27 May 2020
Published every Wednesday by CXpress 2006 (Pty) Ltd - PO Box 1449, Plettenberg Bay 6600 - 6 Park Lane, Plettenberg Bay - Tel: 044 533 1004 - Fax: 044 533 0852 Email: editor@cxpress.co.za / advertising@cxpress.co.za Web page: www.cxpress.co.za Printed by Group Editors
FREE
Hang in there… Retha Bloem, a newcomer to Knysna from Pretoria, teaches at Harkerville Primary School. Says CXPRESS stalwart Gigi Lewis: ‘Retha is livening up our otherwise dreary estate and I have raised her persona to being the rams-horn blower on the roofs of Heron Village!’ Visit www.cxpress.co.za to read Retha’s first-hand account of how she acquired her dinkum ‘ramshoring’ and why the lockdown - now about to enter Level 3 - inspired her to ‘proclaim from the roof tops that we should all hang in there for as long as it takes.
Teenager dies mysteriously p3
Update: Ratepayers v Bitou p3
Help for small businesses
Photo: Gigi Lewis
p5
10 000 FREE COPIES OF CXPRESS DISTRIBUTED ALONG THE GARDEN ROUTE EVERY WEDNESDAY
2
CXPRESS
NEWS & VIEWS
27 May 2020
Disintegration of water and sanitation services aggravates C-19 threat HE effects of the novel Covid-19 pandemic are sending shockwaves through the world on many levels. In South Africa these effects, mostly resulting from the intense lockdown, provide a hint of our weaknesses and what the changing climate will force upon us - this according to Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF). As part of a series of ongoing debates with key stakeholders, GREF interviewed esteemed epidemiologist and community health expert of Stellenbosch University, Dr Jo Barnes, on the importance of water in the context of community health and how water may well become a vector for more diseases in the immediate future if drastic
T
amelioration measures are not heeded. Says Dr Barnes: “The pandemic of the new coronavirus across the world is the single-most destructive health event for more than a century and it continues to cost human lives and wreck the economy. “As the outbreak carries on spreading, the role of water in combatting the virus becomes more and more dire. Handwashing with soap, when done correctly, is critical in the fight against Covid-19. “However, a significant segment of our population has no consistent access to safe water to wash their hands. This is particularly distressing, given the longstanding efforts to make basic hygiene and safe sanitation available to the whole population. “Water tanks are being made available to many communities to bring water closer to homes, but no mention is made of the provision of soap. Rinsing hands without proper washing with soap is basically a waste of water and offers little protection, since water alone does not dislodge more than a small number of the virus particles,” she says. Dr Barnes also raises concerns about the number of water tanks installed in communities. “There is little information on how many of these tanks have actually been installed and, even more importantly, on how often and from where they will be refilled. “Research on other strains indicates that the virus can survive up to 12 days in roomtemperature tap water, two to three days in room-temperature wastewater, and much longer in both at cooler temperatures. We do not yet have reliable information on the present virus. “This has serious implications for the many families who have to fetch water from a distant source and store it in a bucket or open container. It also indicates that poor disposal of water after use in the home can pose risks to the environment and the health of other people,” warns Dr Barnes. “One of the most urgent weaknesses brought into sharp focus by this pandemic is the lack of sufficient progress in the
La Luna
WHAT A WASTE: Covid-19 highlights the lack of sufficient progress in the provision of safe access to water to countless communities across South Africa - Photo: Dr Jo Barnes
provision of safe access to water and sanitation in a large number of communities across South Africa. “When the outbreak has been brought under some sort of control, we must reprioritise our activities to pay far more attention
PRIMARY PROTECTOR: Dr Jo Barnes is an epidemiologist, community health expert and senior lecturer at the Departmentt of Global and Public Health at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Stellenbosch University
to basic human needs. This is not negotiable,” she concludes.” According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 47% of the world population is going to experience water scarcity by 2030. Desertification is on the increase everywhere in the world. In Africa, almost 70% of the continent is arid or semi-arid. If no measures are taken, water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, is expected to cost some regions up to 6% of their economic growth. In March, World Water Day 2020 focused on the interconnectedness of water and climate change. According to the WEF, water is the primary resource affected by climate change, with repercussions on the supply of drinking water, sanitation, and water used for food and energy production. In other words, as agreed by environmental experts: “If climate change is a shark, then water is its teeth.” • GREF is a public platform for environmental management entities in the Southern Cape, and a regional think tank on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
News Briefs • By 6pm yesterday, provincial data were updated for the period up to 1pm on May 26, when the Western Cape had 7,555 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 15,756 confirmed cases, 7,844 recoveries, and 357 deaths. The number of tests totalled 128,558. Of 665 hospitalisations, 178 were in ICU or high care by yesterday afternoon. The total number of cases in the Cape Town Metro was 13,747 (7,160 recoveries), with Garden Route numbers as follows: Bitou 14 (six recoveries), Knysna 45 (20), George 60 (21), Mossel Bay 30 (22), and Oudtshoorn nine (three). Screenings done on the Garden Route counted 83,132 by May 25, with 433 cases referred for testing. Visit the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/cor onavirus for additional data. The total of 128,558 tests completed in the Western Cape by Tuesday represents a 400% increase in the number of tests conducted in the province since April 25. This increase has resulted in a considerable backlog in the processing of these tests and in the release of results by the National Health Laboratory Services. The Western Cape has previously written to both president Ramaphosa and Health minister Mkhize regarding these backlogs, which has now grown to 18,000 tests. During his recent
visit to the province, Dr Mkhize indicated that the delays were due to the shortages of reagents and test kits experienced worldwide. Local door-to-door screening this week include The Crags (Kurland Village), Sedgefield, and Thembalethu Zones 3 and 4 in George. Note that community screening is not the only option, with other methods including the self-assessment risk tool at www.westerncape.gov.za/depart ment-of-health/sars-cov-2-riskassessment-form; any primary healthcare facility (be sure to call ahead to book your screening); and your local GP or district hospital (call ahead). • The Democratic Alliance (DA) last week welcomed the election of Leon van Wyk as mayor of George. Said local constituency head Geordin Hill-Lewis: “We congratulate Leon and wish him and the DA team in George well for their term in office. “Leon brings with him the integrity, energy and humility needed for the job. He will take the lead in focusing on attracting investment, growing the local economy, and retaining George’s status as one of the best places to live in South Africa.” Hill-Lewis concluded that this was also a historic election: “To our knowledge, it was the first time a mayor has been elected in a virtual council meeting.”
NEWS & VIEWS
27 May 2020
CXPRESS
3
Ratepayers continue court battles to bring Bitou to book Plett’s Ratepayers Association is currently involved with three court cases against Bitou Municipality to prevent ‘fruitless and wasteful expenditure’ from ‘gobbling up’ municipal revenue - YOLANDÉ STANDER reports ARLIER this year, Plettenberg Bay Ratepayers Association (PBRA) turned to the Western Cape High Court to interdict Bitou from implementing what the Association dubbed “unlawful electricity tariffs” against impoverished communities. Papers were filed on March 25, after public unrest earlier in the month over electricity woes. Some of the concerns related to claims that the municipality had been charging some residents double the tariffs approved by national regulator Nersa. Association chair Peter Gaylard explained that the municipality was short-changing those who had fallen into arrears by 50% on their electricity expenditure and
E
offsetting that against other arrear service charges. Gaylard said they had also launched a second application to interdict “excessive salaries” of some top municipal officials. He added that they had found the maximum remuneration payable to a senior official, determined by regulations promulgated under the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, was being exceeded. He said their figures were based on what the PBRA had been able to establish. “The municipality resolutely refuses to supply the figures on an official. A demand under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, currently before court, has been uncompromisingly resisted.” According to the Association,
some officials received over R700,000 per year more than what should be paid under the regulations. This includes a R60,000 cellphone and data allowance, and scarce skills allowances ranging between R245,000 and R302,000 pa. Furthermore, the PBRA is also busy with litigation to overturn the hiring of municipal manager (MM) Lonwabo Ngoqo and to recover the salary paid to him so far. The labour court found in August 2018 that Ngoqo’s appointment was unlawful - after he was dismissed in 2012 over financial misconduct. The Association explained that a MM found guilty by a disciplinary hearing of serious financial misconduct, had to be placed on a register and was not allowed to be appointed as MM for the next 10 years, yet this
Jong sportster sterf in Wittedrift
Berné Swanepoel, 16, het Dinsdagmiddag raaiselagtig in haar slaap gesterf tot uiterste skok van haar ouers Jaco en Corné, en 15-jarige broer, Barend - in die foto saam met Berné regs. Die Swanepoels het sterk bande met Plettenbergbaai, waar hulle al jare by die gesinshuis vakansie hou, en het kort voor die nasionale inperkingstydperk van Bultfontein in die Vrystaat permanent Wittedrift toe getrek om ‘n gastehuis hier te kom bedryf. Berné was bekroon met Vrystaat-kleure in gimnastiek, en het ook uitgeblink in dans en atletiek, en die plan was dat sy plaaslik met haar skoolloopbaan sou voortgaan sodra Graad 11s weer kon terugkeer klaskamer toe. Teen publikasie was daar nog geen amptelike oorsaak voorsien vir Berné se skielike heengaan nie, maar Corné het aan die Volksblad - waar ‘n voorbladberig laas week hierdie plaaslike tragedie gedek het - vertel hul vermoed haar dogter se dood het “met haar hart te doen”. Die Swanepoels is dankbaar vir ondersteuning van beide die Wittedrift en Bultfontein gemeenskappe. Geen begrafnisreëlings was nog gefinaliseer teen 26 Mei nie, maar sal op die CXPRESS Facebook blad en op www.cxpress.co.za verskyn sodra bevestig.
was the case in Bitou. The appointment of a MM must be approved by the relevant MEC for local government. The MEC objected to the approval but the council resisted. This forced the MEC to
enforce his decision via the courts. The Bitou council has since filed for leave to appeal. Bitou Municipality did not respond before going to print. Garden Route Media • See the PBRA notice on p5.
CXPRESS
INTERVAL
27 May 2020
Bradding rights In a sweet voice, a wife says to her husband: “You look great in that dim light. You look just like Brad Pitt.” Lifting his eyebrows, the husband asks: “And how do you know Brad Pitt?”
Wait for it… The government has released the first draft of the liquor and tobacco sales regulations under Level 3 lockdown • People who have surnames starting with the letters A-M and C-G, but not double-barrelled surnames, will be able to shop on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 09:07 and 09:54. • People with surnames starting with the letters N-Z and P-Q, but excluding those surnames starting with ‘Van’ will be able to shop on Wednesdays and Fridays between 11:27 and 12:14. • People with surnames starting with ‘Van’ or any other three-letter type of pre-name will be able to shop on Sundays between 09:44 and 09:57, except when the bottle stores are closed. • All bottle stores will be closed on Sundays and public holidays, and at any time that they are not open. • Queues at bottle stores should ideally run east to west, unless the bottle store owners’ ancestors have given indication that alternative queuing is acceptable. • Beer may be bought in a single tray of three sixpacks only, and must be carried on the head, providing enough space is allowed between bottles for virus mitigation air-flow. • A six-pack of beer 1
2
3
may be substituted with a bottle of wine, providing it was harvested prior to 2018, or two packets of Simba chips; Fruit Chutney ONLY, no Lays whatsoever but Salt & Vinegar may be substituted for Fruit Chutney 250g packets - on Sundays only. • Beer may not be mixed, unless it was on display together. If one beer was on a higher shelf than the other, only one pack may be allowed, providing you can reach it without assistance or touching your face mask. Under no circumstances may beer in green and brown bottles be sold together, not even on a Sunday. • Only one bottle of dark spirits will be allowed per person. No ‘summer-time’ mixer type drinks will be sold at all. The sale of mint, sugar, and small toothpick-type umbrellas is strictly prohibited, unless it is overcast, or a Sunday. • Tobacco may only be sold to minors who are purchasing on behalf of an adult. Cigarettes with green or purple in their logos will be sold on Tuesdays and filter-less or ‘zol’ type tobacco will be sold on Thursdays. No cigarettes with black
4
5
6
With less pollution due to lockdown, the Eiffel Tower can be seen from Kruger National Park or yellow in their logos may be sold at all, except on Sundays. • Pipe tobacco will be sold in cities whose postal codes end in an even number only, but not in
any DA or non-ANC ruled provinces. These rules are for the protection of all our citizens and we ask you to abide by them in an effort to ‘flatten the curve’.
7
8 9
10
11 12 13
14
15
16 18
CROSSWORD
d crosswor
no 15, 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
9 8 11
10 14 13 12
17 15
16 20
18
22
23
19
21
s
ent book Testam 14 Old (7) (5) 16 Fiddle (5)
s? — narcotic
R U R I B A ON
Quick
E D E E L U G S I T O N T M V E A E N
21
I N A U S T A I E H R
20
S C O T C H B O N N E T
19
WE B S I T E S A I N N C OV E T D E O O E I C U R L I NG A L G U C L I D S G S A R C E L P R A N I E DU C E D A E E A R T B R E
17
B E S M I R C H
4
ON THE SOAPBOX
27 May 2020
Letters to the Editor
Email: editor@cxpress.co.za
Wear your free mask or risk losing it I have read the Bitou Covid-19 newsletter of May 18, and although we can be proud of our efforts in general, I am sorry to say that the money my household, and everybody else, contributed to buy masks for Kurland inhabitants was a complete waste. I was in the township last Monday and of the many hundreds of people I came across, only ONE (my passenger) was wearing a
mask. It was a jolly sight to behold, children playing in the streets, people walking arm in arm, busy shops and not the slightest effort to keep any distance. I suggest the masks be collected, cleaned and distributed elsewhere. If you have any doubt, go and have a look! Andrew K, by email (The current number of masks produced by our local Plett&Beyond Masks4All teams exceeds 56,000, of
which 49,134 went out at no cost to the recipient. According to project distribution coordinator Steve Ritky, free masks distributed to local Covid-19 screening teams and clinics last week totalled 4,500. Let’s not mar these valiant efforts to keep our community safe; ensure that your family and neighbours wear masks when leaving the house. WhatsApp your details to 060 820 6595 if you would like to get involved. - Eds.)
Let’s join forces to bolster small businesses in Plett A large portion of your readers will be able to help our seaside town’s many small businesses to ride out the current economic disaster. Every day we hear of another small business in Plett which has folded as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown. All of them employ local people, who support local families, and are critical to Plett’s viability as a yearround residential town. As a fishing rod is to a fisherman, so are small businesses to Plett’s local economy and the sustainability of its residents. What can you do? • Contact us for a list of small businesses in need (who do not qualify or have been rejected for government economic aid) by emailing simon@remax-plett.co.za or calling 072 204 4486; • Make direct contact with a small Plett business with whom you have a personal connection, and offer some financial or other support; • Let us know if you know of a small business in Plett that needs financial aid and we will contact them directly to see if they wish for their details to be shared with potential donors; • Share this message far
and wide with friends and family who love Plett, using the hashtags #HelpMyPlettSmallBizniz, #Plett, #PlettItsAFeeling, and #PlettenbergBay. • Visit the Remax Prime Properties Facebook page for updates and more details. If you own a small business in Plett that is struggling to stay afloat during the lockdown, and has been denied or does not qualify for government aid, then please contact RE/MAX Prime Properties either by direct message, or give us a call and we will try and put a donor in contact with you. Your details will be kept completely confidential and only shared with donors contacting us looking for businesses to assist. RE/MAX Prime Properties will not receive any funds directly during this initiative, but merely act as a facilitator between respective parties. Unfortunately no assistance can be guaranteed to any small business, and donors will decide independently who they wish to assist. During the first week, dozens of owners have already come forward asking for assistance, and a hand-
With love from Oudtshoorn
Former CXPRESS receptionist Patience Mabongo - pictured here with husband Mabongo - last year relocated to Oudtshoorn and writes: ‘I would like to share some positive vibrations with the people of Plett. Times are tough and businesses are suffering so it is very rough out here as we realise the extent of poverty in our communities. But the Covid-19 crisis also couldn’t have come at a better time, as it has exposed corruption, dependency and, moreover, the responsibility and accountability that our president is taking during this time. I am sure if I were in his shoes I would have failed. Now my concerns are the steps we take to move forward. I am referring to those who might lose their jobs. My only hope is that we can change our mindsets - people should start adopting new lifestyles and adjusting their budgets. It’s going very well with me and Mabongo. We celebrate 21 years, both in friendship and marriage, and our lives are blissful. We know our little foibles, but love each other anyway. We also try to minister the other’s pain when trials and tribulations come along. Acknowledging the fact that our union only has space for two people means that we are happy today!
ful of generous local benefactors requested the list of businesses in need. With the initiative ramping up this week, including a live interview and regular live reads on MCFM, as well as an email campaign to thousands within the RE/MAX Plett network, we hope to see further benefactors and businesses getting involved. Together we can keep our beautiful town, people and businesses going through these difficult times. Simon Revington, Plett (Simon is a sales associate of Sally Searle at RE/MAX Prime Properties Plett. We applaud him and the team for this initiative, which we hope will give support to at least some of the many local businesses now in dire straits. At CXPRESS, we are constantly striving to provide an interesting platform for our readers on the Garden Route and further afield, which include many international readers of our weekly online editions and those who connect with us on Facebook. But the current absence of printed papers, necessitated by the dearth of advertising support since the start of lockdown, is weighing heavily on the CXPRESS team. We thank those clients who continue to advertise - so keeping our small business boat afloat - during the past weeks, and welcome your commitment during the long months ahead, when it will be all but ‘business as usual’ for a majority of small and medium enterprises. If you read here and would like to share your suggestions or resources to get CXPRESS back on the street with our normal print run distributed all along the Route every Wednesday, then please email editor@cxpress.co.za or call 044 533 1004. Until such time as the local economy recovers to a point of availing us this privilege once again, take note that the CXPRESS team works very hard to ensure the survival of this 22-year-old (on June 1!) community platform. Irresistible discounts are offered on ads that appear in our online editions contact your agent or email advertising@cxpress.co.za for details. - Eds.)
CXPRESS
5
6
CXPRESS
CLASSIFIEDS
27 May 2020
Handyman on call - 082 492 4417 / 072 724 6590
082 251 8134
Paws
Plett Animal Welfare Service