Category: Public Participation Process

Unilateral cancellation of Ward Committee meeting

 

It is with regret that the Ward 2 Forum notes the unilateral cancellation of the Ward Committee Meeting of 21 Sept 2017 as per the below email from the office of Cllr. Danie Du Toit:

Dear Ward Committee

Notice is hereby given that the Ward Committee meeting for the month of September 2017(21 September 2017) will not take place.  This is due to the Public meetings of all wards  which will take place during September and October 2017, after which the Ward Committee Meeting will take place.

Ward 2 Forum Comment

It is a sad state of affairs that a Ward Committee meeting is cancelled when there is so much that needs to be dealt with, particularly now. The total lack of pro-active communication by TWKM is raising more questions than answers, and the unilateral cancelling of a vital communication and statutory link between the community and the local authority is alarming. The schedule of the feedback sessions by the Councillor and the dates of the Ward Committee meetings had been minuted and accepted months in advance, as per the year planner issued at the beginning of the year. The reasons for the  cancellation of the Ward Committee meeting is thus weak and without merit.

As yet we still need to be informed about:

  1. Delay in the implementation of MSCOA & the financial implications this has on the municipalities financial viability
  2. Acceptance & implementation of the new TWKM Macro management structure.
  3. Adoption & implementation of the amended 2017/22 IDP & Budget Implementation Plan
  4. Public spat between the Councillor, Municipal Manager & the local press.
  5. Progress on the local housing impasse & growing tension between communities.
  6. The plans made in respect of the growing water shortage & how to mitigate the socio-economic impact this crisis will have on the area
  7. Decisions made and adopted in council, relating to the Ward 2 area, without the Ward Committee being privy thereto.

We thus have to deduce that TWKM have no real intent of fulfilling nor complying with the legal provisions for the operation of Ward Committees as contained in sections 72 to 78 of the Local Government : Municipal Structures Act,1998. We therefore cannot unconditionally support neither our Councillor, nor TWK Municipality.

 

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Comment on TWKM’s response to W2F IDP Budget Report

Ward 2 Forum put considerable effort into assessing the new IDP at the start of its 5 year cycle, and the budget for 2017-18, the latter being issued together with the medium term Revenue and Expenditure Framework for 2018-19 and 2019-20. These documents together comprise over 500 pages of text and tables. Our comments covered the 25 subjects that we thought most important, that we could in a small way try to contribute to constructively.

W2F comment on TWKM response to our IDP Budget Report (3)

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Feedback Report (2017/005) re the latest Ward Committee Meeting held on the 16th Feb’17.

Please find herewith the W2F Feedback Report (2017/005) and Annexure in respect of the latest Ward Committee Meeting held on the 16th Feb’17.

Report Back 16 Feb’17

Annexure A _17 Feb’17 – SLA Points

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Good news on Water Restriction Tariffs

The TWK municipality had a Special Council Meeting yesterday to debate the Water Tariff Structure, after many complaints about the implications of the adopted Tariff Structure for water usage during times of Water Restrictions.

The TWK municipality had a Special Council Meeting yesterday to debate the Water Tariff Structure, after many complaints about the implications of the adopted Tariff Structure for water usage during times of Water Restrictions.

Submissions from concerned stakeholders had been received by TWK after the announcement of the “double” water tariff. The Ward 2 Forum made a comprehensive submission, Tariff proposals and motivation during a meeting with TWKM last week, on behalf of its members in the TWK Ward 2. This submission was based on the research done by our team on the implication of the unilateral doubling of rates for water usage. It was found that the proposed rate would have little to no effect on the objective of saving water and would only really affect the lower income and the business sector.

It is thus with a measure of relief that we are able to announce the new and amended Water Tariffs as adopted by the TWKM Council yesterday morning.

In short:

The restricted domestic water tariff for consumption

  • 0 -6 kl be restored to R 4.74 (Excl. VAT, which is the old tariff)
  • 7 – 15 kl will be increased to R 8.55
  • > 15 kl will be double as per the previous tariff notice

Full Tariff prices will be available on our website in due course.

The business water tariff will be subject to an application for potential exemption from the higher rates. Each application will be reviewed on merit. The required form for this application is being obtained from TWKM and the Ward 2 Forum will ensure these are available to businesses that wish to apply for the exemption.

The Ward 2 Forum team will endeavour to keep you informed on any further developments in respect of the Water Tariff Structure. We believe that there are still aspects of this policy that still need to be questioned and hopefully corrected. We also wish to congratulate our Mayor and her team for the leadership shown in the way they tackled this problem through a process of Public Participation.

For additional information please do not hesitate to contact the Ward 2 Forum.

The Ward 2 Forum Team

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Greyton Heritage Survey

The first draft of the Heritage Survey, done by the consultants Cedar Tower Services, has been completed for Greyton as part of the process to inform the next step toward the  finalisation of the Greyton Overlay Zone/Architectural Policy.

Ward 2 Forum fully supports the stated intent of the Municipality and HOZAC to work for the implementation of a suitable and successful zoning scheme, with protective Overlays to control development in Greyton, including Heritage Protection Overlays. However, numerous concerns have been highlighted during the process and these need to be scrutinised for further comment by interested and affected parties.

We consider that this project is critically important to the future of Greyton and it should contribute to the success of TWKM. Therefore, it is essential that sufficient time is made available for all the necessary consultation to be completed properly. This must be supported by TWKM Planning and HOZAC, who should be communicating information to the community and responding fully to queries etc.

The public consultation process should include discussion and debate, not just on the Heritage Survey itself, but also on all aspects arising from the Survey, and leading to the finalisation of the Greyton Overlay Zone/Architectural Policy (Mr Gxoyiya’s letter of 24 May 2016 to Ward2Forum refers).

The Ward 2 Forum has requested that the Theewaterskloof Municipality considers an extension of the due date for submission of comments to allow all interested and affected parties adequate time to study the documents. Note that the current date set for comments is the 9th September 2016.

Here is the W2F Request for Extension

Please note that a hardcopy of the consultants’ draft documents are available at the Greyton Municipal Offices for perusal or may also be viewed on the Cedar Tower Website:

  1. Heritage Data – http://www.cedartower.co.za/greyton-heritage-survey
  2. Heritage Survey – http://www.cedartower.co.za/surveys/index.php/821921?lang=en

The Ward 2 Forum will keep you posted on all the relevant information about the process going forward.

screenshot_2007The Ward 2 Forum Team

incl:/ Request for extension 1.1

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Public Participation Document

Ward 2 Forum is publishing this Public Participation document as a formal undertaking to ensure community & stakeholder involvement in the process of establishing a measure of consensus on issues that affect our Ward Communities directly.

Public Participation is the only real process by which we as an organisation can consult with interested or affected individuals and communities before engaging with Theewaterskloof Municipality on issues affecting the community as a whole. As Public Participation is a two-way communication and collaborative problem solving opportunity for better achieving more acceptable decisions, the Ward 2 Forum is of the opinion that proper Public Participation will prevent disputes by creating a process for resolving issues before they become polarized.

Please join the team toward building a unified, collaborative and vibrant Ward 2 community.

Public Participation Doc

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