Garden Route District Municipality gives subsidies for fencing on a yearly basis to assist landowners on neighbouring rural roads with fencing of their properties. This is subject to a budget as received from the Western Cape Government.
The funding will only be applicable on a subsidy basis. It effectively means that 60% subsidy will be contributed towards the cost of the fencing. The subsidy is determined by an average price for material. The material is deemed as 60% of total cost. Labour cost is deemed as 40% of the total cost and must be carried by the applicant. All initial costs must be carried by the applicant and subsidy will be paid out after the successful completion of the fence. For more information refer to the Fencing Subsidy Policy of Garden Route District Municipality.
The new fences must adhere to the specifications of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape: Roads Infrastructure Department. Minimum specifications will be made available to successful applicants.
Application process
1. Application forms can be obtained from Ms Alwina Gelderbloem or Mr Gert Verwey at the Roads Transport & Planning Department. Contact numbers at the office is 044 803 1500 or 1506 or email GertV@gardenroute.gov.za or alwina@gardenroute.gov.za.
2. Application period: 1 April 2019 to 31 May 2019.
3. Applications will be audited and evaluated according to risk analysis by a panel. Risk factors include:
Status of road, traffic count, operating speed of vehicles, type of farming, condition of current fence, etc
4. The panel outcome will be decided by 30 June 2019. All applicants will be informed. A fencing subsidy contract will be signed with successful applicants. Unsuccessful applicants can apply again in the next financial year.
5. All fences must be fully completed by 31 January 2020 for payment before 28 February 2020.
6. Payment will be done after an inspection and an approval for the fence has been made.
Media Release: Avian Deaths reported along Divisional Road 1614 caused by Avian Botulism
For Immediate Release 4 March 2019
On 13 February 2019, a resident of Rondevlei via a local newspaper reported a number of bird deaths in the Rondevlei area in close proximity to Divisional Road 1614. The resident alluded to the possibility of the herbicide used by the Garden Route District Municipality: Roads and Transport Planning along the road reserve for Divisional Road 1614 being the cause of the aforesaid bird deaths. Lab tests have indicated otherwise.
On 15 February 2019, SANPARKS informed the GRDM that the bird deaths were caused by a disease known as avian botulism.
Avian botulism is a neuromuscular illness of birds caused by a toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Fish-eating birds are poisoned by eating fish that contain the toxin.
Ingestion of maggots from the carcass of an infected animal can continue the spread of avian botulism. Avian botulism is most prevalent during summer months. The decease cannot be transmitted to humans, but as a precautionary measure SANPARK rangers collected the carcasses daily. The decease cannot be transmitted to humans, but as a precautionary measure SANPARK rangers collected the carcasses daily. SANPARKS also indicated that a statement will be released.
Various departments in the GRDM responded promptly to establish the cause of the bird deaths, and to determine whether the GRDM held any liability therein. Although we could establish that the deaths were not caused by herbicides used by the GRDM: Roads and Transport Planning Services, we will endeavour to exercise caution in the selection of the herbicides that are used for road reserve management and the effect that it may have on the receiving environment.
A special awards ceremony was held for nearly 40 of Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM’s) Roads employees at the Roads Department in George on Thursday, 21 February 2019. Certificates and trophies were handed out to those individuals and teams who excelled in their work 2018/19 financial year. The event is steered by Executive Manager, Roads Services: Mr John G Daniels and by his side on the day to deliver messages of support were GDRM Executive Mayor, Cllr Memory Booysen and Municipal Manager, Mr Monde Stratu.
Mr Stratu commended everyone, saying that they are “willing to leave families and loved ones behind to do the work,” making this district “amongst the best in the country in terms of roads maintenance and construction.” Mr Stratu added that the Department has “excelled consistently over time,” which demonstrates the level of “commitment of each staff member.” He concluded that this generation should do anything in its power to ensure that the next generation inherits a better country than their predecessors.
In his address, Cllr Booysen said that Council is in serious discussion about the future of the Roads Department and that these discussions are seen in a positive light. He added that the recent developments with Ekusasa Mining provides the opportunity for possible collaborations with GDRM Roads to see if the current formula they use for gravel roads in the northern parts of South Africa and other African countries can be adapted to use on gravel roads in this district.
Mr Daniels echoed the gratitude expressed by Mr Stratu and Cllr Booysen, adding that maintaining approximately 6 200km of roads is no easy task. “People mostly only see trucks and graders coming and going, but very few understand the amount of work being done, sometimes in harsh conditions. Workers are continuously exposed to the elements of nature, but through perseverance and passion are able to deliver quality work that makes us amongst the best in the country.”
SAMEVATTING IN AFRIKAANS: ‘n Spesiale toekenningseremonie op 21 Februarie 2019 is vir ongeveer 40 Garden Route Distriksmunisipalteit Paaie personeel gehou. Munisipale Bestuurder, Monde Stratu en Uitvoerende Burgemeester, Raadslid Memory Booysen, het ook die toekenningseremonie bygewoon. Albei leiers het genoem dat die sukses van die Paaie Departement grootendeels afhang van die toewyding van werkers en dat dit ooglopend is dat Paaie-personeel elke jaar hul kant bring. Mnr John G Daniels, Uitvoerende Bestuurder: Paaie Dienste Departement, het genoem dat die onderhoud van ongeveer 6 200km paaie in ons streek ‘n geweldige taak is. “Mense sien meestal net trokke en padskrapers heen en weer ry op ons paaie, sonder om bewus te wees van die daaglikse take wat vervul moet word. Werkers word daagliks met klimaat (hitte en koue) en selfs stof, gekonfronteer.”
Executive Manager, Roads Services: Mr John G Daniels facilitated the awards ceremony. By his side to deliver messages of support were Municipal Manager, Mr Monde Stratu (middle) and GDRM Executive Mayor, Cllr Memory Booysen (rightThe group of employees from Garden Route District Municipality who attended the award ceremony. 1st Row Fron front left to right: Gert Verwy, J James, P James, Cllr M Booysen, J Mnyungula, N Johnson, M Stratu, A Nduma, M Lindoor, John Daniels, T Nortjie-Singh, 2nd Row from left to right: A Gerber, D Coerecius, E Jordaan, B Etsabeth, D October, R April, M Pedro, E Laws, P Scholtz, W Booysen and J Hartnick. 3rd Row from left to right: J Gunter, D Van Rooyen, S Bence, A Steenkamp, B Van Staden, F Pretorius, F Swanepoel, J Gunguluza, G Heunis and A Cupido. Last row from left to right: B Hartzenberg, D Krohn, M Stuurman, F Oktober, J Strydom and X Smuts.
A new Caterpillar (CAT) D7R bulldozer was officially handed over to the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Roads Department on Thursday, 6 December 2018, at the DR1524/18.5/0.5R borrow pit near Riversdale. Mr Handre Strydom, Chief Engineer at the WesternCape Department of Transport, together with Mr Henk van der Merwe from CAT South Africa, complemented the GRDM Roads Services’ fleet count when they officially handed over the machine.
The machine was taken into acceptance by GRDM Portfolio Chairperson of Roads Services, Cllr Rowan Spies, in the presence of GRDM Executive Manager of Roads Services, Mr John Daniels, GRDM Manager for Maintenance, Construction and Mechanical Services, Mr Japie Strydom, GRDM Deputy Manager: Re-gravel, Mr Lionel Coetzee, and officials from the GRDM Roads Department.
Garden Route District Municipality Portfolio Chairperson for Roads Services, Cllr Rowan Spies (2nd, left), Executive Manager of Roads Services, Mr John Daniels (2nd, right), Deputy Manager: Re-gravel, Mr Lionel Coetzee (left) and Manager for Maintenance, Construction and Mechanical Services, Mr Japie Strydom (right), at the official handover ceremony.
The new R5.7 million bulldozer is one of two machines that were delivered to GRDM by the Department of Transport this year and it is just what the Roads Department needsto intensity and more regularly maintain the roads of the Garden Route district. Mr Japie Strydom admits that the process tomotivate for the machine of this magnitude does not happen overnight. “The process required months of thorough planning and motivation to the Department of Transport, to finally be inpossession of a machine of this nature,” Strydom added. He further extended aword of appreciation, on behalf of the GRDM Management and Council, to MrHandre Strydom and the Department of Transport for the years of continued support in ensuring that the GRDM Roads Department has the resources available to give the Garden Route roads the necessary attention it need.
Describing the mechanical features of the bulldozer, Mr Handre Strydom said: “This 28 ton machine is strong enough to handle a mass of up 30 tons”. He further added that the machine has a lifespan of 20 years but can be in use for up to 30 years, if well maintained.
In answering a question posed by Mr Daniels, on whether the parts of the machine are locally available, Mr Strydom responded: “All parts of the machine are available in South Africa, therefore if parts need not be replaced, it will not cause a delay in the road maintenance operations”.
The face of the brand new CAT D7R bulldozer. The machine is already showing off its capabilities at the borrow pit near Riversdale.
Mr Japie Strydom elaborated that the bulldozer will be utilised to stockpile useful road material from 38 borrow pits situated in the Garden Route, but will mostly be responsible for stockpiling of material from the DR1524/18.5/0.5R borrow pit near Riversdale. Mr Strydom said: “Material hauled from a borrow pit is transported to a specific road section for further processing. When the material is finally approved, the re-gravelling of the road can commence. This process will repeat itself over a certain period of time e.g. 10 years, as small amounts of material get lost over the years, which results in the deterioration of the road. The material gets lost due to environmental factors, traffic counts and weather conditions, such as rain and wind” Mr Strydom added.
While facilitating the discussions of the handover ceremony, Mr Daniels, highlighted: “Now we can continue to deliver services to our road users by ensuring that the quality of our roads in the Garden Route is on standard” and he added: “I am confident that with this type of machine, we will definitely achieve our goals of effective service delivery and well maintained roads”.
Mr Japie Strydom concluded: “With all these resources to our avail, we will be able to do a high level of preventative maintenance on the machine to ensure that we indeed reach the lifespan of more than 20 years and more”. For this reason, Mr Jaco Gunter,the machine operator, underwent specialised training on 11 December 2018, which was conducted by a Barloworld Specialist Operator Trainer, Mr Elias Shabalala. Within a few days’time, this brand new machine will be housed at the GRDM Riversdale depot, while its operator and mechanical staff will enjoy the festive period with their family.
A new Caterpillar (CAT) D7R bulldozer was officially handed over to the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Roads Department on Thursday, 6 December 2018, at the DR1524/18.5/0.5R borrow pit near Riversdale. Mr Handre Strydom, Chief Engineer at the Western Cape Department of Transport, together with Mr Henk van der Merwe from CAT South Africa, complemented the GRDM Roads Services’ fleet count when they officially handed over the machine.
The machine was taken into acceptance by GRDM Portfolio Chairperson of Roads Services, Cllr Rowan Spies, in the presence of GRDM Executive Manager of Roads Services, Mr John Daniels, GRDM Manager for Maintenance, Construction and Mechanical Services, Mr Japie Strydom, GRDM Deputy Manager: Re-gravel, Mr Lionel Coetzee, and officials from the GRDM Roads Department.
The new R5.7 million bulldozer is one of two machines that were delivered to GRDM by the Department of Transport this year and it is just what the Roads Department needed to intensity and more regularly maintain the roads of the Garden Route district. Mr Japie Strydom admits that the process to motivate for the machine of this magnitude does not happen overnight. “The process required months of thorough planning and motivation to the Department of Transport, to finally be in possession of a machine of this nature,” Strydom added. He further extended a word of appreciation, on behalf of the GRDM Management and Council, to Mr Handre Strydom and the Department of Transport for the years of continued support in ensuring that the GRDM Roads Department has the resources available to give the Garden Route roads the necessary attention it need.
Describing the mechanical features of the bulldozer, Mr Handre Strydom said: “This 28 ton machine is strong enough to handle a mass of up 30 tons”. He further added that the machine has a lifespan of 20 years but can be in use for up to 30 years, if well maintained. In answering a question posed by Mr Daniels, on whether the parts of the machine are locally available, Mr Strydom responded: “All parts of the machine are available in the Republic of South Africa, therefore if parts need not be replaced, it will not cause a delay in the road maintenance operations”.
Mr Japie Strydom elaborated that the bulldozer will be utilised to stockpile useful road material from 38 borrow pits situated in the Garden Route, but will mostly be responsible for stockpiling of material from the DR1524/18.5/0.5R borrow pit near Riversdale. Mr Strydom said: “Material hauled from a borrow pit is transported to a specific road section for further processing. When the material is finally approved, the re-gravelling of the road can commence. This process will repeat itself over a certain period of time e.g. 10 years, as small amounts of material get lost over the years, which results in the deterioration of the road. The material gets lost due to environmental factors, traffic counts and weather conditions, such as rain and wind” Mr Strydom added.
While facilitating the discussions of the handover ceremony, Mr Daniels, highlighted: “Now we can continue to deliver services to our road users by ensuring that the quality of our roads in the Garden Route is on standard” and he added: “I am confident that with this type of machine, we will definitely achieve our goals of effective service delivery and well maintained roads”.
Mr Japie Strydom concluded: “With all these resources to our avail, we will be able to do a high level of preventative maintenance on the machine to ensure that we indeed reach the lifespan of more than 20 years and more”. For this reason, Mr Jaco Gunter, the machine operator, underwent specialised training on 11 December 2018, which was conducted by a Barloworld Specialist Operator Trainer, Mr Elias Shabalala.
Within a few days’ time, this brand new machine will be housed at the GRDM Riversdale depot, while its operator and mechanical staff will enjoy the festive period with their family.
