Author: Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe

The George Municipality in partnership with National Treasury initiated the Thembalethu Node 1 Development Project to create a vibrant sustainable community node in Thembalethu, which can attract new investment into the area and stimulate downstream economic activity.

The ward councillor of Thembalethu and Ward Committee for Ward 13 branded the precinct as “Ilisolethu”, meaning “Our eye” and supported a possible brand logo for the area.  The nodal area lies along Nelson Mandela Boulevard and includes the area referred to as the Thembalethu Central Business District (CBD).  Several workshops with councillors, the ward committee, municipal departments, and key stakeholders were held to identify potential projects and receive feedback.

“The node will be an asset of which the entire community can be proud,” says the Executive Mayor of George, Alderman Leon van Wyk. “This will transform the neighbourhood and be a catalyst for future growth.”

The planning for “Ilisolethu” has reached a stage where detailed plans for project implementation are being prepared. These include:

• An investment plan which includes a selection of possible project- and investment partners;
• A development plan which will place the identified projects on-site in an integrated manner and includes an analysis of the required engineering and road infrastructure to support a pedestrian-friendly Nelson Mandela Boulevard and an integrated node; and
• An area management strategy which will set the scene to mobilize the positive participation of all the role-players and ensure that the node will be managed sustainably.

Mayor van Wyk says the George Municipality has secured funding from the National Treasury through the Neighbourhood Development Partnership Programme to initiate the technical investigation stage of the project. The objective is to facilitate inclusionary economic opportunities, create high-quality public spaces and link funders to catalytic projects which will benefit the lives of the residents of Thembalethu.

A service provider was appointed in September 2022 following a tender process. Since then, consultation, surveys and technical work have been conducted, which will result in plans and strategies for “Ilisolethu” to be presented to Council.

“We are greatly encouraged by the positive feedback we have received from community structures, and for the leadership of the Ward Councillor Simphiwe Toto and his Ward Committee,” says Ms Lauren Waring, Director for Human Settlements, Planning and Development in the George Municipality. “There is significant interest in the project and the feedback and further engagements will help us to refine the proposals for ‘Ilisolethu’.”

The first draft plans will be finalized by the end of March 2023, upon which further input will be invited.  This will take us closer to confirmation of the processes we must follow toward project implementation. The draft proposals, timeframes and cost will be presented to Council once the project elements have been defined. This project will enable the George Council to forge partnerships with state and private benefactors and activate an area management structure that will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the project plan.

“This is a ground-breaking initiative which will be a valuable community asset and benefit to the entire region,” says Ms Waring.

Iliso Lethu Before

Iliso Lethu After

ENDS.

The National Treasury, accompanied by the representatives from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Neighbourhood Development Partnership Programme and Provincial Treasury visited the George Municipality on a two-day programme as part of the Mid-Year Budget and Performance Assessment for Municipalities.

The George Municipality in these engagements was represented by the Executive Mayor, Alderman Leon van Wyk, Portfolio Councillor for Financial and Strategic Services Dirk Wessels, Municipal Manager for George Dr Michele Gratz, the Chief Financial Officer Riaan du Plessis, the directors of the George Municipality, some senior managers, and managers.

“Twice a year we have engagements with the National Treasury that assess and review our finances. We are one of the privileged intermediate cities in the country that are a non-delegated Municipality, in other words, we report directly to the national Treasury,” said Mayor van Wyk. “Our engagements with them are always valuable as we can discuss our infrastructure needs, various financing needs and the biggest challenges we face, the load shedding and electricity. We, therefore, value these engagements enormously and it is then we have that opportunity to engage directly with them and bring the major challenges that we face as Municipalities to their attention.”

On Thursday, 16 March 2023, which was day one of the two days, the George Municipality presented the following to the delegation:

• Current Institutional Arrangements
• Municipal standard chart of accounts (mSCOA) implementation
• Financial performance for 2021/2022, 2022/2023 Mid-Year and the 2022/2023 Adjustments budget proposals
• Financial Governance and
• Performance as per the 2021/2022 annual report and the 2022/2023 Mid-Year performance assessment report.

On day 2, Friday, 17 March 2023, the delegation visited Infrastructure projects from the Municipality’s Electrotechnical Services Departments and Civil Engineering. One of the sites they visited, is the new 66/11 kV 40 MVA electrical substation which is currently under construction in Thembalethu. This substation is set to be amongst the largest of its kind in the Southern Cape, and a major bulk infrastructure milestone for the city of George. It will improve reliability and provide an adequate capacity of electrical supply to the area, alleviate the load on the substations that are currently supplying Thembalethu and will serve as an important catalyst for investment funding from both the state and business.

Another site the delegation visited was the 20 Ml/d extensions to the New Water Treatment Works (New WTW). George Municipality received a Budget Facility for Infrastructure Funding (BFI) grant to the value of R1.107 billion from the National Treasury in the 2021/22 financial year. The BFI project with its various components has shown significant progress and expenditure to date in the 2022/23 financial year. George Municipality is actively working to keep our economy on the go – by ensuring adequate long-term planning and investment in our resources – that is water, sewerage, and electricity.

The National Treasury expressed its overall impression of their visit to George Municipality.  “We are here to conduct the Mid-Year visit with the Municipality. We are very impressed with the municipality’s handling of its finances. One of the good things that other Municipalities are struggling with is paying creditors, but George Municipality has consistently shown its ability to pay its creditors. The Municipality is on a sustainable path; one of the other things that the municipality is doing well is the appropriateness to cushion their communities and businesses through load shedding by fast-tracking the implementation of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) projects,” said Mandla Gilimani, director in the National Treasury who is responsible for George Municipality.

Gilimani also praised the Municipality for its well-maintained infrastructure. “Service delivery is clearly visible with well looked after roads network and cleanliness of the town. This will go a long way in attracting investments into the city.” The Auditor-General advised late last year that George Municipality achieved a clean audit for 2021/22, this, according to the Municipal Manager, Dr Michele Gratz is “a testament to the hard work being put in by the administration to continuously improve service delivery whilst also maintaining the highest quality in our administrative processes”.

Ends.

CAPTION:

Sitting in front from left: Riaan du Plessis (Chief Financial Officer of George Municipality), Dr Michele Gratz (George Municipal Manager), Alderman Leon van Wyk (Executive Mayor of George), Councillor Dirk Wessels (Portfolio Councillor for Financial & Strategic Services from the George Municipality) and Mandla Gilimani (Director from National Treasury responsible for George Municipality)

At the back: Senior officials from Georg e Municipality, National Treasury, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Neighbourhood Development Partnership Programme and Provincial Treasury.

Executive Mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk welcomes the National Treasury visit delegation

Day 1 of the 2-day National Treasury programme of Mid-Year Budget and Performance Assessment for George Municipality.

The delegation visited was the 20 Mld extensions to the New Water Treatment Works

The delegation visited the new 6611 kV 40 MVA electrical substation which is currently under construction in Thembalethu

It’s story time at George Libraries
George libraries are looking forward to celebrating library week from the 20th until the 26th of March 2023. The theme for this year is Libraries – telling powerful stories.

The art of storytelling is as old as humankind itself. Irrespective of the type of story, whether it is fiction, biographical, dramatic, poetic, oral or in writing, each one of us has a story to tell. These stories transfer knowledge and traditions, put the spotlight on unsung heroes, and uplift, educate and inspire people. Since the days gone by, libraries have been central in collecting, preserving, storing, promoting, and encouraging millions of people to become aware of and enjoy these stories with the aim to understand how other people think, operate and live.

The 4IR has shifted the landscape and how we tell these stories which have contributed to global knowledge, memory, and communication. Despite the challenges that libraries are facing, libraries have persevered and continue to add to the good stories that they tell. George Libraries are opening its doors for a week of fun and laughter, drama and entertainment, as we invite all our communities to enjoy Library Week with us. Our library staff understand the power and effect stories have and plays in the lives of people.

George Library has already made plans to visit and share powerful stories at the following venues:
Below is the itinerary for George Public Library:
• Carpe Diem school on the 22nd of March at 11:00 am- 12:00 pm
• On the 23rd of March, at George preparatory at 11:00
• and Friday the 24th of March at Olympia

Come join us for a poetry workshop on 21 March 2023 on World Poetry Day (time: 18h00 until 20h00)

More Library Week Activities – 20-26 March 2023
Blanco Library

20 March 2023
• Activity Children from Kretzenshoop primary read out of a selection of children’s storybooks.
• Golden oldies and the community are welcome for tea and refreshments

22 March 2023
Board games face painting by 6 – 10-year primary children

23 March 2023
• Golden oldies and the public will be invited to listen to an informative session on social issues in the community by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
• Story hour at Born to Win for Library Week.
24 March 2023
• Worldbuilding and Spelling competition by grade 5 students.

Conville Library
Visits Primary Schools to promote telling your own story competition.

Pacaltsdorp – Library week program
Mystery book competition during library week
• Covered Book paper a short review will be subtracted from the book and the patron will be asked to read the book and return it on 22/03/2023 to win library related prize.
• Math Olympiad recruiting of 9 students – 3 of each School in Pacaltsdorp
• All learners in grade 7- The programme will run over a 4-week period (orientation of program will be in library week.

Thembalethu Library
Library week from 20 – 23 March 2023

20 March 2023
• Launch
• Registration – Write your own story
• Save water Presentation – 11H00 – 13H00
22 March 2023
• Take the High schools to Robben Island (They will be visiting the library with their outreach program. /History of Thembalethu by Mr Castro Leholo

23 March 2023
• Services rendered by Library – for Crèche Teachers in Thembalethu

24 March 23
• Story hour -11H00 – 12H00
• Story reading competition 14H00 – 16H00
• Official opening of the Library of the Blind at Thembalethu Library

Ends.

The Executive Mayor of George, Alderman Leon van Wyk during his visit to the Workers Collection Point (WCP) on Tuesday, 14 March 2023 pleaded to employers in George and to people looking for employment to fully utilise this facility that was established for private individuals and businesses to utilise it as a central point for those who wish to employ temporary workers and for job seekers to avail themselves for employment opportunities.

The Municipality wants to emphasize that the Workers Collection Point, which is situated on Industrial Street, in George Industrial, is the only authorised place for job seekers and for pick-up of job seekers. The WCP is staffed by officials from the George Municipality’s Economic Development Department. What makes the WCP reliable and safe for both job seekers and employers it is run professionally with the registration of job seekers capturing their personal information such as their names, identification documents and address as well as details of the employers to ensure adequate management of the whole process.

Executive Mayor Leon van Wyk meets job seekers at the Workers’ Collection Point during his visit.

Mayor van Wyk visited the centre to ascertain its functionality after it has been closed temporarily last year. The Municipality was unfortunately compelled to temporarily close the Workers Collection Point (WCP) in August 2022 due to ongoing safety challenges and concern for the well-being of the staff. Following a risk assessment that was conducted and addressed at the facility, the George Municipality is happy to announce that the workers’ collection point services have resumed since February this year. However, the Municipality notice that there has been a low number of both job seekers and especially the employers.

Alderman van Wyk appeals to the community of George to make use of this facility. “We are busy re-launching the whole Workers Collection Point program, so in other words, we’ve got workers who come to this point and are looking for work. They may well be painters they may well be in the construction industry; they could be drivers; they could be general workers.”

We appeal to employers not to look around for workers, but to come to the Workers Collection Point; it’s fully operational, and professionally run. Companies and businesses who are looking for workers that they might need on a temporary basis can come and collect them and come and select them,” Ald van Wyk added.

Ongeziwe Mthongwana (Local Economic Development official), Alderman Leon van Wyk (Executive Mayor of George), Portfolio Councillor Dirk Wessels (Financial & Strategic Services), Dr Kosie Haarhoff (Deputy Director for Strategic Growth and Development and Kelvin Abrahams (Local Economic Development Official). 

“We are also busy building a profile; a little CV of each of these workers and we hope to include this on our municipal app and also to try and get a check on how everybody has worked at the end of the day so that we can start building a more permanent career for each of these people. So, we would love our citizens and our businesses and our companies to join us and participate in this scheme so that we can make sure that our citizens have work thank you.”

George Municipality has successfully run the facility for more than five years and has proved to be a huge success. In the past, many of the work seekers have secured longer-term work (e.g., 2-week contracts) and several permanent positions have also materialised.  The demand for skilled labour (e.g., bricklayers and carpenters) often outweighed the supply of these skills at the facility.

It’s a thumbs-up for the Workers Collection Point as it is the only authorised place for job seekers and for pick-up of job seekers. Mayor van Wyk, Councillor Dirk Wessels and Local Economic Development officials meet the job seekers at the Workers Collection Point.

The WCP is situated at 12 Industrial Street, George Industrial and operates between 07:45 and 15:00, Monday to Friday. It is staffed by the following two officials from the Planning and Development Department

Kevin Abrahams, Email: kabrahams@george.gov.za  and Ongeziwe Mthongwana, Email: omthongwana@george.gov.za For enquiries, please phone the office on 044 801 9173.

ENDS.

George Municipal Tourism Manager, Joan Shaw, attended Meetings Africa 2023 from 27 February to 2 March 2023 at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg. Business meetings were pre-arranged with more than 30 buyers and business event organisers, over three days where George, Wilderness and Uniondale were positioned as the perfect destination to host small, medium, and large business events.

This is part of the strategy that George Tourism has adopted since the Covid pandemic, to attract more business through groups and events, and this has paid off as George’s recovery has been phenomenal to date, with many events taking place every month.

Joan met event and conference organisers, as well as tour operators that deal in both group and leisure travellers in the foreign individual travel (FIT) markets, and although the objective was to focus on the Garden Route’s Traditional markets of Germany and the United Kingdom, appointments with George were sought after by buyers from more than 10 counties including the United States of America, France, Turkey, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Russia. The keen interest from the United States can be ascribed to the direct flights from that continent now flying to Cape Town.

Joan Shaw said “Meetings Africa exists to provide a platform for exhibitors to showcase their offerings to International and local buyers, African associations, and corporate planners. It is a formidable platform to meet face-to-face with the most influential buyers in the world, and to be part of South Africa and ultimately George’s tourism and economic growth.”

Meetings Africa, owned by South African Tourism, serves as the primary platform to enable the growth of the business events industry on the continent. George attended on the Wesgro platform, making it more cost-effective for the destination to participate.

Joan Shaw said “Meetings Africa exists to provide a platform for exhibitors to showcase their offerings to International and local buyers, African associations, and corporate planners. It is a formidable platform to meet face-to-face with the most influential buyers in the world, and to be part of South Africa and ultimately George’s tourism and economic growth.”

Ends.

The Executive Mayor of George, Alderman Leon van Wyk was a panellist at the Western Cape Premier Alan Winde’s weekly Digicon on Thursday, 9 March 2023 to feature and discuss the Municipality’s plans for becoming energy resilient and other related initiatives.

This was Premier Winde’s second digital media briefing of a string of upcoming weekly briefings on energy-related issues and George was the first municipality invited to address Digicon. A special focus this week was on the George Municipality’s energy projects. Mayor van Wyk was accompanied by the Municipal Manager of George, Dr Michele Gratz and the George Municipality’s Director for Electrotechnical Services, Mr Bongani Mandla.

Mayor van Wyk spoke about the Municipal intentions on Energy efficiency and demand management through reduction of own consumption, Self-generation (Municipal and private) Small scale energy wheeling, enabling Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) and restructuring of tariffs.

“We are extremely proud to have had the opportunity, as George Municipality to be able to present on the Digicon that was hosted by the Premier of the Western Cape,” said Mayor van Wyk. “It is important that local municipalities do look and see what they can do to assist their citizens in fighting off the effects of load-shedding, and these are major effects on all municipalities and we are very glad that we’ve been able to share work that we are doing in combatting this issue, and let’s all work together to see what we can do to sort out this problem and the challenges the lie ahead.”

Premier Winde also expressed his appreciation of the George Municipality’s willingness to share its energy plans. “I would like to thank George Municipality’s Executive Mayor, Leon Van Wyk, for joining our #EnergyDigicon today. I am committed to ensuring that the Western Cape Government works tirelessly to mitigate the devastating effects of rolling blackouts in our province.

For a recording of the latest Digicon, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/SpBdggu90d0?feature=share

Ends.