Letter on low cost housing: Municipality responds
The Oudtshoorn Municipality responds to Mr Haasbroek as follows to his letter regarding low cost housing, which was published in Die Hoorn last week (“Gaan hulle weer swyg tot die dood?”, 6 February):
The Municipality humbly apologies for not responding previously. It is not the intention of the Council to keep you in the dark about its intentions and is the reason why the public participation process is so important when dealing with the Spatial Development Framework.
Please be assured that the Council has no intention of being irresponsible and careless when dealing with the development of the town.
When dealing with a Spatial Development Framework the short, medium and long term plans are discussed and also ensures that a synergised approach is followed when causing development.
Densification of development is a common goal when considering development and operational affordability into the future.
No developments may take place unless bulk services are available like the example you cited of the capacity of fresh water.
The municipality is obliged to make maximum use of a “compact” town to ensure that sprawling does not occur and that the bulk services are not wasted.
Furthermore, the municipality is not able to afford to build in all different directions. The direction of development today is towards the town and not away from town.
This having been said, the Municipality is currently developing in Rosevalley with the fourth and last phase, some six kilometres out of town. Development is also taking place in Dysselsdorp.
The development of the informal settlements of GG Kamp, Kanaal and Black Joint Taverns informal settlements is imminent.
If agreed politically, a project by the name of Spekkop could be the next area of development. (Between Johnsons Brickmaking and the cemetery on your way to Dysselsdorp).
This project could result in some 3 500 to 5 000 job opportunities being realised and would take about five to ten years to be completed. (The public participation process has just been completed and an Environmental Authority is being applied for for which an outcome is expected by November 2020).
Rosevalley is the outer limit to which we may develop going eastwards and with Spekkop we will be working westwards.
- Please see a copy of the SDF and number of opportunities being considered for development in the short, medium and long term. Not all the proposals are for low cost housing only.
- There are ±11 500 applicants on the waiting list. A rough survey revealed that there are ±8 400 backyarder families; ±4 200 families living in overcrowded houses and ±1 600 families living in informal settlements.
The people on the waiting list have waited for an opportunity since 1967!
Without debating the numbers, wherever housing development takes place, there will be an obligation to provide other amenities like schools and crèches. - The Municipal Technical Services Department is still to respond along the lines of upgrading.
- Community Services Department is still to respond to this one.
- & 6. This argument has been presented many times, but is anecdotal. Note for example Hout Bay in Cape Town and Blanco in George. There seems to be symbiosis.
Ope brief aan ouers en onderwysers
Vir die afgelope meer as 10 jaar veg ek en ander natuurliefhebbers om die gebruik van die area suid en wes van Palm-oord as ’n renbaan vir kragfietse te stop. Duur kabels is al ’n paar keer geknip en munisipale kennisgewingborde wat onder andere kragfietse verbied, word verontagsaam.
Ek het al mooi gepraat met van die oortreders. Die reaksie was dat hulle vinniger jaag sodra hulle naby ons huis kom. Hulle wil nie insien dat hul optrede die gronderosie vererger, dat dit stof veroorsaak wat die huise in die omgewing binnedring en dat die geraas oorverdowend is, veral op ’n rustige Sondag-namiddag. En dit terwyl daar vir die jaers ’n spesiale renbaan agter die Ovaalbaan daar naby beskikbaar is!
’n Vriendelike dog ernstige beroep word gedoen op hoërskool-onderwysers en ouers om hierdie probleem aan te spreek. -Natuurliefhebber, Oudtshoorn
Uitdagings van onderwys van die toekoms
Vandag is ek as gevolg van uitdienstrede baie ver van onderwys en opleiding, en onderrig en leer verwyder, maar tog dink ek deurlopend hoe onderwys was en hoe dit veronderstel is om in die toekoms te wees. Eers was die benadering in onderrig en leer gefokus op kennis en vaardighede, en die kennis is slegs beoefen ter wille van die kennis self. Kennis moet in die samelewing bruikbaar en van toepas-sing gemaak word. Eers was dit ’n doel op sigself, maar dit moet al toenemend ’n middel tot ’n doel word. Die onderwys van die toekoms sal meer moet konsentreer op die vaslegging van morele waardes, want dit sal die leerder se rigtinggewer in sy lewe wees.
Vir die hantering van probleme sal die leerder toegerus en in staat moet wees om kennis vanuit verskillende dissiplines te hanteer en te bestuur; sodoende sal die leerder se denke, beplanning en skeppende vermoë gesti- muleer word.
Dat die rol van die onderwyser aangepas moet word, raak al hoe meer noodsaaklik, en sy dominerende posisie in die klaskamer sal die vorm van fasiliteerder en voorligter moet aanneem, waar hy voortaan kennis sal selekteer, benut en orden. Leerders sal toenemend verantwoordbaar gehou word vir wat hulle doen en nie doen nie, en moet veral weet waarom. Met ander woorde: insig sal algaande meer belangrik as die blote opgaar van kennis word.
Hoedanig fasiliteite, geleenthede, opvoedkundige benaderings en leerplanne vir die bereiking van die doelwit al aangepas is, bly steeds ’n ope vraag.
Differensiasie ten opsigte van begaafdheid, gestremdheid en ander afwykings sal in die toekoms groter word. Die sukses hiervan lê daarin om leerders in hulle kontekste en binne hulle opvoedingsbane te plaas, en hulle tot hul maksimumvermoë voor te berei vir dit waarvoor daar ’n aanvraag is. Hierdie benaderingswyse skakel onregverdige en onvergelykbare kompetisie uit.
Langs die weg sal daar ’n meer positiewe gesindheid teenoor arbeid geskep word, arbeid waardeer word en waarde daaraan geheg word. Vir die wêreld met al sy rook, besoedeling, ge-raas, armoede en bevolkingsontploffing moet ons metodes en doelwitte in die onderwys ontwikkel, wat toekomsgerig is. As ons wil oorleef, vra die toekoms van ons krities ingestelde mense wat skeppend is, insig in sake het en by ’n snel veranderende wêreld kan aanpas. – DA Piedt, Oudtshoorn
Taxi Chaos
After a near accident, I feel obliged to write this letter. I surely hope the traffic department can provide some answers.
At the moment taxi drivers are a nuisance, and more importantly, a danger on our roads. They don’t care where they stop to offload or pick up passengers, and have no qualms about swer-ving in front of you to get back into traffic. They will cross a four way stop here in Bridgton, stop immediately after they crossed the stop to pick up passengers with no concern whatsoever for other cars who have to pass them, with the drivers of those vehicles unable to see whether there is any oncoming traffic when they need to pass the taxi in front of them. They stop in a circle, tone deaf to the hooters of motorists behind them who obey the laws of the road.
Usually there are no traffic officers around, and these drivers are a law unto themselves. Even the law enforcement officers sparkle in their absence. The only thing our traffic officers are excellent at is stopping cars along Voortrekker Road, looking for non-compliance of whatever rule they felt has been broken and issue tickets.
The law enforcement officers on the other hand, issue tickets for cars standing on either a loading zone or a diffe-rently abled parking. I’m not saying these things are not important. All I’m saying is that the taxis pose a bigger threat than the things they are concerned about.
I have nothing against taxi drivers, because they are also trying to earn a living. Unfortunately the traffic department issues operating licenses to every taxi owner who approaches them, without taking into consideration whether that taxi rank would be able to accommodate all those taxis. Some owners have up to five there, which is also very unfair towards those with only one taxi.
But the fairness of the practice is not what bothers me. What does bother me is the fact that there’s not enough parking space for all those taxis. And by the looks of it, the market is oversaturated. Most taxis stand at the rank for the entire day, and only get two trips for the day. Taxi drivers park in front of old Diskom and in the road between the hairdresser and the bar, effectively transforming those roads into roads that can only accommodate one car at a time. This cannot be lawful as it poses a big risk to drivers using those roads. An accident is bound to happen some time very soon.
I am appealing to the traffic department to stop issuing operating licenses to taxi owners, to limit operating licenses to a maximum of two taxis per owner, and withdraw licenses issued to those who already have more than two.
These traffic officers should be on duty on the roads in the morning where drivers pick up passengers, and fine taxi drivers who completely break all the laws of the road, with little or no respect for those using the road with them. The law enforcement officers should also do much more than issuing tickets for offences that are not nearly as bad as those committed by taxi drivers. They should be stationed at the taxi rank, and make sure that those parking illegally, do so within the confines of the law. Am I asking too much? – Concerned driver, Bridgton
Oudtshoorn Municipality responds as follows:
The Municipal Traffic Department, as in any department, consists of different sections or areas that need to be attended to. Traffic Law Enforcement does not consist only of enforcement of the law on taxis, but there’s a range of by-laws they need to enforce. Officers do their job when it comes to taxis, however, the reality is that they will not always be there when a taxi commits an offence; and in this regard we do appreciate assistance from the community in channeling complaints to us.
The law enforcement officers have an obligation to ensure that all drivers are compliant with the law, hence the stop and check operations that are conducted on a daily basis. Even though the complainant feels that a parking offence should be discarded as a minor offence, it is part of a national regulation that has to be monitored and policed just as any other law. We do thank the writer for noticing that there are regular stop and check points, even though he/she sees it as an inconvenience. It means that the officers are visible and doing their job. As to the aspects of issuing of operating licenses, the Municipality does not issue operating licen- ses; it is a function of the taxi board located in George. The rank is an ongoing concern which will be addressed at the appropriate level. Also please note that there are regular roadblocks sche-duled for specifically taxis and taxi related offences. – Oudtshoorn Municipality Traffic Management
’n Warrelwind by die Oudtshoorn Lughawe Maandag. Foto: Keith Mouton