Author: Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe

PRESS RELEASE: GO GEORGE READY TO ROLL OUT TO THEMBALETHU
Issued 7 Oct 2022

George Executive Mayor, Alderman Leon van Wyk, announced that the next set of routes of the GO GEORGE bus service will be activated in November 2022, expanding the bus service to Thembalethu and thereby doubling the current reach of the system.

Following this resolution at a special council meeting held on Wednesday 28 September 2022, the Mayor expressed his delight that this point was eventually reached. “This is a momentous occasion. We acknowledge and appreciate the dedication of the Uncedo Taxi Association, the George Community Forum, the Western Cape Government and the municipal team who have been in discussion for a long time. We ackowledge that all concerns will not have been resolved by the time of roll-out, but we remain committed to continue engaging with one another, ensuring that GO GEORGE delivers a dignified service to the people of Thembalethu who have been waiting for so many years,” he said.

Thembalethu routes
With 10 main routes departing in Thembalethu, passengers will be able to travel directly to the city centre, industrial area, Blanco and the Garden Route Mall. Five community routes will crisscross over Thembalethu, making it easy to travel within the area or to join one of the main routes connecting Thembalethu with existing GO GEORGE routes operating in and between the CBD, Pacaltsdorp, Denneoord, Loerie Park, Rosemoor, Blanco, Heatherlands, Heather Park, and the Garden Route Mall. Three early-morning routes will transport hospital staff to their places of work in time for their early shifts.

Community engagement
The GO GEORGE communications team is looking forward to start engaging with the Thembalethu community shortly, explaining to new bus users how the system works.

Contact GO GEORGE by phoning the Call Centre (0800 044 044) or sending an email (info@gogeorge.org.za), or like the GO GEORGE Facebook page to stay up to date with developments.

CAPTION: George Executive Mayor, Alderman Leon van Wyk, during a visit to the George Link bus depot.

ENDS.

PERSVERKLARING: GO GEORGE GEREED OM UIT TE ROL NA THEMBALETHU
Uitgereik 7 Okt 2022

Die uitvoerende burgemeester van George, raadsheer Leon van Wyk, het aangekondig dat die volgende stel roetes van die GO GEORGE-busdiens in November 2022 geaktiveer sal word om die busdiens na Thembalethu uit te brei, wat die huidige reikwydte van die stelsel sal verdubbel.

Na aanleiding van hierdie besluit tydens ‘n spesiale raadsvergadering wat op Woensdag 28 September 2022 gehou is, het die burgemeester sy vreugde uitgespreek dat hierdie punt uiteindelik bereik is. “Dit is ‘n belangrike geleentheid. Ons erken en waardeer die toewyding van die Uncedo-taxivereniging, die George-gemeenskapsforum, die Wes-Kaapse regering en die munisipale span wat al lank in gesprek is. Ons weet dat alle kwelpunte nie teen die tyd van die uitrol opgelos sal wees nie, maar ons bly daartoe verbind om gesprek met mekaar voort te sit en te verseker dat GO GEORGE ‘n waardige diens lewer aan die mense van Thembalethu wat al soveel jare wag,” het hy gesê.

Thembalethu-roetes
Met 10 hoofroetes wat in Thembalethu vertrek, sal passasiers direk na die middestad, nywerheidsgebied, Blanco en die Garden Route Mall kan reis. Vyf gemeenskapsroetes sal Thembalethu deurkruis, wat dit maklik maak om binne die gebied te reis of om by een van die hoofroetes aan te sluit wat Thembalethu verbind met bestaande GO GEORGE-roetes wat in en tussen die middestad, Pacaltsdorp, Denneoord, Loeriepark, Rosemoor, Blanco, Heatherlands, Heatherpark en die Garden Route Mall bedryf word. Drie vroegoggendroetes sal hospitaalpersoneel betyds vir hul vroeë skofte na hul werkplekke vervoer.

Gemeenskapskakeling
The GO GEORGE communications team is looking forward to start engaging with the Thembalethu community shortly, explaining to new bus users how the system works.
Die GO GEORGE-kommunikasiespan sien uit daarna om binnekort met die Thembalethu-gemeenskap te begin skakel om te verduidelik hoe die stelsel werk.

Maak kontak met GO GEORGE deur die Inbelsentrum te skakel by 0800 044 044, ‘n e-pos te stuur (info@gogeorge.org.za), of volg die GO GEORGE Facebook-blad om op hoogte te bly van verwikkelinge.

On behalf of our Mayoral Committee (Mayco) and Councillor team, I want to recognise, praise and thank all our hard-working municipal employees for their determination, dedication and commitment to the tasks that they undertake daily and often over weekends as well. We would not have come so far over the past 21 months without the team effort of the directors and their supporting staff who are so ably led by Dr Michele Gratz as municipal manager.

Our objective has been to tackle the refurbishment and expansion of infrastructure while improving the standards of service delivery. This has been a focused effort with huge pressures on individuals to constantly drive the changes that are needed to implement state-of-the-art practices. To achieve this, you need new ideas and a work ethic that is diligence and performance-driven. New and existing employees have seized opportunities to introduce data-driven methodology and productivity. As councillors, we applaud and thank the team for the ongoing work efforts week by week that are being undertaken. We, therefore, take note and appreciate that throughout the organisation from the maintenance, technical, cleaning and refuse teams through to the administrative, professional and management teams that there is pride in the work being done.

The reference to infrastructure links to a recent SA Property Owners Association (SAPOA) conference held in Cape Town. During a panel discussion, it was stated that local government competence, maintenance of infrastructure and corruption were the three biggest challenges facing infrastructure in South Africa. Their survey covering the 15 largest metropolitan and intermediate cities (George comes in at no.19) revealed that the state of municipal infrastructure including roads had worsened over the past 5 years for all the cities except for Cape Town. Property developers viewed future projects and investments in the Western Cape positively whereas they foresee significant declines in investment in the Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Free State followed by the other Provinces due to the failure to adequately provide for the maintenance and bulk infrastructure timeously.

This survey reinforces the efforts that we are undertaking in George to position ourselves as attractive for investment and employment.

We applaud a recent Business Chamber event where the formation of a group of companies was announced that results from the collaboration between investors and operators of training academies.

I have been approached by a young businessman who is keen to collaborate with contemporaries in the under-40 age group. Secondly, it has been suggested that we should inspire our restaurateurs to “up their game” in terms of meal and service offerings to coincide with the forthcoming holiday season. We plan to shortly engage on both these projects. As always comments and suggestions are welcome at: supportbusiness@george.gov.za

On Wednesday, 28 September 2022, the Executive Mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk wrote to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to petition against Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff increase of 32% in the 2023/2024 financial year.

The letter to NERSA is as follows:
As Executive Mayor of George Municipality, I am writing to you on behalf of the citizens of George, to appeal to you not to grant Eskom’s application to increase the price of electricity by 32% in the 2023/2024 financial year,” his letter read to NERSA.

“In my letter addressed to you earlier this year on the question of Eskom’s increases for 2022/23, I stated that our citizens are not able to afford increases at a level above the inflation rate. It is unfair, unaffordable, and unjustified to expect citizens to pay increases substantially above the inflation rate.

Across the country, we are already burdened with high food and fuel prices. The recent hefty interest rate hike adds to the high cost of living making it even more difficult for citizens to make ends meet. Moreover, the requested increase will further cripple businesses financially that are already struggling to operate profitably, and to sustain and create jobs. It will destroy the hope of economic recovery in South Africa and add to our burden of poverty.

On behalf of George Municipality, I am therefore objecting in the strongest possible terms to any increase in the price of electricity that is above an inflation increase. We, accordingly, appeal to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to reject the proposal.

The price of electricity has risen by more than 500% over the past 16 years, far exceeding inflation over that time. Over this period in which electricity has become steadily more expensive, the security of our electricity supply has progressively become more unreliable. This year is already the worst year of load-shedding on record. The Stage 6 load-shedding we have experienced in the last short period destroyed R4,2 billion in value from our South African economy each day.

It is unacceptable that Eskom is trying to shield itself from the commercial consequences of years’ worth of mismanagement and poor maintenance of its infrastructure by drastically raising its prices at the time that it is least able to supply electricity to the country. Consumers correctly do not understand the logic of Eskom requesting a 32% increase when it is unable to reliably supply electricity. It would therefore be an unspeakable injustice to burden struggling South Africans even further by making them Eskom’s financial scapegoat.

It is now the time, however, that Eskom undertakes the drastic measures needed to reduce the bloated salary bill, stop the mismanagement, inflated tenders, corruption, etc. and recover the outstanding debt not being paid by defaulters. The municipalities that are up to date with their Eskom account are burdened with huge increases because of the many municipalities that have huge outstanding debt owing to Eskom.

We have not seen meaningful progress on any of these aspects, and yet Eskom is still willing to make ordinary South Africans pay for its lack of action. NERSA must reject this application and insist that the remedial action be implemented.

At George Municipality we have committed ourselves to work tirelessly to bring down the cost of electricity for our citizens through the procurement of our own generated electricity from cheaper sources than Eskom. Our Council has approved the necessary funding for these projects to source up to 15% of our daily off-take from Eskom within the next three years.

Our Municipality is fully aware of the challenges facing Eskom and is working with all stakeholders to find acceptable solutions for businesses and domestic consumers. There are large commercial undertakings and hospitals (as examples), that operate on a 24-hour basis, that are being drastically affected by the ongoing load-shedding. They look to the Municipality in an endeavour to find solutions that will enable them to stay in business. An increase of 32% would send the wrong message to all electricity consumers.

NERSA should rather endeavour to work with the private sector and those Municipalities capable of procuring alternative sources of electricity by only permitting inflation-based tariff increases to ensure that there is a focus on bringing additional electricity online over the next three to four years to assist with the supply constraints faced by Eskom.

I trust that this letter will receive your urgent attention and ensure that Eskom’s application for a price increase is limited to the increase in the consumer price index.

Ends.