDM Council allocated R682 000.00 from its budget to assist SMMEs in the district to grow their businesses. Small businesses were invited to submit proposals as part of the selection process. An advertisement was placed in the regional newspapers, social media and the municipal website.
An Adjudication Committee, representing various stakeholders, reviewed the all the business proposals received and made recommendations. These recommendations were subsequently approved, which led to a formal handover ceremony.
Thirty-two (32) SMMEs from across the Garden Route received much-needed equipment from the GRDM stakeholder partnership on Thursday, 26 May 2022. The GRDM Deputy Executive Mayor, Adv. Gert van Niekerk, members of the GRDM Mayoral Committee, Local Economic Development (LED) managers of the local municipalities in the district, and various stakeholders attended the ceremony.
The program was officially opened by Ald. Iona Kritzinger, GRDM Portfolio Chairperson of Corporate Services. With a special welcome to the thirty-two beneficiaries, she expressed her hopes that the equipment they received would add value to their businesses and help them to thrive.
Ald. Rosina Ruiters, GRDM Portfolio Chairperson of Planning and Economic Development Services, presented a brief overview of the SMME Support and Development Programme. She announced that the GRDM Council has invested R 2.1 million in the programme over the years and has supported 65 small businesses in the process.
Ald. Rosina Ruiterspresented a brief overview of the SMME Support and Development Programme.
The program was officially opened by Ald. Iona Kritzinger, GRDM Portfolio Chairperson of Corporate Services.
The program director of the event and the Acting Executive Manager of the Planning and Economic Development Department, Ms Melanie Wilson, commended the small business owners for their endurance and strength; and encouraged them with a quote from the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” Ms Wilson rendered a special word of acknowledgement and appreciation to the partners involved by saying, “As government we cannot function on our own; we need partnerships to be successful. With this project we’ve realized that in order to change the lives of our people and to make an impact, we need to build partnerships.” Wilson stated. GRDM signed an agreement with Casidra to execute the procurement process of the items on behalf of the District, which was exceptionally well managed.
A message of support for the partnership was delivered by Mr David Nefdt, Acting CEO of Casidra. He explained that Casidra believes that entrepreneurship is the only way to ensure that people have jobs, that there is food on the table, and to address the challenges in our communities. “There are not enough businesses that can create jobs, so the only way is to start new ones. Casidra wants to be part of this dream of establishing local businesses in the Garden Route District,” he said.
Mr Nefdt gave a brief overview of Casidra’s mandate and function and said that according to his understanding, government needs to do more to foster an environment for entrepreneurs to flourish by making it easier for small businesses to survive. He challenged the small businesses present with the following words, “You need to innovate unity; look at the cracks in your community and see if you can come up with something that can address the needs of people in your community. Let us all create an environment that encourages businesses to grow and be creative and innovative in addressing the needs of all people,” Nefdt concluded.
Program Director of the event and the Acting Executive Manager of the Planning and Economic Development Department, Ms Melanie Wilson.
A message of support for the partnership was delivered by Mr David Nefdt, Acting CEO from Casidra.
The keynote address was delivered by Ald. Gert van Niekerk, who explained the various aspects on how the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in business closures, job losses, and declining business profits. Accordingly, the GRDM signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Economic Development & Tourism and SEDA with the objective of supporting SMME development in the Garden Route and thus make a crucial impact.
Van Niekerk explained that by initiating and implementing the SMME Support and Development Programme, the Council believes that the assistance granted to the thirty-two (32) SMMEs will make a significant contribution to the sustainability and expansion of their businesses. “We hope that you will continue to create jobs and that your businesses will grow. We salute you!” Cllr van Niekerk concluded.
Keynote address was delivered by Ald. Gert van Niekerk.
This project was managed by Mr Johannes Jafta, Economic Development Officer.
The vote of thanks was delivered by GRDM EPWP Manager, Mr Richard Dyantyi.
Two (2) beneficiary SMME’s, Ms Tabita Williams from Ludify Suppliers and Ms Siphesihle Bobo from Sihle Fitness Academy, gave an overview of their respective businesses and thanked the GRDM and partners for firstly believing in them, and secondly for providing equipment and support to SMME’s in the district.
During the vote of thanks, EPWP Manager for the GRDM, Mr Richard Dyantyi, thanked the GRDM Council for their commitment to small businesses in the district. Dyantyi further thanked Casidra as a ‘driving partner’ as well as the other stakeholders involved and the GRDM Team for their commitment in making the programme a success.
At the end of the formalities, the Project Manager of the Programme, Mr Johannes Jafta, together with the GRDM Mayoral Committee, handed over equipment and material to the thirty-two (32) SMMEs.
Upon receiving the equipment, the SMMEs are required to sign a contract in which they agree not to sell the equipment donated to them. As part of the monitoring and evaluation process, GRDM officials will be required to regularly access the premises of all beneficiaries to view the equipment and assess each business’s growth.
Public Notice: Adoption of the 2022-2027 Integrated Development Plan (IDP), 2022/2023 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework and Multi-Year Budget
Notice 63/2022
Notice is hereby given that the Garden Route District Municipal Council’s Integrated Development Plan for the period 2022-2027 and the Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF) Multi-Year Budget for the period 2022/2023-2024/2025, were compiled in accordance with the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 2000 (Act 32 of 2000) and Municipal Finance Management Act 2003 (Act 56 of 2003).
These documents were adopted by the Garden Route District Council at a District Council meeting held on Friday, 27 May 2022.
These documents will be available at all main local libraries, satellite offices and the Garden Route District Municipality’s IDP Unit, 54 York Street George and on the GRDM municipal website www.gardenroute.gov.za.
Please contact the District IDP Manager (Ms Mercy James) or Budget Manager (Ms Louise Hoek) at 044 803 1300, rekords@gardenroute.gov.za with any enquiries.
PUBLIC NOTICE: Invitation to register on the GRDM Housing Demand Database
For Immediate Release 29 May 2022
Are you a resident of Bitou, Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Hessequa, Oudtshoorn or Kannaland and looking for an opportunity to obtain affordable housing? Then the Garden Route District Municipality invites you to register on our housing demand database. We are preparing to offer affordable housing to residents and have the following two options. A Social Rental Housing option for households with a combined monthly income between R1 851 and R22 000, and a FLISP option, for households with a combined monthly income between R3501 and R22 000.
In line with the above, we have prepared a standard application form that those interested in Affordable Housing must complete. Forms are available through the following platforms, namely:
At all local Housing offices of the 7 B-municipalities in the district.
All the GRDM sub-offices in the region.
For any related enquiries, please direct them to the GRDM Human Settlements office representatives, namely Ms Shehaam Sims or Mr Headman Mashotha at 044 803 1454.
You have three options to complete the application forms.
Submit it to your Local Municipality’s Housing Section
Submit it at any of the Garden Route District Municipality offices in the region
E-mail a scanned copy of the forms to info@gardenroute.gov.za
Please note that your form is not a subsidy application however, feel free to contact your local Municipality’ Housing Office should you require any further details.
