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Author: Chantel Edwards

Media Statement: Issued George Municipality, 20th August 2020

Charles Lubbe, Acting Municipal Manager advised today of the sudden loss of our Acting Director for Electrotechnical Services, Mr Paul Gerber who passed away yesterday afternoon following a heart attack.

Mr Lubbe expressed his deepest condolences on behalf of the municipality and its officials, to Paul’s wife and three children, his friends and his colleagues.

Paul was a gently spoken, genuine man who was committed to his work and family and will be sorely missed said Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk who expressed his condolences on behalf of the George Council.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by his passing.

MEDIA STATEMENT: GEORGE MUNICIPAL COVID-19 EXPENDITURE

George Municipality would herewith like to publish details of Covid-19 related expenditure, to date a total of R11,781m, following the example set by the Western Cape Provincial Government. Executive Mayor Leon van Wyk has noted that he believes in being open and transparent with regard to the spending of public funds and that the residents of George should be assured of the integrity of the administration. The abuse of Covid-19 relief funds in other areas of the country is shocking and can partly be attributed to, not only a lack of transparency about spending, but also a clear lack of controls in place. The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a huge burden on George’s financial resources and on its personnel.  It is important that our residents understand what has been spent to date, in implementing the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols and the ongoing impact on the municipality as it continues to provide services.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been sourced from in excess of 30 different suppliers, with a list showing the breakdown of the expenditure as well as the various suppliers available for public scrutiny on the George Municipality website  https://documentportal.george.gov.za/storage/level-two-covid-documents/August2020/G7OzYabeGboO0kWUbi37.pdf  Where possible, services were contracted from local suppliers and Supply Chain Management principles were adhered to at all times. Under the Disaster Management Regulations, George Municipality reports its Covid-19 Expenditure on an ongoing basis to both National and Provincial Treasury.

The figures as per the spreadsheet are also subject to Internal Audit in the normal course of business operations.   The Risk Management Department performed a re-assessment of the risks and facilitated the identification, assessment and mitigation of COVID-19 related risks with the risk owners.  Internal Audit adjusted the Internal Audit Plan and re-prioritized the Internal Audit budget in order to address the new COVID-19 related risks as well as those risks impacted by COVID-19. Internal Audit performed reviews on COVID19 expenditure and deviations, as well as on non-cash donations given that the Auditor-General will audit COVID-19 expenditure in the scope of their external audit.

As at 31 July 2020, George Municipality has spent R3,379m (28,7%) on Covid-19 related Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) expenditure since the commencement of the pandemic.  This largest category of expenditure relates to face masks, hand sanitizers, thermometers and gloves.

The second highest expenditure has been the installation of additional mobile toilets within our informal settlements together with the added day of servicing (i.e three in total per week) which has to date incurred a cost of R3,115m  (26,4% of the total). This was an absolute necessity to allow for increased levels of hygiene during the health pandemic in our informal areas. A provincial grant from the Department of Human Settlements to the value of R 506 000 was received towards this expenditure.

The third major category relates to food parcels and food items purchased for R1,729m (14,7% of the total) in the initial Covid-19 period when many vulnerable members of the community needed to be assisted. George Municipality received a Humanitarian Grant to the value of R1 million rand so actual municipal expenditure is R0,729m and this was over and above the thousands of rands worth of food items that were donated by business and private individuals for distribution.

An amount of R1,267m (10,8%) has been spent to date on deep cleansing and disinfecting of the municipal buildings and public transport facilities since the pandemic started.  An amount of R1,252m has been spent on overtime related to the pandemic while the balance of the PPE expenditure was incurred on a decontamination cabin, a range of equipment and sundry items. As a responsible employer, the Municipality has paid R102 605 for the Covid-19 screening and counselling for symptomatic and positive officials.

All municipal buildings, although not open to the public under Level 3 Lockdown have been supplied with the required safety measures including sanitizers, masks and temperature scanners. No official or councillor may enter a municipal building without adhering strictly to the protocols that are in place.  George Municipality within the confines of the Disaster Regulations and serious health pandemic we find ourselves in, continues to do its utmost to protect its officials while at the same time maintaining a high standard of service delivery to the residents of George.

Note: It must be noted that the spreadsheet is not conclusive and will be added to as further expenditure is incurred.

Condolences: senior municipal official dies

Municipal Manager, Trevor Botha expressed his shock following the death of a  municipal official, who tragically lost her life in a road accident yesterday in George.
Mr Botha on behalf of the municipality and its officials, offered his deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Elizabeth Mathenjwa. Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of life, on behalf of the George Council.

Ms Mathenjwa worked at the Corporate Services Directorate in the position of HR MANAGER: RECRUITMENT AND ADMIN.

Hamba Kahle Leah

Recycling programme to continue in-house

The George Municipality confirms that as of the 11th August, the collection and delivery of blue and green bags will be handled in-house. Following the announcement of the unfortunate closure of Interwaste, the appointed service provider, discussions were held to try and extend the service by one month. Unfortunately these discussions were not successful and the Community Service Directorate requests the patience of the public for one week to afford them the opportunity to put everything in place for a smooth collection process to start on 11th August.

The municipality remains committed to waste reduction and recycling, and believes that its efforts will soon regain momentum.  Collection of green and blue bags will start on Tuesday 11 August 2020, and will be collected in neighbourhoods on the same day as the black bag refuse removal. PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR RECYCLING AND/OR GREEN BAGS OUT FOR WEEK MONDAY 3/08 – FRIDAY 7/08 AS COLLECTION WILL NOT TAKE PLACE.

Municipal trucks will collect the black bags, while blue and green bags will be collected by different trucks on the same day – before or after the black bag collection, and can be hours apart. Every week on the same day as collection, blue bags will be replaced and two green bags will replace those put out. The areas currently serviced by recycling include all suburbs of George as well as the outer areas of Wilderness, Kleinkrantz, Hoekwil, Victoria Bay, Herolds Bay, Haarlem and Uniondale.

CONTACT
Black bags, blue and green bags, dumped waste collection:
George Municipality Environmental Services
82 Meade Street, George. Phone 044 802 2900

GENERAL
Households may put out seven black, three green and an unlimited number of blue bags.
Additional tied bundles of branches are allowed if they are shorter than a metre in length and can be picked up by one person.

BLUE bags are for non-soiled recyclable materials, including plastic, paper, card board, glass etc.
GREEN bags are for green waste, including organic kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peels, as well as garden waste, including grass cuttings, leaves etc. No soil is allowed in the green bags.
BLACK bags are for ‘wet’ waste, things that cannot be recycled.

All refuse bags must be put out by 7am on removal day.
Please don’t put bags out the day or night before removal.
Please wrap broken glass in newspaper before placing in bags to prevent injuries to workers.
A pack of 26 black bags are distributed to households quarterly.

Blue and green bags are collected on the same day as black bag refuse removal, but by different trucks – before or after the black bag collection and may be hours apart.
Collected full blue bags will be replaced with the same colour on the same day. If you do not receive the same amount of replacement blue bags and want more, please phone  044 802 2900 during office hours.
While you can put out three green bags at a time, a maximum of two new replacement green bags  are issued per collection.
Households or businesses that are actively recycling and require additional green or blue bags, can collect from the  municipal Environmental Services offices at 82 Meade Street.

REFUSE REMOVAL DAYS
MONDAY: Blanco, Riverlea, Heatherpark, Heatherlands, Glen Barrie, Kraaibosch, Groenkloof, Blue Mountain Village, Herold’s Bay, Victoria Bay
TUESDAY: Levallia, Rosemoor, Conville, Protea Park, Parkdene, Ballotsview, Borchards, Lawaaikamp, Thembalethu, Wilderness (excluding Wilderness Heights), Touwsranten, Constantia Kloof
WEDNESDAY: Camphersdrift, Fernridge, Denneoord, Bo-Dorp, Blommekloof, Tweerivieren, Hoogekraal, Hoekwil
THURSDAY: Wilderness Heights, Dormehlsdrift, George South, Le Grand, Bos en Dal, Groeneweidepark, Sinksabrug, Herold, Geelhoutboom, Eselsjacht, Hansmoeskraal, Jonkershoek, Rooirivierrif, Pacaltsdorp, Rosedale, Waboomskraal
FRIDAY: Glenwood, Loerie Park, Eden, Genevafontein, Denver Park, Bergsig, Eastern Extension
BUSINESSES: Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Electronic submission of land use applications now available

As Covid-19 continues to impact on the way we do business, the George Municipality Planning and Development has instituted measures to facilitate land use applications electronically.

George Municipal Manager Trevor Botha said the municipality realised the importance of property development processes to continue to sustain the long-term sustainability of the city but remained committed to protecting its staff and clients. “The Planning office has continued its operations from remote locations throughout the lockdown period and will continue its functions on this basis for as long as it is required. The department continues to develop and improve its systems and processes – not only to address the current Covid-19 implications but also to fine-tune processes overall to reduce the administrative burden and carbon footprint as well as to process applications as quickly as possible,” said Mr Botha.

Due to the potential transmission of the Covid-19 virus through face-to-face contact as well as document and stationary handling, the department has launched an internet-based land use application system to enable the electronic submission and processing of land use applications.

Local town planning consultants, architects and land surveyors have been informed of the new measures and are encouraged to continue to make use thereof also after the Covid-19 lockdown.

The necessary documents and detailed instructions are available in the Documents section on the George Municipality website (https://www.george.gov.za/resource-category/general-documentsnotices?page=1). Applications and documents relating thereto can now be submitted and distributed via email and applicants will receive SMSs on the progress made on their applications.

No on-paper registered mail notices will be delivered to surrounding neighbours during the lockdown period, but the owner is required to put up a site notice on the street boundary of his/her property that must be clearly visible to anyone passing.

Applications that have a broader impact still require to be advertised in the print edition of Die Burger (Southern Cape) and in the print and online editions of the George Herald.

Notices to commenting bodies and state departments will be sent via email.

Neighbours of the land affected by an application who do not have access to email can arrange with the following designated officials to submit comments and objections via WhatsApp or SMS.
Erven ending with an even number: Primrose Nako (pnako@george.gov.za or 044 801 9416)
Erven ending with an odd number : Marissa Arries (marries@george.gov.za or 044 801 9473)
Farms or portions of farms: Marina Welman (mhwelman@george.gov.za or 044 801 9171)

All applications will be published on the George Municipality website and notices will contain electronic links for access to relevant documents, but must also be available to the public from the applicant.

General
Other town planning related matters can be directed via email to the below officials or by phoning 044 801 9477.
Property Transfer Certificates: Marina Welman (mhwelman@george.gov.za)
Zoning Certificates: Lorraine Malangeni (lxmalangeni@george.gov.za)
Zoning Rectifications: Jeanne Fourie (jfourie@george.gov.za) and Ilane Huyser (ihuyser@george.gov.za)
Illegal Land Use Complaints: Robin Hector (rlhector@george.gov.za)

No face-to-face meetings will be conducted during lockdown, but appointments for online meetings and consultations with relevant officials can be arranged by phoning 044 801 9477. The department is aware that not all citizens have access to the internet and is in the process of securing and equipping an appropriate venue for this purpose.

For any queries or more information on the above please contact the front desk by telephone on 044 801 9477 or send an email to jfourie@george.gov.za and ihuyser@george.gov.za.