Hout and About
June 2010
The publication of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay
PO Box 27031, Hout Bay,
7872
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
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In this issue:
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Len’s
Lines: A message from the Chairperson
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Addressing the issues of Imizamo Yethu and Dontse Yakhe: the
Residents’ Association takes action
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Imizamo Yethu and Dontse Yakhe: the reality in
pictures
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Hangberg:
unauthorized shacks on fire-break
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Illegal
slaughtering of animals in IY and Dontse Yakhe
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Overlays
for Hout Bay?
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Zero recyclable
waste to landfill: a challenge for Hout
Bay
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Council to install water saving devices
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World Cup
security brief
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Missing children
SA
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The sad state of the benches on Hout Bay
beach
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Your help needed
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New pick-up point for workers and labourers in Hout Bay
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To join the Residents Association
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Len’s
Lines
A
message from the Chairperson of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay
We have found that most activity in the Association has tended to focus
on planning and environmental issues, involving land-use and development,
spatial planning, roads and engineering, signage, building regulations and
environmental conservation. These areas are particularly relevant to Hout Bay
where space is at a premium, infrastructures (roads in particular) are
overloaded and the natural and cultural environments need protection for the
benefit of current and future generations.
The Planning/Land
Use sub-Committee is always over loaded with applications and the work load
does not get any easier or less. I am
pleased therefore to advise that Erik Schaug, who is an Urban Design/Planner,
has agreed to come on board our Executive Committee and to assist in the
Planning/Land Use Portfolio.
Against that
background, our biggest challenge, of course, is to prevent the continued
overcrowding in, and uncontrolled expansion of, the informal settlements at
Imizamo Yethu, Dontse Yakhe and Hangberg, and the associated impact on our
environment and the health of all of our residents.
Many of you, I
hope, will have seen the Carte Blanche insert on our “Poisonous Disa
River”, featuring Dr
Justin O’Riain and myself, on Sunday 16 May (see picture below). Dismal viewing indeed, and a very grim
reminder of the reality that we have to deal with.
As all of our pleas
to the various authorities with regard to the informal settlements have largely
fallen on deaf ears, the Association has decided to take the legal route. See our feature article on page 3 in this
regard. See also the photographs on page
4 – an unfortunate but necessary counter-balance to the pictures of idyllic
beauty that we regularly feature on our front cover.
Regards
Len
Swimmer
Chairperson,
Residents Association of Hout
Bay
Tel: 021 790 0268;
Email: lens@telkomsa.net
Addressing the issues
of Imizamo Yethu and Dontse Yakhe: the Residents’ Association takes action
The Residents’ Association, acting through the Hout
Bay & Llandudno Environment Conservation Group (ECG), has fired off the
first salvo in its legal battle against the City and Province, in its efforts
to force the authorities to address the serious problems associated with the
informal settlements of Imizamo Yethu and Dontse Yakhe.
In a letter to the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Developmental Planning, lawyers acting for the ECG have called upon
the City and the Province to institute effective and sustainable measures to
prevent the extreme pollution and degradation of these settlements.
The letter refers to section 28(1) of the National Environment Management Act,
which requires that: "Every person who causes, has caused or may cause
significant pollution or degradation of the environment must take reasonable
measures to prevent such pollution or degradation from occurring, continuing or
recurring, or, in so far as such harm to the environment is authorized by law
or cannot reasonably be avoided or stopped, to minimize or rectify such
pollution or degradation of the environment.”
The letter notes that complaints by the Residents'
Association of Hout Bay and by the Hout
Bay and Llandudno
Heritage Trust over the period 2002 to 2009 have failed to elicit a
satisfactory or effective response to the crisis. The City's only response has
been to install an inadequate number of toilet facilities on the Dontse Yakhe
site. These structures have been erected in positions which prevent access to
the area by fire services vehicles and thereby imperil the safety of the
unlawful occupiers of the site and the owners and lawful occupiers of adjoining
property, as well as the integrity of the adjoining Table Mountain
National Park, which is
part of a World Heritage Site.
In support of its position, the Residents
Association has also commissioned an Environmental Impact Report on
Dontse Yakhe by independent Environmentalist Consultant Andre van der Spuy,
which is very damning and concludes as follows:
“While
our investigation is by no means comprehensive, the visual evidence alone is
entirely sufficient to conclude that very severe environmental degradation is
being effected by the settlements of Dontse-Yakhe and Erf 1509 (and indeed
Imizamo Yethu too). The scientific testing that has been conducted by inter
alia, the ECG, on aspects such as the stormwater quality, supports this
conclusion, as does the City of Cape
Town’s itself.
Furthermore,
it is our opinion that Government and the Municipality are not fulfilling their
mandates to exercise proper planning, authorization and management with respect
to Dontse-Yakhe and Erf 1509. It is imperative that the slum-like conditions
and their immediate, local and wider impacts are addressed as a priority to
prevent further decline of Hout
Bay’s biophysical,
ecological and socio-economic environment.”
See our
website - http://www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout201006.html#IYissues
– for
further extracts from the Environmental Impact Report
Hangberg:
unauthorized shacks on fire-break
The Residents’ Association has submitted comment on the Basic Assessment
Report (‘BAR’ - similar to an Environmental Impact Assessment) on the in
situ upgrade that the City is conducting in respect of the informal
settlement at Hangberg.
In principle the Association is prepared ‘not to object’ to the BAR by
virtue of the critical housing shortage and to the fact that the spread of
‘bungalows’ has largely been contained and has been quite well regulated.
However, our support is conditional on strict adherence to the edge that
this application has delineated, and that there must be no further spread.
Of particular
concern to the Association is the existence of a number of shacks squatting on
the fire-break itself. These shacks need to be removed very quickly or else
many more will follow. A fire break is exactly that (a fire break) and should
have no habitation of any kind on it.
The Association is
reliably informed that the City knows of these illegal shacks on the fire break
but has delayed its action for some reason. The authorities have been advised
that this situation is now becoming very serious and could be life threatening
when and if a fire breaks out.
Please
see our website - http://www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout201006.html#HangbergShacks
– for a summary of the Residents’ Association
submission.
Illegal
slaughtering of animals in IY and Dontse Yakhe
In response to
complaints raised by the Residents Association and others regarding the illegal
slaughtering of animals in the informal settlements, Romi Matthews of the
City’s Environmental Health Protection office writes as follows:
“It has come to our
attention that there are a few "meat traders" who are slaughtering
pigs in Imizamo Yethu - this obviously is in contravention of a few pieces of
legislation and poses a serious health risk.
I
have explained to the alleged business owners that it is illegal to slaughter
animals and that if they are caught slaughtering they will be summonsed to court.
I am busy compiling a letter explaining in detail the consequences both from a
health and legal perspective. I will approach Law Enforcement to accompany
me when delivering these letters. This will ensure that Law Enforcement is
aware of the specific sites where the slaughtering is occurring.
I
am also arranging a meeting with a representative from the SPCA, Law
Enforcement, Department of Agriculture and the Housing department to
discuss the way forward and the roles each department will play in controlling
the issue of illegal slaughtering.”
Overlays
for Hout Bay?
Further to our
article in the May issue of Hout &
About (“Preserving
Hout Bay’s
unique features”), Chris Hudson writes as follows: “We are most concerned that the development of the IZS and the provision
of overlays has depended on local areas’ financial resources. Constantia being
a very wealthy area paid for overlays to be produced professionally and the
city accepted them. Hout
Bay as the poor cousin
was promised help by the city but it was not forthcoming. Result: we are now
thrown to the developer wolves because the City refuses to create the overlays
essential to the maintenance of the special sense of place that makes our area
so appealing to tourists and hence income-generating for the community.
No doubt the planners will only be satisfied when every single open
space in the city has been covered with dense buildings, with standing room
only for its inhabitants. The fact that simultaneously our appeal to the world
will have evaporated and their foreign currency with them – the lifeblood of
our local economy - seems to be quite irrelevant in the City’s eyes.”
Zero
Recyclable Waste to landfill: a challenge for Hout Bay
'Let no resource be wasted' - is the motto of a
group of concerned Hout
Bay residents, who are
aiming for a Zero Recyclable Waste to landfill goal.
Hout Bay's Zero Waste
movement encourages all residents, schools, businesses and organisations in Hout Bay
to recoup resources destined for landfill and return them to the manufacturing
stream or to compost.
The small action of
separating waste and recycling it
will prevent the degradation of
land at landfill sites and reduce the need for virgin resources, which are
water and energy intensive, to create new products.
Reduced pollution is the other benefit of zero waste action.
By reducing greenhouse gas emissions at landfill sites, the risk of global
warming is reduced. In addition rotting
rubbish in landfill generates a toxic liquid, leachate, which seeps
into our precious ground water.
Several Zero Waste initiatives published in
the Sentinel News have been on the go
since 2007. Please visit www.zerowastehoutbay.org for
information and inspiration.
Make sure that your household is throwing every bit
of recyclable 'waste' into a clear bag delivered and collected weekly by
WastePlan, or, delivering already separated glass, tin, paper and plastic to
the HB Depot.
Whatever you do,
don't throw "it" away because there
is no “away”! Instead its time to work together and support neighbours and
friends to recycle 'it' too.
Council
to install water saving devices
It is reported in
the media that the City of Cape Town is to strengthen its water-saving
programme by installing 5000 water-saving devices a month in poor households
across the city, at a cost of R100 million.
The devices are designed to monitor water usage and to keep bills
affordable for residents. The plan will also see arrears written off for
residents who receive an indigent grant and keep up to date with their water
and sewerage account.
World
Cup security brief
At a recent World
Cup security brief held in Pretoria,
the point was made that, as a result of the large number of Police that will be
required to police the World Cup, criminals and security advisors are aware that
it is likely to a virtual holiday period for the criminal fraternity. While the
SAPS will be concentrating on the areas most frequented by visitors/tourists, criminals
will have a free run in the suburbs.
The crimes that are likely to increase during this period include home
invasions, driveway robberies and carjackings at your home. In addition, those not going to the games are
likely to come across drunken yobs looking for a fight or international pickpockets
from around the world. Smash and grabs
will increase too. And for those with children the World Cup is going to be a
particularly bad time for child abductions.
The message to all Hout Bay
residents is to be extremely vigilant during this period, as crime is likely to
increase and the response by the police will be slow. Take note particularly of the dates of
matches in Cape Town
- 11, 14, 18, 21, 24 and 29 June, and 3 and 6 July – and keep the numbers of
the police and your security advisors close to hand.
Missing Children SA
The organisation “Missing Children SA” exists to
create an awareness of the problem of missing children in South Africa and attempts to
support the SAPS as effectively as possible when a child goes missing. Please see our website - http://www.houtbay.org.za/SupplementHoutAbout201006.html#MissingChildren
– for valuable tips for both
parents and children, supplied by Missing Children SA, and take note of the
following emergency contact numbers:
• POLICE - 10111
• CELLPHONE HELP - 112
• MISSING CHILDREN SA - 072 647 7464 / 072
MISSING
• ELSA @ MCSA - 084 582 1516
• SAPS CRIMESTOP - 08600 10111
• CHILDLINE - 08000 55 555
For more safety tips and other safety equipment visit: www.kidsforafrica.co.za or
www.4akid.co.za
The
sad state of the benches on Hout
Bay beach
Anybody walking
along the Hout Bay beach recently would be forgiven for
thinking that the benches come from some war zone or
devastated country. The Residents
Association has brought the matter to the notice of the authorities, in the
hope that something can be done about the general state of
decay around the Hout
Beach – hardly a
welcoming sight for visitors - in advance of the FIFA World Cup.
Fortunately City
Councillor Taki Amira has taken up the cause.
In bringing the matter to the attention of the persons responsible, he
writes as follows: “Words fail me in this issue. Here we have
a pristine, or what was pristine, beach on one of our tourist routes and
look what the City of Cape Town
dishes up for them. What I find surprising is that this state did not
occur overnight, yet no intervention has been implemented. Is it possible to
replace the benches with those similar to that erected at Camps Bay
and at the Bains Heritage Walk? I am sure in the interests of the greater
good of the City urgent OPEX so close to the end of the financial year will be
found to urgently address the matter.”
Your
help needed
A group of
concerned residents in Penzance is appealing
to the community for help in securing the Siyajonga Phambili community learning
centre that houses children from the Orangekloof primary school, the creche and
an adult learning facility. This vibrant and important community centre is
located below the YMCA and serves the residents of IY.
The centre relies
on funding and a small government grant, but these funds do not cover security
and capital expense for securing the boundary. The fences are vandalised
on a regular basis and private funding money cannot be allocated to employ
security guards. This places the children, adult learners, facilitators
and caretakers at risk, both during the day and at night.
Please help by
providing old swimming pool fencing to
reinforce the palisade fencing around Siyajonga and stainless steel hose
clamps to secure the fencing.
The intention is
also to plant the indigenous "num num"
and "kei apple" plants along the Siyajonga boundary to give
longer term security. Any contribution of plants and/or money towards the
purchase of plants will be greatly appreciated.
Please contact Vanessa Davidson (0728363998 or 021 790
5810) if you can help.
New
pick up point for workers and labourers in Hout Bay
At a meeting between SAPS and
SANCO it was decided that the Taxi Rank at the graveyard, Hout Bay
would be the new pick up point for workers and labourers. It will be
called "Employment Zone".
Many complaints – to do with
begging, urinating in public and littering - were received from residents and
visitors to Hout Bay about the vagrants at the
robots, Disa River Rd,
Valley Rd
as well as other roads. The new location at the graveyard is more
accessible for vehicles wanting to pick up or drop off employees and should not
cause any traffic congestion. As a result of the change of the
location, a drastic decrease in complaints is expected.
The community is encouraged not to pick up employees at
the old pick up points and to make use of the designated zone.
Traffic fines will be issued to those ignoring this request. Vagrants
were informed that this will be instituted from Saturday, 22nd May 2010.
To
join the Residents Association:
Contact us via
email on rahb@houtbay.org.za
Membership forms
available from Chairperson (see above) or Hout Bay Library
Membership fee: R50
per couple; R30 per individual
Banking details for
payment of subscriptions: FNB
Hout Bay
(code 204009), Account: Residents Association of Hout Bay, account number 5345
1027 173
(Payment may be
made electronically or manually via our wooden box at the Library or by post at
Post Office Box 27031, Hout Bay, 7872)
