Day: August 5, 2022

The Water and Sanitation Directorate will be conducting a dummy shutdown on its water supply main to Sherwood Park, Manenberg, Heideveld, Heinz Park, Samora Machel, Philippi, Brown’s Farm, White Hart Lane, Marcus Gavey, Philippi East, Crossroads, The Island, Hanover Park, Schaapkraal, Philippi Horticultural Area, Highlands Estate, Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein areas from 10:00 until 18:00 on Thursday, 11 August 2022. This will result in the disruption of the water supply to these areas.

‘This dummy shutdown will assist the planning teams in assessing the capability of the water supply network for rerouting in preparation for an actual shutdown. This is a very important exercise as it provides an indication of the extent of the impact and what mitigation measures need to be implemented and what the possibilities are to maintain the water supply to these areas,’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.

Residents are kindly requested to store water upfront in clean, sealed containers for domestic use during this period and to ensure that all taps are closed to prevent water loss and/or damage when the supply is restored.

Water tankers will be roaming to provide water for domestic consumption where required

The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused, but it must explore opportunities within its water supply infrastructure network to benefit its consumers.

Source: City Of Cape Town

National Police Minister Bheki Cele’s excuse that potholes are to blame for hijackings in Nyanga helps nobody, least of all the communities in the metro-south east. Minister Cele and the South African Police Service are responsible for crime prevention, investigating crime, arresting criminals and protecting lives and livelihoods. They get the money, other resources, and personnel to do so from the National Government. We expect Minister Cele to lead the way in making our communities safer, while we will assist as best we can with the resources at our disposal.

That said, from my side, I am taking the following immediate action: I have instructed our Urban Mobility Directorate to provide a feedback report on the state of the roads in Nyanga. I will scrutinise it once it is on my desk to see how we, as the City, can assist to make the roads in Nyanga safer.

We care about every single resident in this city, and will take action if there is any truth in Minister Cele’s assertion.

I encourage the SAPS to report poor road conditions to the Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63. The TIC is available 24/7. Residents are also encouraged to report potholes to this number. Please provide the exact location as far as possible as this will assist us in responding quicker.

The City is serious about service delivery to all communities. Our road network is one of our biggest assets and we are doing all we can to protect and maintain it in the interest of our residents and businesses.

The City’s Roads Infrastructure Management Department has depots across the whole city, and each day, they dispatch teams to inspect roads, sidewalks, bridges, and repair potholes.

It is very important that residents know we cannot do permanent repairs in wet weather. We have to wait for roads to dry properly and this is the reason why potholes are more prevalent in winter during our rainy season.

The City strives to make a pothole safe within 24 hours of it being reported to us. A permanent repair will be made within 15 days, weather permitting.

I also want to plead with residents to not dump grey water on the roads. Water is the number one cause of potholes and other damage to our road infrastructure.

The dumping of waste in stormwater mains and sewers lead to blockages and overflows onto roads. Residents can therefore help us protect our roads by not dumping waste in the stormwater inlets and sewers.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town is calling on residents and businesses from the Bo-Kaap to comment on proposals to improve the safety of road users and traffic flow along Buitengracht Service Road. The public participation process is commencing on Monday, 8 August 2022, with the closing date for comments on Friday, 8 September 2022.

The City recently met with local leaders from the Bo-Kaap to discuss the proposals intended to improve the safety of all road users along Buitengracht Service Road, which runs parallel to the dual carriageway Buitengracht (M62). The proposals are also intended to assist with traffic flow to and from the Bo-Kaap and the City Bowl.

The City is now giving the local community an opportunity to submit their views and comments.

The proposals entail the following:

• To turn Buitengracht Service Road into a one-way from the intersection with Bloem Street in an easterly direction (towards Wale Street); and to allocate parking space along this section of the service road

• For Buitengracht Service Road to remain a two-way from the intersection with Bloem Street in a westerly direction (towards Military Road); and to prohibit parking along this section so that there is enough space to accommodate vehicles traveling in both directions

Importantly, surrounding streets such as Buiten Street, Bloem Street, Pepper Street, Bryant Street, and Jordan Street will remain two-way streets.

The City invites all residents and interested and affected parties to an open day where City officials will be present to answer questions, and note comments.

The open day will be hosted as follows:

• Saturday, 13 August 2022

• From 12:00 to 16:00

• At Schotsche Kloof Civic Centre, Yusuf Drive, Schotsche Kloof.

To comment:

• Visit the City’s website at www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay

• Attend the open day

• Send an email to Transport.News@capetown.gov.za (please quote reference: 110212208)

• Hand deliver to: Subcouncil 16 office on the 11th Floor, 44 Wale Street, Cape Town 8000

‘I encourage the community from the Bo-Kaap to please participate in this process by either attending the open day, or submitting comments online. The City is always looking at ways to improve road safety and traffic flow, and this is an opportunity to make your voice heard. The more people participate, the better,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

Caption: A graphic of the proposals for Buitengracht Service Road to improve road safety and traffic flow.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town would like to advise residents that water in the distribution system is currently discoloured over parts of the eastern, central and southern suburbs, and residents in the affected areas should boil their water before drinking or cooking with it as a precautionary measure while the City investigates and does further testing. Read more below:

The City advises residents that water in the distribution system coming from Faure water treatment plant over parts of the city is currently discoloured. The affected areas are primarily south of the N2 reaching from Strand in the East through Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Philippi to Plumstead and down into the Southern suburbs as far as about Muizenburg. See full list of areas below, as well as an indicative map with affected areas in red.

This is an advisory notice recommending that residents in the affected areas should boil their tap water before drinking it or using it for food preparation and cooking, until further notice.

The fault is due to a process control fault at the Faure Water Treatment Plant, which is the result of cumulative effects of recent phases of load-shedding, which caused limited operational hours of the sludge handling process. This part of the treatment process cannot be augmented by generator capacity due to high energy demand.

The continued sporadic bouts of load-shedding have a detrimental effect on the City’s operations. This is why we are pushing with such urgency to reduce our reliance on Eskom, lower the cost of electricity, and end load-shedding in Cape Town. The City is also continuing to build on its programme of ending load-shedding over time by focusing on energy diversification to enhance security of supply with the City’s own build projects, small-scale embedded generation programmes of buying excess power from qualifying customers, wheeling and independent power producer programmes.

Supply from the Faure water treatment plant has been stopped, and the affected areas of the network are being fed water from Blackheath Reservoir. Intensive water sampling and ongoing testing is being conducted.

The City is working on resolving the problem as soon as possible, and would like to apologise for any inconvenience. The situation is anticipated to normalise the water quality in this part of the supply network, over the next few days.

Residents should do one of the following, until further notice:

• Boil the water for at least one minute, allow it to cool down and store it in clean, sanitised and sealed containers. Or,

• Use household bleach (like Jik) to disinfect water. The World Health Organisation recommends adding 5 millilitres (1 teaspoon) of unperfumed household bleach to 25 litres of water. Let the water stand for at least 30 minutes before using it. Or,

• Use water disinfection tablets. Follow the instructions prescribed by the respective manufacturers to ensure the safety of the water for drinking purposes.

Regular updates will be provided on the City’s Twitter account @CityofCTAlerts and via media releases published on the City’s website www.capetown.gov.za

The affected suburbs are (in alphabetical order): Admirals Park, Airport, Anchorage Park, Antilles/ Cayman Beach, Barnet Molokwana Corner, Beacon Valley, Bell Glen, Bongani, Brandwacht, Broadlands, Broadlands ark, Broadlands Village, Chris Hani park, Colorado Park, Crossroads, Corydon Olive Estate, De Velde, Deaconville, Deepfreeze, Diep River, Dobson, Dreamworld, Driftsands, Eagle Park, Eastridge, Ekhuphumleni, Elfindale, Endlovini, Enkanini, Eyethu, Fairview Golf Estate, False Bay Coastal Park, Firgrove, Firgrove rural, Forest Village, George Park, Goedehoop, Good Hope, Gordon Heights, Gordon’s Bay, Gordon’s Bay Ext 12, Gordon’s Bay Village, Gordon’s Strand Estate, Graceland, Grassy Park, Greenways, Gugulethu, Hanover Park, Harare, Harbour Island, Harmony Village, Heartland, Beach Road Precinct, Heartland Historic Precinct, Heathfield, Helderberg Park, Highlands Village, Hyde Park, Ikwezi Park, Ilitha Park, Khaya, Khayalitsha, Kuyasa, Lakeside, Lansdowne, Lavender Hill, Lentegeur, Lotus River, Macassar, Macassar Beach, Macassar Village, Mall Interchange, Mandela Park, Manenberg, Mitchells Plain CBD, Monwabisi, Morgans Village, Mountainside, Mountainside Estate, Mountainside Ext 2, Muizenberg, Mxolosi Phetani, New Macassar, New Scheme, New Woodlands, Newfields, Nonqubela, Nyanga, Onverwacht – Gordons Bay, Onverwacht – The Strand, Ottery, Parkwood, Peaock Close, Pelikan Heights, Pelikan Park, Philippi, Philippi Park, Pinati Estate, Plumbstead, Portland, Protea Park – Gordon’s Bay, Retreat, Riverside, Rocklands, Rondevlei Park, Sabata Dalindyebo Square, Sand Industria, Sandvlei, Sea Breeze Park, Seawinds, Sercor Park, Silvertown – Khayelitsha, Sitari Country Estate, Smartie Town, Southfield, Southfork, St James, Steenberg, Strand, Strand Golf Club, Strandfontein, Tafelsig, Temporance Town, Thembokwezi, Twin Palms, Umrhabulo Triangle, Victoria Mxenge, Vrygrond, Weltevreden Valley, Westgage, Westridge- Mitchells Plain, Wetton, Wildwood, Wolfgat Nature Reserve, Woodlands and Zeekoevlei.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The City continues to do all it can to assist residents in vulnerable areas to reduce the risk of flooding. More winter rain is expected during August and the City urges residents to play their part by implementing no cost methods to help reduce the impact of flooding in their areas, where possible. Some informal settlements are located on unsuitable land, prone to flooding, such as in dams or retention ponds and waterlogged areas where the water takes a long time to dissipate after rains due to the condition of the soil.

Flood-prone areas include Philippi, Dunoon, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Driftsands and Mfuleni, among others.

The City urges residents who are at risk of experiencing flooding in their areas to implement flood mitigation measures, such as making their own sandbags, digging trenches to lead water away from entrances of dwellings and to use plastic and other waterproofing materials where possible.

‘Our teams have been on the ground to ensure that residents in at risk informal settlements are informed and are aware of the risks, as well as the no cost flood mitigation measures they may employ. Our teams continue to monitor all high-risk regions. Most of the newly unlawfully occupied areas are unfortunately situated on unsuitable, and flood-prone land.

‘It remains a challenge for our teams to assist residents who have settled in a floodplain, dam, road reserve, water retention pond, wetland or other waterlogged areas, as well as on privately owned land. We urge residents to plan ahead of time so that they are as prepared as can be. Residents should consider raising their floor level of their structure so that it is higher than the natural ground level, raising furniture on bricks to clear from the floor to limit water damage, making sand bags and digging trenches around their homes to divert water away,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.

A number of City departments, including Informal Settlements Management, Roads and Stormwater and Disaster Risk Management, do their utmost to help residents by constructing canals to lead flood water away from affected areas where possible and monitoring high risk priority areas on a daily basis to determine flooding risks, while giving advice to residents on how to reduce risks.

Help to reduce flood risk:

• Clear out drainage systems

• Raise the floor level of a structure so that it is higher than the natural ground level

• Raise furniture on bricks to clear from the floor to limit water damage

• Make sandbags

• Dig trenches around the house to divert water away from the house

• Report blocked drains, intakes and illegal dumping – illegal dumping in the storm water canals and sewers make flooding worse

• Waterproof roofs, clear gutters and remove dead tree branches

How to make a sandbag:

• Cut off the arms of a long-sleeved top and tie the bottom end to close it

• Fill up with sand. If you don’t have enough sand, use a mixture of sand and soil

• Close the top end and place the sandbag outside and inside the door or doorway

• If you do not have a long-sleeved top, you can use old pillow cases or the legs of long pants filled and tied on either of the open ends or black bags

Emergencies can be reported to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialing 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Eskom has welcomed the conviction and sentencing of three cable thieves, who stole at least 564kg of the power utility’s aluminium overhead conductor cable.

According to Eskom, Bafana Masilela, Antonio Munyathi and Gutu Gumba stole the cable in 2018 and were arrested following a tip-off to the power utility.

“The three were arrested… in a sting operation at a scrap yard in Boksburg, after the scrap dealer tipped off an Eskom security contractor.

“A sting operation, which led to the arrest of the three cable thieves, was set up between the scrap dealer, security contractor and the police at the scrap yard. The convicts remained in custody since their arrest and appeared 47 times in court before they were sentenced.

“[Eskom] urges all those who may be aware of any form of electricity-related criminal acts to report them by calling the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 112 722 or the South African Police Service (SAPS). The tip-offs can also be done anonymously,” Eskom said.

Masilela and Munyathi were sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, while Gumba was sentenced to 15 years.

Eskom Gauteng Safety, Health, Environment, Risk and Quality Manager, Kith Maitisa, commended the National Prosecuting Authority for netting a conviction and hefty sentence.

“Theft of cables, overhead lines, transformers and conductors costs Eskom approximately R4 billion per year. The arrests and convictions are an indication of what we can achieve if we collaborate with different stakeholders to fight electricity crime,” Maitisa said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Commissions that took place on the sidelines of the Presidential Social Sector Summit have called for a resourced social sector ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa signing a framework at the Summit today.

Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu officially opened the summit on Thursday at Birchwood Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, under the theme “Fostering Social Cohesion to Enable Socio-Economic Participation in Communities.”

In the Commission on Resource Mobilisation, Andries Khoza from Mpumalanga, raised concern that there is no monitoring of public funding, and that this often leads to corrupt and unaccounted spending by organisations responsible for civil society funding.

He also indicated that there is a false notion that government has money, and this is not true as it depends mainly on budget allocations.

Another participant highlighted that the issue of a distance between non-profit organisations (NPO) and funders - such as the National Lottery - remains a challenge for most NPOs located in rural communities who need funding for their projects and programmes.

“This Commission agreed as a collective about the need for a binding funding framework and an integrated system for the entire social sector to have capacity to sustain itself and all this can be possible through an establishment of a Civil Society Committee which would assist the sector to be equally resourced and benefit.

“Participants also strongly mentioned the need for Civil Society Organisations to partner with unemployed graduates in local communities,” said the Department of Social Development in a statement.

Based on its deliberations, the Commission on Capacity Building, which intends to strengthen and capacitate civil society organisations, made recommendations that capacity building for the social sector should be mandatory.

Issues of a personnel retention strategy, financial management, skills development, and policy on a well-resourced capacity building were also raised.

Addressing delegates in attendance of the two-day summit, Minister Zulu said that the summit marks the intentions of this government to improve the interface between government and the social sector.

She said the Presidential Social Sector Summit (PSSS) also seeks to establish a formula upon which the sustainability of a longer-term people-public-private-civic-academic-multilateral partnership can be defined.

“Taking a long-range view of the challenges that government and the sector are continuously addressing in communities should amount in the effective removal of the developmental barriers that the people are unnecessarily made to navigate through in their journey to realise their respective aspirations and self-defined futures.

“Therefore, the outcomes of our improved interface and collective interventions should be the enhanced quality of active-citizenship, increased quality of the lives of majority of our people in our communities and showcase dignity in the lives of most people,” she said.

The PSSS is unfolding at the backdrop of the 2018 Presidential call for the Social Sector to convene a comprehensive social compact.

The outcomes of all Commissions will be part of the plenary today before they are presented to President Ramaphosa who is expected to close the summit.

Source: South African Government News Agency