Hout and About
September
2010
The publication of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay
rahb@houtbay.org.za
www.houtbay.org.za
|
In this issue: |
|
Len’s
Lines: A message from the Chairperson |
|
Imizamo Yethu and the Public Participation Process |
|
Do
something about the smell! |
|
Hangberg –
another IY? |
|
What
do the residents of IY and Hangberg themselves say? |
|
The
proposed Special Rates Area (SRA) for |
|
Hout Bay SAPF
complimented on a job well done |
|
Domestic electricity tariffs explained |
|
A better option for |
|
Horse riding on |
|
Clearing alien
vegetation on Chapman’s Peak drive |
|
Progress with
beach benches |
|
Action to protect
the cemetery and stop the dumping |
|
To join the
Residents’ Association |
Len’s
Lines
A
message from the Chairperson of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay
The Residents Association of Hout Bay was
established in order to preserve and enhance the unique character and environment
of
Thus we continue to oppose the plans of
unscrupulous developers who would seek to upset the delicate balance between
man and nature for the sake of a quick buck, to urge the authorities to
intervene in our informal settlements where unchecked expansion threatens not
only the environment but the health of the residents of these settlements
themselves, and to ensure that acceptable standards are applied with regard to
the services provided to all our residents.
We remain concerned about the level of police
protection provided in the ongoing fight against crime, about the state of our wetlands,
our beach, our harbour, our roads, and a range of other issues that impact upon
the daily lives of all the residents of
Hout & About is our medium for keeping you informed about developments with regard
to these issues and the role played by the Association in addressing them,
where feasible. As always we ask that
once you have read it you pass it on to others who may not yet be members, both
in order to spread the word and to strengthen the membership of the Association
itself.
While many of the topics that we cover
inevitably appear to be ‘negative’, it is also appropriate that we acknowledge
the good that the authorities do sometimes achieve in securing the rights of
ordinary citizens.
We note, for example, that the Good Hope
Subcouncil (which governs property planning issues in Hout Bay and other
areas), chaired by Councillor Taki Amira, recently had the courage and
conviction to dismiss the recommendation of the City’s planning officials to
approve an application for departures relating to a property in Bantry Bay – a
five story block of flats built in defiance of the planning laws and without
consent in a zone that permits no more than a 3 story double dwelling house on
the property. Councillor Amira, supported by Alderman Belinda Walker and
Councillor Hayward, are to be congratulated for taking a strong stand, despite
the recommendations of the planning officials and significant political
pressure brought to bear by the owner, and for providing hope to ourselves in
our ongoing battles against certain developers in
Equally, we commend the efforts of the Hout
Bay Police Force in addressing certain safety and security issues (reported
elsewhere in this issue) and for the apparent greater visibility of the police
in recent months and their willingness to work together with civic bodies in
addressing crime.
Regards
Len
Swimmer
Chairperson,
Residents Association of
Tel: 021 790 0268;
Email: lens@telkomsa.net
STOP PRESS: Hout & About has just been informed by Councillor Taki Amira
that, after months of cajoling by the Residents’ Association, the City’s Health
Directorate has finally made arrangements for the erection of signs on the Hout
Bay beach and at the river estuary warning of the dangerously high levels of
E.Coli.
Imizamo Yethu and the public
participation process
By Erik Schaug
The saga of Imizamo
Yethu goes on and has become a Reign of Error.
One of the chief
reasons is that the Public Participation Process has been a failure. Behind the
microphones at a typical PPP meeting sit officials and their consultants. The
proceedings start with a long and boring introduction by the chairperson —
often someone who, to quote David Berlinski, could paralyze an infantry
battalion just by beginning a lecture.
We are then
subjected to the inevitable PowerPoint presentation. Lots of bullet points, all
read out slowly, as if we’re all Grade 2 kiddies.
Then, the proposed
development is shown. It’s obvious that a tremendous amount of work has been
done, and a myriad decisions taken. We all wonder why we bothered to come; they
seem to have settled matters to their entire satisfaction. It soon becomes
clear that there are several layers of meaning to the saying that power
corrupts, and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
Over an hour has
passed, and so far there has been zero public participation.
When questions are
finally invited, they are treated as if the questioner didn't understand the
presentation, so a long answer is given, which is a rehash of what was said
earlier. Time runs out, and everyone rushes to the toilets and then home.
It all seems so
pointless, and it's about time we, the citizens of
We should
organise and run the meetings. We should table the proposals. We should
take the official minutes, and circulate them. Council officials can be
required to attend, and to listen.
And then to respond
promptly and in accordance with the wishes of the community. After all, we pay
their salaries.
Does this sound
overly radical? It's not, really. It's allowed for in our Constitution, and
it's called democracy.
(Erik Schaug is a
member of the Executive Committee of the Residents’ Association of Hout Bay,
with joint responsibility for the planning, environment and land usage
portfolio.)
Do something about the smell!
All Hout Bay residents who suffer from the smell emanating from the
Oceana fish processing facility in Harbour Road are encouraged to address a
message of concern to any (or all) of the following three persons:
·
Mr P Matlare – CEO
Tiger Brands and Director Oceana, fax 011 514 0084, email info@oceana.co.za
·
Oceana Ltd, email
: info@ocana.co.za
attention: Mr Robbie Williams (Deputy Chairman)
·
Tiger Brands Ltd,
Lex van Vught – Chairman, Fax: 011 514 0084
Hangberg
– another IY?
The growth in the
number of illegal developments on the northern slopes of the Sentinel/
Hangberg, above the previously upper limiting contours (which also serve as a
fire break and storm-water drainage route and footpath), raises several
questions about what is being done to control these developments and when some
action will be taken.
Anthony Allen of
THE AERIAL PERSPECTIVE has forwarded to interested parties a number of aerial images,
which clearly show the extent of these illegal developments. Although not formally commissioned to do so,
he has been good enough to supply these images at no cost, together with the
following comments:
1. At a rough count, we have approximately 40 odd structures in various
stages of completion and approximately 30 pre-cleared “erven” ready for
structures to be erected.
2. Building materials and furniture influx are extensive and evident.
3. Plenty of “plot” clearing and levelling is taking place.
4. Sites/stands appear to have some degree of “organisation” to them in
terms of varying sizes, spacing and distribution, which suggests that some or
other body has informal “control” over dispersal of stands?
5. Significant spend on materials is evident (new corrugated iron, timber
and concrete).
6. Build quality of some structures is very high.
7. Some homes are even fenced off, complete with razor wire perimeters.
8. Road access, emergency access, ablution and sewerage facilities do not
appear to have had any planning involved.
9. There has been significant informal settlement expansion in the Hangberg
and Imizamo Yethu areas when compared to historic images in our database. These
are available for comparative analysis.
10. In my humble
opinion, this situation has the propensity to become a major political and
administrative challenge if not managed immediately and sensitively.
The
Residents’ Association of Hout Bay has raised these issues on several occasions
with the relevant City authorities, pointing out that we are rapidly heading
for another “IY” on the mountain side and that every day's delay only allows
the problem to get bigger and more difficult to eventually deal with. We await further responses from them.
What do the residents of Hangberg and IY themselves
say?
Barry James
Mitchell, Hout Bay resident and Secretary of the Ray Alexander Branch of the
SACP has recently contacted the Residents Association, pointing out that in the
numerous articles in Hout & About
dealing with Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg, one fact is excluded: “the feelings
and objections of the very citizens residing in these impoverished
areas.” In his words:
“The
residents of IY and Hangberg have been for many years living in
absolute deprivation and poverty. Their concerted efforts to
get development processes going are constantly thwarted
by unscrupulous negativity in the local newspaper, border-line racism and
a complete disregard for the residents’ general consensus.”
The
Residents Association supports the need to establish unity in
The
proposed “Special Rates Area” (SRA) for
Hot on the heels of
significantly increased property valuations for many residents of
“My late husband
and I bought our house in Scott Estate 60 years ago. I still live here - in
exactly the same house. Exactly? Well
not quite. The municipal valuation of my property has increased astronomically
- especially in the last few years. This year, my valuation has increased by
68%. The proposers of the Baviaans River SRA want to add a further 19% making
my total burden increase by 87%!
“I am told that
‘experts’ promise that my house's value will increase further if I support the
SRA. Who is this going to help? I just want to live-out my days in my same old
house. I don't want to pay even more rates to our distinctly underperforming
Council. I don't want to pay for the SRA's surveillance cameras, patrollers,
managers and gardeners when they can do nothing to address the root causes of
crime, pollution etc. in
“Dear friends and
fellow residents, please hear my appeal. Don't be fooled by the ‘enhanced
valuation’ half-truth. Sell your house and you will pay as least as much for an
alternative of equal quality. Increased value / valuations of your own dwelling
simply means that you pay more and more to live in the same place. Finally,
when you too are old and the costs of rates and levies may force you out of
your home, your property's new "value" will delight the tax man and
the Estate Agent. You will get more
Hout
Bay SAPF complimented on a job well done
Rod Panagos,
Operations Coordinator for the Hout Bay Neighbourhood Watch has sent a letter
to the Hout Bay SAPF to compliment officers on the recent pursuit and arrest of
robbers in the Llandudno areas as well as a quick coordinated SAPF response to
an incident which took place at
“I’d also like to
add my own thanks and that of the HBNW for the commitment and dedication
towards joint response efforts from the SAPF that has become more apparent
in recent months. The Disa river cordon and search, the Sandy Bay arrest, the
re-arrest of suspect ‘E’ in Tarragona, and the helicopter/ mask
incident in Northshore all prove how quick communication backed by
coordinated rapid response efforts produces results.
“The resident
members who have followed these events on the radio network are all very
impressed with SAPF's much increased on-air presence and commitment to the
joint response efforts.
“Additionally
please extend our thanks to the officers who have recently been deployed on
foot patrols in the
Domestic electricity tariffs explained
Cape Town
Electricity services has provided the following explanation of variations in
electricity tariffs implemented since 1 July 2010:
Tariffs have been
formulated in accordance with the Municipal Systems Act as well as guidelines
established by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. There are three possible tariffs available for the City’s domestic
electricity consumers. The tariffs are applicable irrespective of
whether supplies are metered by credit or prepayment meters.
The
Domestic High Tariff consists of an energy charge and a service
charge and is suitable for consumers purchasing more than 1500 kWh per month.
The energy charge paid by these
customers is 79.97 c/kWh plus VAT = 91.17 c/kWh and recovers the cost of energy
which is provided to the particular consumer.
The service charge paid by
these customers is R 6.58 per day plus VAT = R 7.50 and recovers a proportion
of the cost of salaries, support services, network expansion, repairs and maintenance etc which is incurred for provision of the
service to them. The
total service charge payable at each prepayment transaction is calculated using
the number of days between the previous and present purchases. Consumers
charged at this tariff will therefore find that they do not receive the same
amount of energy for the same
The
Domestic Low Tariff is a subsidized tariff which has an energy
charge of 93.31 c/kWh plus VAT = 106.37 c/kWh. This tariff is suitable for
consumers purchasing between 450 and 1500 kWh per month.
Consumers are free
to choose between the Domestic High and Domestic Low Tariffs.
The
Lifeline Tariff is a special, highly subsidized inclining block tariff
which has 3 energy charges, or blocks, depending on the purchase level. Block
one (0-50 kWh per month) is at zero cost (this is the Free Basic Electricity
portion), Block 2 (50.1 to 150 kWh per month) has an energy charge of 58.11
c/kWh plus VAT = 66.25 c/kWh, and Block 3 (150.1 to 450 kWh) has an energy
charge of 70.47 c/kWh plus VAT = 80.34 c/kWh. Note that these figures apply per calendar month, and not per purchase. This tariff is reserved
specifically for consumers who purchase less than 400 kWh per month on average
(these customers will receive up to 450 kWh, 400 kWh purchased, and 50 kWh
free).
A
better option for
Commercial company
Agri Design & Civils has approached the Residents Association for help in
bringing their proposal for a pilot/small scale plant to re-treat sewage in
According to Agri
Design and Civils, the re-use and better management of effluents and urban
waters/effluents, lies at the heart of our challenge going forward as a country
and a region. The company has been
involved in the agricultural sector for many years and has long been exposed to
the processing of agricultural animal waste streams. Human waste streams are not too dissimilar
to that of animals – pig waste in fact is very similar, being processed in a
single stomach just as humans.
The company
lays claim to ‘world first technology’ which all takes place in an odourless
process fully contained in tanks, for the re-treatment of water and
sewage. The Residents’ Association has
endorsed the proposed pilot plant on the basis that it could
potentially make a great difference in the lives of all
Horse riding on
Julie De Nicola of the Hout Bay Riders Association has outlined the following new plan
for horse riding on the
- New times and rules for riders on the beach are to be negotiated.
New times suggested will be the same throughout the year to avoid the winter/summer confusion.
7am to 9am weekends and
public holidays
7am to 10am week days
- All riders who want to use the beach must be paid-up members of the
Hout Bay Riders Association. They will wear a bridle number to be clearly
identifiable.
We will have a list of
riders and will be able to follow up on problems. Also this will help with
identifying loose horses.
- Horse riding to take place only on the Mariners side of the river
- Safe sensible riding – no galloping
The Riders Association will be discussing this
plan with the City and will request clear signage to be erected so that all
beach users are clear on who can be there and when. The intention is to insist
that dogs are leashed at the times riders are allowed – not just “under
control” - as it is almost impossible to stop a dog chasing a horse. Riders on the beach are requested to be polite
and to explain the situation if confronted.
Clearing alien vegetation
on Chapman’s Peak Drive
The management of
Western Cape Transport MEC Robin Carlisle said there were concerns that
alien vegetation could degrade the soil, leading to dangerous rock falls. Around R70 million has been spent over the
past few years to improve safety measures along the popular tourist attraction.
The park’s Gavin Bell said it was a costly and time-consuming business
keeping the road safe: “It is just a matter of how do we get on to those slopes
to clear because if we do they would have to shut the road down and we are
talking about months and months of clearing.”
Progress with beach benches
It seems that, at last, something has been done about the sad state of
the benches on
Action to protect the cemetery and stop the
dumping
Following the intervention of concerned Hughenden/ Meadows resident
Melissa Risi, the Residents’ Association has brought to the attention of the
relevant authorities the issue of dumping in and around the Hout Bay cemetery
and the general neglect of this area, which is frequently used as a ‘short cut’
by residents of the neighbouring informal settlement. As a result, Alderman Clive Justus has
promised a plan of action to ensure that the cemetery is properly enclosed and
that the surrounding area is cleaned up and appropriately maintained.
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:
(Payment may be
made electronically or manually via our wooden box at the Library or by post at
Post Office Box 27031,