Dear Ward 2 Friends
The end of another significant year for the Democratic Alliance draws near. It has certainly been an eventful 12 months and the collective efforts of all our public representatives, staff, activists, members and supporters has helped make 2011 our most successful year as a party since inception. I would like to extend a warm word of thanks to all of you who supported me in my bid to retain the Ward 2 seat. I want to say a special thank you to my long suffering wife Lynne, without whom, I would achieve nothing. Thanks too to my beautiful children, Cullen, Jenna & Troy for understanding all the nights when I come home late.
The highlight of 2011 was undoubtedly the fantastic results obtained in the municipal elections, setting a solid foundation for future growth in 2014 with more and more South Africans embracing the DA’s vision of an Open Opportunity Society for All.
2011 has also been a year of mixed fortunes for the majority of South Africans on the political front. On the down side, we were subjected to the appointment by the presidency of Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng as the new Chief Justice – in spite of vocal opposition from all quarters and the fact that there were eminently more qualified and more suitable candidates available.
The Protection of State Information Bill passed in parliament on the 22nd of November 2011. Black Tuesday will be remembered as a dark day for democracy in South Africa and ushers in a period where we are starting to see the progressive closing down of political space and personal freedoms.
The decision to force through this unpopular piece of legislation by the ruling majority will not however prevent civil society from continuing to fight this Bill until the bitter end. and there are still various actions and remedies that can be considered in continuing to oppose this piece of legislation. Very importantly, the DA will be promoting transparency and openness where we govern. Should the Bill be passed in its current form, the DA will resist its implementation where it governs as far as possible. Transparency, openness and accountability will remain hallmarks of DA governments and the DA will continue to oppose the Protection of Information Bill with every possible tool at our disposal.
On the upside, there was the announcement of a commission of enquiry into the Arms Deal. President Zuma also sprang into action dismissing two cabinet ministers and suspending the National Police Commissioner, thanks in no small measure to revelations by our Members of Parliament about, amongst others lavish spending and alleged corrupt lease deals.
This is a testament to efficacy of the DA as the official opposition in Parliament. One has to wonder however just to what extent these actions as well as the suspension of Julius Malema are genuine or more cynically, whether they have more to do with Jacob Zuma’s desire to retain the presidency of the ANC at Manguang next year.
On a further positive note, the Party contested four by-elections in October and November. In October, we won another ward from the ANC in Limpopo by obtaining 50.51% of the vote, increasing on the 38.23% of the vote obtained in the 2011 Local Government Elections on 18 May. In Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal we retained a DA ward obtaining 94.88%, a remarkable increase from the 50.13% obtained on 18 May. On 9 November, the DA contested two by-elections in the Western Cape and Gauteng respectively, winning both. In Cederberg, we defeated the ANC, increasing our support in this ward from 39.17% on 18 May, to 49.53%. In Ward 88 in Ekurhuleni, the Party obtained 60.17% of the vote, increasing on the 53.48% obtained in May.
This is a particularly encouraging trend that shows a significant increase in support for the Party and bodes well for the road to National Elections in 2014.
The 2011 Local Government Elections were the most successful elections that the Party has contested to date. The DA won the City of Cape Town with an overwhelming majority, achieving 60.92% of the vote. This was a significant increase from the 42% achieved in 2006 and in absolute numbers, the party obtained 682 929 votes, more than doubling the total of 306 246 votes obtained in 2006.
The DA won 14 municipalities outright, four of which were under the ANC’s control prior to the election. In addition, the DA has formed coalition governments in nine municipalities. In total, the DA now governs 27 municipalities across four provinces.
Elections 2011 saw the DA consolidate its position as the biggest opposition party to the ANC in South Africa. Nationally, we increased our share of the vote in both absolute and percentage terms.
In 2006, we obtained just over 1.6 million votes (16.3%). In 2011, we obtained in excess of 3.2 million votes (23.97%). This not only represents an increase of nearly 100% in absolute terms but is the first time the DA has obtained more than three million votes in any election.
In closing, there is much to be pleased about but there are also concerns. It is only through the efforts of each and every one of us and of civil society as a whole that will ensure that democracy flourishes in our country. We cannot abdicate this responsibility, we cannot expect that others will defend our freedoms – it is up to each of us to not allow for the closing down of democratic space on our watch, for the sake of our children and for future generations.
We are the custodians of freedom.
All that remains is for me to wish each of your a very happy, peaceful and blessed Christmas and a Prosperous 2012.
Warm Yuletide Regards
Dean Biddulph
Ward 2 Report December 2011
Safety & Security – Five By-laws now Being Enforced
The newly formed By-Law Enforcement Unit established within the Safety and Security Directorate is currently enforcing five by-laws, according to a report submitted to the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee at the end of November 2011. The establishment of the unit was approved by a full sitting of council.
The five municipal by-laws receiving attention are those concerned with: Roads and Traffic, Street Trading, Fire Safety, Outdoor Signs and Disaster Management.
The report stated that there are currently 25 law enforcement officers who have passed the course in by-law enforcement plus five traffic officers who have been appointed team leaders and who are each in charge of a team of five. The report further confirmed the unit started working on October 17 in two eight-hour shifts from 6am to 10pm, adding that they will work these hours while consideration is given to whether there is a need for the unit to be operational for 20 or even 24 hours.
It states that there are a considerable number of challenges facing the unit and issues such as transport, equipment and uniform but that these were currently being addressed. In addition, codes and fine lists for the by-laws were not yet available. The report observed that there are many more by-laws that need to be enforced.
However, before this can be done the fines and code lists have to be compiled and operational supervisors are currently busy with this process.
Service Delivery JOC (Joint Operations Centre)
The metro Service Delivery JOC continues to be a tremendous help in improving turnaround times on a host of day-to-day complaints reported. A special vote of thanks goes out to the JOC staff and to Brigadier John Best, assisted by Lee-anne Meiring.
Each and every complaint is given a unique tracking number on a dedicated system, with feedback going back to the office of the Municipal Manager daily.
Anyone wishing to report any municipal complaints can do so by making use the toll free number 0800 20 5050.
Kings Beach Upgrade – Environmental Impact Study Underway
The environmental assessment process is now underway for Phase Two of the redevelopment and landscaping of the southern portion of the Kings Beach node by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA). The Basic Information Document for the project, provided by CEN Integrated Environmental Management Unit, states that Phase 1 of the revitalization and re-engineering of the area has already started.
Phase 2, for which the environmental assessment is required will consist of:
- Construction of a boardwalk that will cross the dune system
- Reducing the height of a portion of the dune to its original constructed height – the dune was artificially constructed in the 1980s to “allow visual connectivity between the park and the beach”
- Dune rehabilitation
- Construction and upgrade of a skate park, and
- Construction of a parking lot.
CEN Integrated Environmental Management Unit says that based on preliminary investigations a number
of issues have been identified, including the impact on coastal ecology and sediment dynamics; noise, air, water and sediment pollution; erosion of visual impacts; waste management; socio-economic impacts, and cultural and heritage impacts.
Any interested and affected parties have until December 10 to register with CEN and once this initial phase of public participation has been completed a Draft Basic Assessment Report will be com-piled and submitted
Humewood Beach Regains Blue Flag Status
Humewood Beach has once again regained the Blue Flag status that it lost during the 2010/11 Summer Season.It is currently the only Port Elizabeth beach to hold this status, although Wells Estate is on the pilot programme and hopes to regain its Blue Flag later this year. Blue Flag is an international rating standard awarded annually to beaches that meet standards of excellence in several areas, including water quality, safety, cleanliness, amenities and environmental education and management.
In South Africa the programme is managed and monitored by the Wild-life and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA).
It is also expected that by 2020 that the metro will continue with a programme of rolling out additional Blue Flag beaches every second year.
BAYWORLD Re-opens on a Smaller Scale
Bayworld, as part of its stabilization programmes re-opens its doors at the beginning of December 2011. The facility, in its current “new” format sees the return of some of the marine mammals (not the dolphins) and also boasts a seal & penguin exhibit and a number of marine aquarium tanks with local sea life showcased.
This aside, the Bayworld saga continues to drag along with the signing of an agreement between the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) and the Department for Economic Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) continuing to hold up the effective transfer of the facility to the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA).
Once this has been signed, the NMBDA will then be able to officially take over responsibility for the commercialisation of the facility and to investigate funding and private/public partnership models.The memorandum will officially pave the way for DSRAC to still keep the museum staff complement on their payroll, but extract the aquarium facility from the equation, allowing for the calling of expressions of interest to develop the new aquarium along commercial lines under the guidance of the MBDA.
I have been in contact with our representatives in Bhisho as well as corresponded with various officials to try and get this signed before the 2011 shutdown.
Beach Front Dog Control Measures
As a reminder, dogs are only allowed on the beach (in the coastal zone) from the harbour wall to the King’s Beach slipway.
Between the slipway and Pipe parking area, dogs are allowed at the back of beach on grassed areas only. Dogs are allowed again from Pipe parking area to Receife. Dogs will also be allowed on the connecting sidewalks between King’s and Hobie.
Dogs will be allowed on all other beaches OUTSIDE of demarcated bathing areas.
Dogs are to be kept on a leash and owners must have means of disposing of faeces. Fines that have been promulgated through council are: Not removing faeces R1000.00, dog not on a leash R500.00 and walking a dog in a restricted area R500.00
Tenders Called for Summerstrand Ext 14 Plots:
Tenders have been advertised for an initial parcel of 10 Summerstrand plots in Extension 14 with an upset price of R340 000 plus VAT. The serviced plots are the first batch of 100 that are expected to be put out to tender following the lifting of the moratorium on land sales earlier this year. The closing date for the submission of tenders was 13 October 2011.
The tender notice says that the 80/20 Preference Points System outlined in the Nelson Mandela Bay Immovable Property Disposal Directives will be applied in the adjudication of the tenders and should all bids received be in excess of R500 000, the tender will be cancelled. (* See Editor’s Notes for explanation)
Hotel School & Boutique Hotel Mooted for NMMU Business School
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) has called for expressions of interest to develop a hotel school and boutique hotel on its Second Avenue campus. The university states that it has “identified the opportunity” for such a development in order to introduce “a mix of hospitality management-related academic programmes in the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences.
“The hotel initiative is seen as having strategic importance given the critical role of tourism and hospitality within the Metro and the Province.” It notes that because of the need to “expose students to state-of-the-art facilities in the hospitality industry” it is looking to conclude an agreement with one or more partners for the establishment of a hotel on university property that is accessible to the academic facilities.’
The university states that in order to “establish the extent of market interest” it is calling for prospective investors and/or operators, and/or developers to submit expressions of interest for the development of the hotel. Expressions of Interest documentation will be avail-able from the NMMU Procurement Office on the South Campus from Monday and a compulsory pre-clarification meeting was held on 20 October 2011.
Submissions for the new project close on December 9. The university said the advertisement for the hotel school and boutique hotel was “to test the market and provide us with an indication of potential interest and business models”. The Second Avenue campus will also be the site of the new Business School when it moves from its current site in Bird Street. The tender for the appointment of the professional team that will lead the construction of the new business school has already been issued.
Metro Water Safe for Human Consumption
Nelson Mandela Bay water remains safe for human consumption. A report submitted to the Infrastructure, Engineering and Electricity Committee states that as far as microbiological compliance is concerned the SANS 241 requirement is 97% compliance, while that of the Metro stands at 97.8%.
As far as chemical compliance is concerned, the report states that the SANS 241 requirement for possible health threats is 85% while the Metro records 99.2% compliance, the same as the national average. The report states that as a result no special interventions were required at this time.
Metro Water – Continued Stepped Tariffs
Residents are allowed to use hose-pipes and sprinklers to water their gardens only between 16:00 and 10:00 daily. In addition, the washing of driveways, cars, roofs and buildings may be undertaken but only with a high pressure cleaner.
The metro has taken a decision that stepped tariffs will remain in place to encourage users to remain frugal with their consumption as we are in a water stressed region. I have included the latest tariffs for your information at the back of this report.
Metro Dams at 97.9% Capacity
The major storage dams supplying Nelson Mandela Bay had a total combined capacity of 97.9% yesterday, ac-cording to the latest figures supplied by the municipality.
The biggest dam, the Kouga was at 97.9% and the second largest, the Impofu was at 99.1%. The municipality said the average daily consumption from the be-ginning of November to date was 254Ml which was only 10% above the lower consumption levels recorded during water restrictions and well below over 300 megalitres of some two years ago.
The municipality said at the current rate “we save one day’s water every five days or 20% less water consumed.”
Boardwalk Casino Upgrade: – New Smoking Casino Opens
Yours truly was fortunate enough to have been invited to attend the gala opening of the brand new smoking casino at The Boardwalk on 1 December 2011. The new facility, housed in the old Tsitsikamma Conference centre and newly revamped restaurant are truly world class facilities and a valuable tourism asset on our golden mile.
This greater project continues to progress well and remains on track for completion at the end of 2012. The actual construction of the hotel building is currently well underway with the underground parking levels already completed and the hotel building has seen the completion of a number of floors.
The sedimentary effluent that has been washing out next to Hobie Beach of the KFC/Barneys side is still being monitored on an ongoing basis and regular samples are taken throughout the week to ensure that there are no contaminants in the outflow.
I remain in regular contact with Clifford Ngakane, the GM of The Boardwalk who takes any concerns raised very seriously and who continues to work closely with our beach manager, Fernando Caine and out Environmental Officer, Godfrey Murrell in addressing any concerns.
Should any of you have any concerns please let me know so that I can deal with these via Clifford’s office.
Clearing of Alien Vegetation
I am please to confirm that Godfrey Murrell has very kindly assisted with the clearing of significant amounts of alien vegetation along Strandfontein Rd in Summerstrand. With reference to the significant amounts of alien vegetation in the Forest Hill cemetery area, I have been in contact with Greg Kops for cemeteries and John Heenen from Parks. The clearing of this area will be put out to tender shortly.
Please let me know if there are any additional specific areas of concern where I can try to assist.
Traffic Matters
Traffic matters are dealt with on an ongoing basis – should you have any specific areas of concern, please bring these to my attention so that I can assist.
Summerstrand Refuse Transfer Site
In addition to the previous actions reported, I have been given commitment from Waste Management that they will be placing an additional two skips into the transfer station. This will assist in preventing waste and refuse from being dumped on the ground when skips are full and waiting for removal.
As mentioned before, Waste management have addressed the numerous complaints received with the operator to ensure that all garbage is properly placed inside the skips provided.
The operators have been instructed to ensure that skips are regularly removed and that the facility is locked every evening by 17:30.
One of the problems reported is that of residents arriving after the facility has closed who dump their refuse outside the gates. Please ensure that if you use the facility, that you do so during operating hours. Should you see anyone dumping outside the locked gate, please try to get a number plate number and send to me so that we can try to take action against any transgressors.
South End Museum Celebrates 10th Anniversary
The South End Museum, situated in the former Seamen’s Institute at the corner of Walmer Boulevard and Beach Road celebrated its 10th anniversary on 3 December 2011.
The Museum was officially opened established on March 3, 2001 with a Board of Trustees and had grown substantially since then. What was initially a dilapidated building has been systematically renovated to save it from destruction and to change it so that it fitted the needs of a museum.
Further developments over the past year have included exhibitions and events that “reflect the museum’s main task of remembering the heritage of the various communities in the city”. In addition, there have been exhibitions that “reflect the once vibrant and cosmopolitan communities of the old South End” in sport, music and fishing.
The Board of Trustees celebrated the vibrant history of South End by creating a “colourful and carnival atmosphere” that will included cultural performances by a variety of groups and food stalls featuring the traditional cuisines of the various communities. The Trustees are also inviting a number of residents who lived and grew up in South End who were forcibly removed.
Long Term Plans Unveiled for Happy Valley Area
The Draft Greater Happy Valley Spatial Development Framework has proposed that a task team be set up the process of facilitating the release of the land currently occupied by the SANDF at the back of the Town Lodge hotel.
The study, commissioned by the Mandela Bay Development Agency, suggests that the “key objective” would be to provide an integrated mixed use development based on “expanding the Port Elizabeth Tourism industry and supporting existing beachfront activities, facilities and resources”. The redevelopment of the land, it states, should be on a Request for Proposals basis so as to involve the private sector, with the development concept focused on a central water feature (the old quarry) and a plaza incorporating the historic World War II gun pits, the underground magazine and battery observation post.
Height restrictions for the development should be six storeys “with limited visual impact from Happy Valley and Shark River. The study also suggests that a Request for Proposals should be issued for the redevelopment of the Eastern Province Rugby Union precinct – responsibility for this area has been handed to the MBDA and the RFP is expected to be issued early in the New Year. The RFP’s
are expected to include the detailed urban design, market assessment as well as business plan modeling.
As part of a well-defined transport network that supports the Spatial Development Framework, the study also advocates the widening of and promoting Strandfontein as a “major mobility corridor” with support access through 2nd Avenue and La Roche Drive. In addition, it proposes that Marine Drive should be reduced from a double to single carriageway and the establishment of inter-modal transport hubs and public transport facilities. The study also suggests that high-intensity commercial activity should be limited to 2nd Avenue, south west of the existing Boardwalk parking area.
Ward Inspections
Ward inspections are still undertaken on a six weekly cycle between me and representatives from metro parks, traffic, electricity, beach office, metro environmental. During these inspections various problem areas are raised and possible solutions and interventions considered for implementation.
Should you have anything that you wish to include into the ward tours, please let me know and I will include your concerns into my interactions with officials.
Thank you for your interaction and for bringing ward matters to my attention.
Please advise if I can assist with any Council or Ward matters.
Cllr Dean Biddulph
Ward 2
Editor’s Notes: The 80/20 preference point system works as follows:
The following formula must be used to calculate the points for price in respect of tenders / procurement with a Rand value equal to, or above R 30 000 and up to a Rand value of R500 000. Organs of state may, however, apply this formula for procurement with a value less than R 30 000, if and when appropriate:
Ps=80(1-(Pt-Pmin/P min))
Where:
- Ps = Points scored for price of tender under consideration
- Pt = Rand value of offer tender consideration
- Pmin = Rand value of lowest acceptable tender
A maximum of 20 points may be awarded to a tenderer for being an HDI and / or subcontracting with an HDI and / or achieving any of the specified goals stipulated in regulation 17.
The points scored by a tenderer in respect of the goals contemplated in sub-regulation (2) must be added to the points scored for price.
Only the tender with the highest number of points scored may be selected.
Ward 2
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