Pimp our port! From P 1 One of the stipulations of the upgrading contract was that the work be carried out by a competent engineering firm, preferably owned locally and by someone from a previously disadvantaged background. Gierdien said that, despite searching and endeavouring to “keep it local, keep it lekker”, it was not possible to find such a company in the Hermanus area and Javan Fabrications from Epping in Cape Town, a steel manufacturing company from a formerly marginalised community, won the tender. “We were totally overwhelmed by the quality of the work by Javan Fabrications, the time they took and the cost. It all met with our approval beforehand and, once on site, Javan more than proved itself and we were impressed with how the company applied itself professionally, especially in this rare, highly specialised maritime engineering field.” Local people from the Hermanus area, however, were trained and upskilled while being employed as workers on the project. They have now acquired the necessary skills to work in the industry. “They have been encouraged not to leave the maritime industry now that these invaluable skills have been transferred to them. Apart from replacing decaying infrastructure, we at the department also want to help uplift communities and see them develop. We want to impart skills and ensure that what we have
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www.thevillagenews.co.za
22 January 2020
The 20-ton Tigerfish, a commercial long-line tuna fishing boat was scooped up by the shiny, new orange slipway cradle at the New Harbour last week.
replaced can be maintained locally,” said Gierdien, who, through the Small Harbours’ Rescue initiative, has also been overseeing the training of former abalone poachers in Hermanus and Hout Bay, to enable them to become accredited commercial divers.
PHOTO: Sarah Taylor
The Hermanus New Harbour was built in 1948 and, until recently, none of the ageing and rusting equipment had been completely replaced, only partially maintained and repaired. The Hermanus slipway had not been functioning “for years”, according to Gierdien and some commercial operators based at the harbour. The state-owned enterprise, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC), was mandated by the DoPW to, among others, implement the harbour upgrades so as to “provide a competitive investment location, supported by value-added business services that effectively enables socio-economic development in the Eastern Cape and the rest of South Africa”. Said Gierdien: “Since 2011, a requirement from one of our clients, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF, formerly the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, DAFF), is that we draft spatial and socio-economic development plans to economically boost areas identified as being in need. Such plans are aligned to the National Development Plan (NDP) and its vision up to 2030.” This project prequel has taken almost 10
years to see the light of day as a result of the relatively slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy, which required funding to be approved from Treasury. The 13 Western Cape harbours were initially established to service the needs of both commercial and subsistence fishing. Over the decades the harbours have developed into serving much more than just small-scale fishing needs and now offer the potential for large-scale tourism and entrepreneurial development. However, the infrastructure and management of the harbours did not develop in line with
this trend to explore and benefit fully from their potential. During 2016 and 2017, after research was done, various general constraints to the optimum development and use of the harbours were identified. In the case of the New Harbour, non-market-related rentals, a system of inconsistent lease agreements with the DoPW and DEFF, and impractical space allocations for tenants and users were, among others, pinpointed as particularly crucial areas that need to be addressed. It is expected that Operation Phakisa will add some R177 billion to the economy and create over a million jobs over the next 15 years.
Unseasonal rain brings welcome relief After the near-heatwave conditions experienced last week, the sudden switch to almost wintery-like temperatures and unseasonal rain over the weekend, caught many Overstranders off-guard.
in Stanford more than 70 mm. In the Greater Hermanus area between 80 mm and 128 mm were recorded at different spots. In total for the weekend, close to 130 mm was recorded in Caledon.
With the average maximum temperature measured over the last 58 years for January hovering around 32˚C, the cold spell was indeed unseasonal. The generous rainfall, however, was a windfall as, according to statistics by the South African National Space Agency, the average rainfall for January, as measured over the last 73 years is only 25,4 mm for the month.
The wettest January on record was in 2014 when 154 mm was recorded for the month. In 2017 a total of 42 mm was recorded, in 2018, 14 mm and last year 20 mm was recorded for January.
According to Facebook users an average of between 80 mm and 100 mm was measured in the Overstrand. In Betty’s Bay more than 60 mm was recorded, in Palmiet, Kleinmond more than 100 mm, at Arabella almost 90 mm and
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According to weather experts, more rain is expected over the coming weekend, accompanied by another drop in temperatures. Despite the rain, residents of Greater Hermanus must remember that Level 3 water restrictions remain firmly in place. These restrictions are: gardens may be watered with buckets or
watering cans, preferably before 09:00 or after 17:00; no irrigation systems using municipal water may be used; the hosing down of paving and cement surfaces is not allowed; no washing of vehicles with a hose is permitted and the filling of swimming pools with municipal water is prohibited. Owners of rental and holiday accommodation are urged to inform tenants and visitors of the current water restrictions. Reader Martin Etsebeth last week observed a gardener hosing down a driveway in Voëlklip. “I was so incensed when I saw the water running down the street that I immediately turned around to confront the man. He was completely unaware of the water restrictions and gave me the number of the homeowner who lives in Cape Town.
“When I phoned the owners of the holiday house, they were surprised to hear about the water restrictions and immediately undertook to abide by them. This is only one of a number of transgressions I have seen during the season.” Etsebeth said that it is important for all residents and visitors to remember that we live in a water-scarce area and must be mindful of our water consumption at all times. The current restrictions will only be lifted after the De Bos dam level reaches 70%. Currently the level is below 50% and the average water consumption in Hermanus stands at approximately 13 million litres per day.
– De Waal Steyn
