From the Editor’s Desk
Welcome to the fourth Newsletter of the year.
Winter’s the time that nobody really enjoys, especially South Africans. (Including all of those that I know here in Bushman’s, and I now include myself in that category). We tend to hibernate around July time onwards or we head north to the warmer climate, the warmer the better for me, as I have become a winter wimp in my old age. But spare a thought for those who cannot up sticks and land up with families in warmer places, what can they do, well here are some winter tips.
- If you know of friends in the same predicament as yourself, then gather together all in one house, the more people the better. That way your combined body temperatures will increase the room temperature in no time.
- Make sure your friends also enjoy a DOP OR TWO and take a bottle along for good measure. By the time you’ve all finished the bottles of Old Brown Sherry your core temperature should have risen by at least 1 degree.
- Do not remove outdoor clothing until you have a good sweat going, but then only remove your gloves at first and check for frostbite.
- After a few hours you will feel a warm glow come over your whole body, that’s when you know it’s time to leave for home.
- Before leaving check that it isn’t your own house that you’re trying to leave from, that can be highly embarrassing.
- Warning! Only do this once a week with friends, as curing the winter blues can seriously damage your health but not your sense of humour.
Have fun and stay warm until the summer returns. (Editor)
Community Month – end Braais
Jack Dell
In the darkness of winter time our month end braais have given us some surprising entertainment. Entertainment such as our well attended Soup Sherry and Bingo night, where residents enjoyed wonderful homemade soups and breads, Sherry to warm them up, and Bingo prizes for the winners. But this year the month end Community Braai of July gave us the spectacular sighting of the Partial Eclipse of the Moon and the sighting of Mars and the sky remained reasonably clear for all to see this magnificent event. Apparently, so I was informed, to see Mars as close to the moon as it was on that night will not be seen again in S.A. for another 100 years. So, if you missed it, shame, it was magnificent.
Notes from the Chair
John Wesley
With winter a thing of the past and warmer, and thankfully a bit wetter weather has moved in. Residents are emerging from protection of their homes we are seeing more people on streets, beaches and river. However, for the Executive Committee work did not stop and we are continuing our engagement with the Municipality on several fronts to improve basic service delivery.
To this end we trying to get the Ward Committee to meet their statutory duties as specified by, among other official documents, the Municipal Systems Act. The members, including the Councillor who is the Chairperson, do not know what powers the Ward Committee has in directly influencing the policies and plans of the Town Council. BRRAG created a spread sheet capturing the issues raised by the residents of the various sub-communities within the Ward and distributed these to the Ward Committee members to discuss within their constituents. The plan is to get a single document to be presented to the Town Council by the Ward Councillor as the integrated requirement of the whole ward, which includes the Old Village, Riversbend, Marselle and the extended Klipfontein.
The next front is the active participation on the Ndlambe Ratepayers’ Forum, which consists of ratepayers’ organisations from Cannon Rocks, Boknes, Bushman’s, Kenton-on-Sea, Port Alfred and Kleinemond/Seafield. Again, the aim is to identify the common issues and to approach the Town Council and Municipality on a united front.
The final front is direct interaction with the Municipality. We have nominated a member to participate on the Ndlambe IDP and Budget Forum. BRRAG members’ particular issues will be taken to this forum. Although all these issues would already be included in the Ward Committee submission, the BRRAG representative will make sure our voice is heard on the Forum.
BRRAG also continues to engage the Municipality on urgent issues as they arise. Getting a response from the Municipality is difficult. Often there seems to be a lack of insight into what the Municipality’s legal obligations towards residents are. Pleas are ignored or are only reacted to when the threat of legal action starts becoming real. To this end BRRAG is taking up the issue of the lack of action on the vlei-flooding and is organising a public meeting to explain what legal recourse is open to us to force the Municipality to address the issues. Notification of the meeting has been sent out separately.
Some good news is the Municipality now has a process for applying to place park benches with or with commemorative plaques in public spaces within the municipal area. For a long time BRRAG could not give members proper guidance on the process to be followed, mainly because there was no process. Park benches are a very welcome and necessary addition to our public spaces and we would like to encourage members to donate such benches. One the first areas we would like to address is the car park next to the slipway. The small benches along the riverside of the car park has always been a favourite place to relax and watch the activities on the river or just to enjoy the quiet times. Unfortunately, the benches have all but been destroyed and we are sure there are members who would like to contribute to having these replaced. There are any number of suppliers around the country that supply these, and prices range from about R1850 for 3-seater bench without back rest to R2850 for a 3-seater park bench. Should members want it, BRRAG will assist any person wishing to place a park bench. Please let us know if you are interested in this project.
Community Fundraising Report
Jack Dell
Since our last Newsletter we have had two fundraising events, our Father’s Day Braai and our Soup & Sherry night, both of which raised much needed funds. Our next Craft Market is on the 29th September and we are always happy for people to donate items to the Ratepayer’s white Elephant stall, which is a great help with fundraising. So, just give us a call if you have anything that you no longer want or need, and we will be happy to come and collect from you. Cell 079 829 2698. If you would like a stand for yourself, please call me on the same number above.
If you are in town on Friday 21st September we are having our month end Community Braai a week earlier than usual due to the Craft Market being held on the 29th, you will be most welcome to join us, just bring your own meat and drink.
Advance notice for 24th December 2018. This Christmas BRRAG fundraising are providing a (limited to 10 houses) Special Santa Delivery Service. We will provide you with your own Santa sack which will be delivered to your house filled (with your own presents) for your children, by Father Christmas and his team of helpers, between 3.30 pm and 6pm. on Christmas Eve. The cost of this Santa Delivery Service including Santa Sack and delivery to you home will cost R500. A refund of R100 for the return of and undamaged Santa sack will reduce the cost to R400.
We will require from you the following:
- Booking fee in advance. Paid to BRRAG bank account.
- Your children’s names.
- Your delivery address in Bushman’s, and contact telephone number.
- Your children’s presents, individually labelled, and to be delivered to our Santa Team. The date, time, and drop off point will be advised prior to the 24th.
You will receive from us the following:
- Confirmation of your booking fee.
- The time of your delivery to you home, between 3.15pm – 6pm. (Depending on our delivery route).
- Interested parties please contact Jack Dell on 079 829 2698 or email jjdell82@gmail.com
Seasonal Security Report
John Wesley Gerald Schmidt and Shelia Swanepoel Portfolio
SAPS Sector Activities
The spate of house burglaries and robberies in June and July spurred the various communities located within the SAPS Kenton-on-Sea Station sector to call for renewed efforts to curb crime in the area.
The Riversbend Community held a meeting on 30 July 2018, under the chairmanship of Ference Toth. The SAPS and Hi –Tec were represented and the Chairperson of BRRAG was invited. The message that went from the meeting chairperson was that they do not need another security drive but should team up with the BRRAG efforts and he encouraged those present that were not already BRRAG members, to join BRRAG.
The Chairperson also attended a meeting with the Chamber of Business at the request of Neville Loader, who represents BRRAG on the COB. The meeting was to prepare a COD submission to a security meeting planned by the Kenton-on-Sea Ratepayers’ Association (KOSRA) on 8 August 2018 to discuss safety and security in the Kenton-on-Sea.
While the COB members were keen to support any efforts to promote safety and security, it was obvious that they had very little understanding of how the problem should be addressed. The BRRAG Chairperson encouraged that they work within the established structures and especially insist on a functioning CPF.
The underlying cause for plethora of different initiatives each trying to improve safety and security lies with the dysfunctional CPF. The previous SAPS station Commander wanted to re-energise the CPF, but he was transferred before it could happen. The Acting Station Commander has expressed similar sentiments. It is important the BRRAG team up with other community organisations such as KOSRA and COB to ensure that the CPF is brought up to standard and that it carries out its mandated tasks and duties.
Crime statistics
During July there were 5 house burglaries, one business burglary and one personal robbery. In August there were 4 house burglaries, 2 business burglaries in the Bushman’s industrial area, one suspect behaviour (trespassing) and one house vandalism as a result of attempted burglary. Two of the house burglaries involved copper/brass fitting theft. The SAPS request members to be on the look-out for vehicles being used for the collection of scrap metal and to report them to the SAPS on telephone 046 648 1222. This should be followed by a Link message on the BRM Security Channel as this goes directly to the senior management members at the SAPS station and this will enable them to initiate action as quickly as possible.
The increase in crime from June to August is a seasonal phenomenon linked to the release of convicted criminals on parole in late May. The trend this year was much the same as last year, however, with 2 distinct differences. The first was that house burglaries where copper/brass theft was involved rose a lot. This is because of the buyers of such material coming into the area and creating a market for the products. Hence the call by the SAPS on the matter.
The second was the spate of violent robberies that occurred not just Bushman’s but in other areas like Kenton-on-Sea, Port Alfred and Alexandria. These were linked to a group of criminals that moved into the area and then solicited information and support from locals to identify potential targets and robbing them. Thankfully the SAPS have made significant progress on the matter and several of the core group have been arrested, some hundreds of kilometers from here. The lesson from this is the need for communities to work together in promoting safety and security.
Community Camera Fund
The Camera Fund Committee recently decided that each area will decide where they want new cameras and arrange their own funding for the cameras and the installation cost. The R 30 a month currently collected for the camera fund will be used for monitoring and maintenance of the installed cameras. Hi Tec will arrange an independent security consultant to review the whole camera and monitoring equipment/process to recommend any improvements required and make recommendations regarding future requirements.
If you are not already contributing and want to do so, please contact Shelly at Hi-Tec (046 636 1660) or Gerald Schmidt (083 625 3764).
Membership
Please keep on encouraging friends and neighbours to join BRRAG. The more members we have, the bigger the voice we have to speak on issues affecting us as members. The application form is available on the website. Membership fees can be deposited at Standard Bank, A/c 281 116 393 with reference: Mem/ your street name and number. Eg. Mem/21 Main.
News from Riversbend
Dalien Pachonick
Ndlambe Municipality have carried out BRRAG’s request for the repair of potholes that required attention, but work on the centre lines to the roads still remain outstanding.
To date Ndlambe Municipality have not replied to BRRAG request regarding progress on the problem of overgrown erven and the urgent request to address of the lack of street lights in Riversbend.
Community General Information
Jack Dell
Although we are just getting out of winter, we must not forget that it was not that long ago that we had two very serious incidents involving fires.
The first fire that broke out was at the Bakery in Kenton; which was put out with the help of Hi-Tec Security staff. The staff were trained by both Ndlambe Fire Department Fire Chief Mervyn Sauls and our own Bill Northrop in the use of the Bushman’s fire tender which is kept at the Hi-Tec office at the entrance to Bushman’s River Mouth. Both their action and knowledge of the use of the Bushman’s Fire Tender helped prevent what could have resulted in a more disastrous ending.
The second was the veld-fire. As a community we would like to say a big thank you and well done to the BRRAG fire team and all other volunteers from the community, who tackled the veld fire on the western side of the road to the Bushman’s beach. A special thanks to Hi-Tec, who hooked up the BRRAG fire trailer and took it down to the fire and who posted a guard in the area for the night to check on any possible flare ups.
If it were not for the community action, the fire would have run out of control, as the Ndlambe Fire brigade were occupied with other fires and could only get a vehicle here more than an hour after they were first notified. So, thanks, to all for their unflinching support.
The Link application has undergone an update and now includes the reporting of fires. As was the case with the veld fire, the initial report did not clearly indicate where the fire was. By using the Link application those responding can immediately see exactly where the fire is. So please download the application. To get is simply search for “Link powered by Vodacom” on the app store. It takes a bit of effort to get familiar with it, but it may just save your house or life.
Arts – Crafts and Literature
Crafts
Local Bushman’s residents interested in woodworking, who know that our own Rob Moss, who is a skilled wood turner himself, is holding a demonstration at his work shop at 8a Kiewiet Street at 3pm on Tuesday the 18th September, which will be demonstrated by Internationally acclaimed Wood Turner Chris Pouncy from the UK, who is here on his South African Tour. There are limited spaces available and for those who would like to attend they should contact Rob Moss directly on 082 771 0009.
Literature
To many people in Bushman’s the name Wendy Crawford – Barker, and her painting, go hand in hand. But Wendy has now taken the bold step of becoming an author, with her first work entitled Apples from the Soul, a small gift book illustrated by Wendy in delicate watercolour. Wendy will be at the Red Apple for her book signing debut on Friday the 21st September from 10am. Everyone is welcome to meet Wendy and talk with her about her book.
The Vlei
(Neville Loader)
The grass remains short and there were no problems whatsoever in the Vlei, following the recent heavy rains. However, the ground in the catchment area is soaked and the small dams are all full, so we will keep vigilant should further heavy rains occur. We have also requested Ndlambe Municipality to ensure that all storm water drains are regularly cleaned.
Solid waste disposal site
During a recent meeting between KOSRA and the Municipality in terms of the High Court Order against the Municipality for the closure of the old solid waste disposal site near Marselle, the Municipality reported that a site for builders rubble has been identified and will be operational by February 2019. In the interim builders’ rubble may only be dumped at the Alexandra or Port Alfred solid waste disposal sites. Members are request d to please report any illegal dumping of builders’ rubble or other solid waste to the By-Law Compliance Officer in the Directorate Community Protection Services at the Ndlambe Municipality. He is Mr Thandekile Rasmeni (telephone: 073 407 5864).
Stray animals and invasive vegetation
The issue of domestic animals on the Ndlambe commonages and removal invasive plants from Ndlambe municipality’s land is the subject of a court case between Agri EC and others against the Ndlambe Municipality. In terms of court order, all stray animals must be impounded in the Bushman’s area and also animals on municipal commonages must branded and tagged within 3 months of the court order dated 10 July 2018. This means that the stray animal issue should be under control by 10 October 2018. If members see stray animals, they must report it to the SAPS Kenton-on-Sea at 046 648 1222 and they will arrange with municipality for the removal of the animals.
Regarding alien and invasive vegetation, the municipality must publish, and council approve a policy for control of alien and invasive vegetation on municipal land within 18 months i.e. by January 2020.
On the roads
Residents in Bushman’s should be made aware that there is a new Traffic Control Officer in town. He has recently been in Kenton, and I have been told personally, that he will be in Bushman’s River Mouth too, where he intends to enforce the traffic regulations on our roads. So please be careful and obey the traffic laws. Fines given by a Traffic control officer are fixed and very costly. You have been warned.
