SALGA Western Cape's PEC Engages in Key Discussions with Overberg District Municipalities

Posted: 31 July 2024

SALGA Western Cape, through its Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), held engagements with municipalities in the Overberg District on Wednesday, 17 July 2024, in Arniston, Western Cape. These interactions are part of the PEC's ongoing commitment to enhancing dialogue between SALGA and its member municipalities, intending to resolve significant local government issues.

The engagements with the Overberg municipalities marked the third in a series, following the previous meetings with the Central Karoo municipalities in April and the Garden Route municipalities in October 2023. Through these engagements, SALGA aims to gain a deeper understanding of the specific needs and aspirations of all municipalities in the Overberg District. Some of the topics tackled include the issue of illegal land occupation, land invasions, challenges and strategies of landfill sites and the impact of backyard dwellings on municipal infrastructure and services.

Ald. Donovan Joubert, Chairperson of SALGA Western Cape, emphasised the importance of consistent interaction between the PEC and its member municipalities in his opening. He highlighted that such interaction is crucial for addressing the challenges faced by member municipalities.

"SALGA PEC's engagement with member municipalities serves as a vital platform for in-depth conversations about the significant issues impacting municipalities and their communities. This interaction also presents an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing dialogue between SALGA and its members, facilitating the identification and resolution of existing gaps and deficiencies in local governance," Ald. Joubert further explained.

Each of the five municipalities had the opportunity to present the prevalent issues within their area. Speaking on the issue of land invasion and unlawful land occupation, the Deputy Mayor of Overstrand Municipality, Cllr. Lindile Ntsabo highlighted that, like many municipalities in the Western Cape, the Overstrand Municipality is grappling with the problem of unlawful land occupation. However, they have implemented several measures to mitigate this issue. He emphasised that the municipality is adopting a proactive approach through continuous monitoring and daily patrols of identified high-risk areas. The Land Invasion Unit was established, and this unit operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"There is a rapid response capacity to promptly act against people who trespass on municipal land and expeditiously demolish structures before and while they are being erected", Cllr. Ntsabo stated.
Cllr. Ntsabo shared his municipality's best practices and encouraged other municipalities to establish a dedicated unit to monitor and respond to unlawful land occupation, implement a counter-spoliation strategy, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of all involved. He also stressed the need to develop good working relationships with community representatives, create a comprehensive communication strategy, and formulate an operational action plan. Additionally, he recommended conducting a land audit to determine land ownership. Furthermore, he suggested fencing open land and installing temporary signage to discourage invasion, while also ensuring that proper lighting is installed in vacant areas for visibility at night.

Mr. Francois Kotze, the Manager of Environmental Management Services at the Overberg District Municipality, discussed landfill sites, solid waste and the municipality's approach to handling e-waste. He emphasised that the municipality encourages disposal at public drop-off facilities and uses dedicated containers to divert waste from landfills, making it accessible to the public.

Mr. Kotze highlighted that e-waste is a valuable resource, with service providers eager to purchase it from municipalities. He stressed the importance of municipalities working with registered service providers to ensure the safe handling and disposal of e-waste.

Furthermore, Mr. Kotze mentioned that some of the challenges they face in terms of waste management include limited space, construction and operation costs, compliance expenses related to waste management licenses, and keeping up with changing legislation. District Municipalities do not have access to Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funding forco-funding infrastructure expenses.

Mr. Kotze explained that they plan to implement a complete ban on organic waste in landfills after 2027. This means that every landfill will have to divert all its organic waste.

He guaranteed that their municipality, as a district, will continue to provide support to all local municipalities through the Integrated Waste Management Plans. This support will be linked to the Integrated Development Plans (IDP) and budgets, and it will be facilitated through the Regional Waste Forum to encourage coordinated efforts and joint planning.

"There is no silver bullet to solve all the waste management challenges. The long-term success will be based on a collective effort and long-term planning between parties to put affordable and effective processes in place to maintain the service and investigate new and alternative technologies," Mr. Kotze said.

The Cape Agulhas Municipality was represented by Ms. Karin Donald. She spoke on the impact of load-shedding on the revenue stream of their municipality as well as strategies they put in place to mitigate this impact.

Ms. Donald said that some of the direct revenue losses include reduced sales and service fees, a decline in electricity sales, and a reduced client base due to the increase in solar installations. Additionally, the indirect revenue losses include business disruptions, increased unemployment and poverty, a decrease in the debt collection ratio, an increase in uncollectable debts, a decline in tourism, and residential discontent.
She further acknowledged that load-shedding presents significant challenges to the revenue stream and overall well-being of municipalities. She mentioned that SALGA can play a crucial role in assisting municipalities navigate the challenges posed by load-shedding and work towards more sustainable and resilient energy systems.

"The loss of electricity income and costs related to load-shedding are unaffordable and unsustainable. The collective effort, as per the South African Constitution, mandates higher levels of government to assist municipalities in fulfilling their roles effectively," she further stated.

The issue of backyard dwellers, and their prevalence in the Swellendam Municipality was addressed by Ms. Anneleen Vorster, Swellendam Municipal Manager. She noted that the influx of seasonal workers poses a significant challenge in their municipality and contributes to the increase in backyard dwellers. This situation is largely due to farm evictions, which put additional pressure on municipal services and infrastructure designed for standard peak requirements, leading to poor water pressure, overloaded electrical networks, service breakdowns, road overuse, and high volumes of waste generated. The lack of building compliance, and illegal connections is a great concern in terms of health and safety.

Backyard dwellings are largely a result of multi-generation households and are found in all income groups. The renting of backyard dwelling units is also a lucrative source of income for households.
The municipality has implemented measures to address this issue. One of these measures includes requiring households to pay development charges (DCs) for additional dwellings, even though the municipal by-laws only allow one meter per property. Additionally, the municipality mandates that all structures, including wendy houses, must have approved building plans.

Ms. Vorster stated that continuous monitoring, raising awareness about regulations and requirements and enforcing penalties are additional ways the municipality can manage the issue of backyard dwellers. She emphasised the need to revisit by-laws and policies to acknowledge the reality of backyard dwellers. To address this issue effectively, the municipality aims to enforce regulations, policies and by-laws, maintain a comprehensive database, involve the community, roll out housing projects and design low-cost areas that exceed minimum standards.

To gain an understanding on how Theewaterskloof (TWK) Municipality addresses the issue of unemployment, Ms. Namso Baliso from TWK Municipality, presented to the PEC. She mentioned that according to Census 2022, out of the total population of 139,536, 37.1% are youth (aged 15-34) and 31.6% are adults (aged 35-59), who are the educationally and economically active group.
She went on to explain the impact of unemployment in the municipality. Some of these impacts include decreased economic growth, lower tax revenues for the municipality to provide services, increased social welfare costs, and heightened inequality leading to a cycle of poverty. Additionally, unemployment results in a growing indigent register, greater dependency on government subsidies, contributes to crime and deviant behaviour, and negatively affects the health and wellbeing of families. Furthermore, it hampers the municipality's ability to attract new industries and sustainable local economic opportunities.

To address this challenge, Ms. Baliso stated that they are currently finalising Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with several key departments and organizations, including the Departments of Public Works & Infrastructure, Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs, Water & Sanitation, SAPS, GDA, Kogelberg Biosphere Company, Elgin Tourism, and the Premier's Office. These collaborations aim to identify projects that will create jobs and drive economic growth in their municipality. Additionally, the municipality has applied for funding to rehabilitate and upgrade the TWK Bulk Water and Sewerage Infrastructure, which will not only create jobs but also attract new investments.

In conclusion, Mr. Khalil Mullagie, SALGA Western Cape's Director of Operations, expressed that SALGA's objective is to thoroughly understand the status of the issues discussed during these engagements. By gaining these insights, SALGA intends to escalate these matters to the appropriate structures to ensure they are effectively addressed. Additionally, where possible, SALGA will also lobby and advocate for the necessary changes and support to resolve these issues and promote growth and improvement within the municipalities.