4
www.thevillagenews.co.za
Assist in baboon management Overstrand Municipality calls on residents and visitors to behave responsibly in their interactions with baboons and encourages neighbourhoods to find ways to live with the baboons. Human Wildlife Solutions (HWS), which manages the Baboon Programme in towns in the Overstrand, would like to request all residents who own trees that bear fruit in neighbourhoods that are affected by baboon raids, to remove the fruit from their trees daily before it ripens. During the past three weeks there has been a marked increase in incidents of single and small
groups of baboons running past the baboon rangers to town to feed on figs in particular. Vegetable gardens are also very attractive to baboons and it is advisable to cover vegetable gardens. Residents’ co-operation in assisting to keep the baboon troop out of town is much valued. The dedicated hotline number for reporting baboons in Hermanus and Pringle Bay is 072 028 0008. Visit www.hermanusbaboons.co.za or follow Facebook @hermanusbaboons or email info@hermanusbaboons.co.za for further information and tips.
24 February 2021
Small-scale fishing rights to be reviewed E nvironment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy is to approach the High Court to review and set aside the process of awarding small-scale fishing rights in the Western Cape. Based on legal advice, the Minister will seek the review of the entire process of those who originally applied for all Western Cape communities.
Numerous steps will be taken by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) to minimise the impact of the court application on fishing communities in the province. These include bringing the application as quickly as possible, prioritising the new verification process and conducting it as swiftly as possible. These steps are aimed at shortening the period of impact. Importantly, the court application will request to maintain the current dispensation of providing access to fishing by fishing communities. The Minister will ask the Court to order that whatever form of access to fish communities and individual fishers have, remain in place until the new verification process is completed.
The repair work of the slipway in Fisherhaven has been completed and the facility was reopened on Monday. Users are reminded that it is important to follow the boat safety rules and warnings. The by-law relating to the control and use of the Bot River (page 972 – 980) and Klein River estuaries can be downloaded from the municipal website. Go to www.overstrand.gov.za, click on Documents, click on by-laws, click on estuaries and then 2004 Bot and Klein River.
In addition, the Department is exploring ways to improve this interim relief dispensation that will apply during the court application process to ensure better and more equitable access for fishing communities in the Western Cape. The Minister’s decision to approach the courts follows multiple complaints from community members about the fairness and accuracy of the verification process for small-scale fishers. The internal audit process was launched in 2019, and concluded that the verification process was
“wholly inadequate”, and that the “results of these assessments cannot and should not be relied on for any decision making purpose in terms of the Regulations”. Among the errors identified were problems such as the inaccurate capturing of information and the incorrect adjudication of applications by community panels. There was inconsistent application of criteria between communities, an incorrect and incoherent application and appeals process, as well as incomplete and inaccurate data, including lost applications. Should the court application be successful, originally registered individuals will have an opportunity to submit new information to support their original applications and thus ensure a process that is applied fairly and consistently to all communities. All Western Cape communities will be affected. While the Minister understands that there are some communities who have no objection to the outcome of the verification process, these could not be singled out for different treatment given that the problems with the process are widespread and the only available option is to review the process for all communities in the Western Cape. Approaching the court will cause a delay of at least another year in the granting of rights for some communities. But, the Minister believes that the consequences of not approaching the court are potentially even more disastrous. A new process is the only way to ensure that rights are allocated fairly.
Introducing
our Danabaai bedroom collection WOODEN BED Starting from
R 11 200
BEDSIDE TABLES
CHEST OF DRAWERS
R2 900
R8 900
DURBANVILLE PAARL PRETORIA SOMERSET WEST BLOEMFONTEIN HERMANUS
www.incanda.co.za Available in oak and blackwood.
