Action at last on the fast eroding spit as DEDEAT has at last given approval that work can commence on restoring the spit on the St Francis Bay Canals.
SFT has often stated that reasons that the St Francis Bay beach has eroded as has the spit and even the silting up of the Kromme River, are man-made and as such require man’s intervention. Certainly, environmental affairs need to oversee that man does not destroy the ecology or environment but such intervention should be within reason, Canal Spit and not jeopardise or threaten other man-made infrastructure. We recently have the case of the causeway at Paradise Beach where DEDEAT finally relented and allowed the causeway to be breached but only after community and municipal appeals that took unnecessary time and money.
And so the fact that once again intervention by Kouga Municipal Manager Charl du Plessis supported by Kouga ECO Frank Silberbauer and certainly helped a little by the petition signed by so many concerned with saving the spit, DEDEAT relented and gave the go-ahead for work to commence on saving the spit.
St Francis Property Owners Chairman Wayne Furphy commented
“We were given approval by DEDEAT today (Thursday 1 Feb) to fix the Spit. The dune on the Spit has narrowed significantly over the past few years, and especially over the past few months. We have been in discussions with the Municipality and DEDEAT for some time now to get this approval.
The Municipality has been very proactive in driving this approval process with DEDEAT, especially the Municipal Manager Charl du Plessis and their ECO Frank Silberbauer.
We met with the Municipality’s Infrastructure leadership team today to agree responsibilities and resources the Municipality, Riparians and the SFPO NPC can provide to move quickly to save the Spit. The Municipality is also investigating sources of Government funding to assist as well, but this could be a lengthy process.
We will start by rebuilding the dune using the Riparian dredgers.”
Furphy went on to encourage SFB property owners to make sure they vote. The decision on the SRA implementation is nowhere near cut and dried with still over 1000 votes outstanding. It would appear that many voters are under the impression that because they voted on the SRA proposal last year that they need not vote again. This is NOT the case as the SRA 2018 is a totally new proposal based on a far lower rate and encompassing only a portion of St Francis Bay.
The SF Property Owners website has tons of information where you can read all about the proposed SRA as well as cast your vote online and even see if your vote has been registered or not. An addition to the site you can now also see a list, by street name, of all those who are still to vote.
So whatever your decision, for or against, support your decision with a vote.
Congratulations to SFPO, the MM Charl du Plessis, and all involved – and please keep up the pressure to now extract some funding contributions from Government.
Hopefully this will at least delay the threatened conversion of Ski Canal properties to beachfront properties.
I must also echo SFT’s comments – why is DEDEAT apparently such a mindless roadblock in these situations, regardless of the urgency? The almost unbelievable delay with the approval for the construction of the replacement Sand River bridge also comes to mind, and as to what will happen when/if SFPO decide to try and proceed with the proposed beach groynes and sand pumping – don’t hold your breath.
I fully endorse Rod’s congratulations to all concerned, but spare a thought for DEDEAT. I agree that the bureaucracy has got out of hand, but if they authorise something which goes wrong, the media and social media will never let them forget it. Furthermore,they could be held liable. It is understandable if their fairly small and over-worked staff cannot keep up with all the demands of current legislation. Thank goodness they have come to the party, though without authorisation to build the groyne, there will not be much long-term benefit.
I fully endorse Rod’s congratulations to all involved, but spare a thought for DEDEA. It is true that bureaucracy has got out of hand, but DEDEA carries a huge responsibility, with a small and over-worked staff struggling to keep up with the demands of current legislation. If they get something wrong, the media and social media will never let them forget it, and they could be legally liable as well. Thank goodness they have now come to the party; but without authorisation to proceed with the groyne, the benefits will be short-term. That, surely, should be the next step.