Electricity interruption tomorrow

We  have just been informed

The power outage has been posponed until 26th October

The power outage has been cancelled St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis electricity interruption on Thursday, 7 September

Eskom will be switching off the power supply to St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis on Thursday, 7 September, from 9am to 4.30pm.

The interruption is necessary for Eskom to perform maintenance work on the St Francis Bay/Cape St Francis 22kV line.

Residents are reminded that all electrical points should be treated as live during this time.The outage is subject to the weather.

The alternative date that has been set is 26 October.

Press release:
Laura-Leigh Randall,
Kouga Municipality
Media Liaison Officer

Kouga, Eskom and Red Cross forge fire partnership

Eskom and Red Cross have partnered with Kouga Municipality to help strengthen communities at Longmore and Thornhill against natural disasters.

Eskom’s Jongi Dyabaza (left) and Zama Mpondwana (right) hand over the cheque to Kouga Mayor Elza van Lingen and Red Cross East Cape provincial manager Caroline Galliant.

Representatives from Eskom visited the municipality on Tuesday (15 August) to hand over a cheque of R350 000 to the Red Cross for use in areas affected by the fire disaster of June 2017.

At the hand-over Kouga Mayor Elza van Lingen said the focus would be on Longmore, where more than 200 residents had to be evacuated when the runaway fire threatened their homes, and the surrounding farm areas.

The fire destroyed about 27 000 ha of vegetation in the Longmore and Thornhill areas, as well as farm land, buildings and equipment.

“Kouga fire-fighters were able to save the Longmore Village from burning down, but the community was left without electricity or water because of fire damage to the infrastructure,” Mayor Van Lingen said.

“We had to act fast to prevent a humanitarian crisis. Water was trucked in, a generator and portable toilets were installed, and hot meals were delivered to the village with the assistance of community volunteers and NGOs.”

Red Cross branch manager in Port Elizabeth and the Sarah Baartman district, Coralie Peo-Swartz, said the Eskom donation would be used to equip and train affected communities on how to prevent and survive disaster situations.

“The programme marks the start of an official relationship between the Red Cross and municipality. We are grateful to Eskom for the financial assistance,” she said.

Jongi Dyabaza, stakeholder coordinator at Eskom, said the parastatal was grateful that it could help Kouga through its partnership with the Red Cross.

“Eskom takes its social responsibility towards communities seriously and we are glad that we could be there for Kouga’s people in a time of trouble,” he said.

Mayor Van Lingen emphasised the role partnerships play in building strong governance structures and communities.

“We are humbled by what’s happening here today. We have been strengthening our partnership with Eskom over the past year and are now reaping the benefit of their partnership with the Red Cross,” she said.

“We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from all corners of South Africa during the crisis and are grateful for the ongoing assistance in helping our people recover from the terrible ordeal they suffered.”

Energy Summit

Kouga hosts Youth in Energy Summit

Young people from across Kouga will take part in the first Youth in Energy Summit at Cape St Francis this week.

The summit will take place at 9am on Wednesday, 28 June, at the Cape St Francis Resort. It is being presented jointly by Kouga Municipality, Eskom, the Kouga Wind Farm and New Generation Mindset (NGM).

Kouga Mayor Elza van Lingen said the event was open to all young and aspiring business people, as well as those who are already in business.

“The summit will be jam-packed with information relevant to young entrepreneurs who would like to tap into the opportunities that are opening up in Kouga thanks to energy-related developments,” she said.

The keynote speaker at the event will be East Cape MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Sakhumzi Somyo.

Two youth entrepreneurs will also share their success stories.

Other topics and role-players on the programme are:

  • Skills and Careers around Energy (Eskom)
  • Energy Mix Prospects and Opportunities (Necsa)
  • SMME support around energy (NGM)
  • Supporting Entrepreneurial Development (NYDA)
  • Wind Farm Development Plan and Youth Opportunities (Kouga Wind Farm)
  • SMME Funding (ECDC)
  • SMME Funding Support (IDC)
  • SMME mentorship and support (The Hope Factory)

For further information contact Zingi Mdidimba at the municipality’s LED unit on 083 571 7976 or 042 2002227.

energy summit

Thyspunt Proposal Flawed

Hilton Thorpe comments on Thyspunt Work Groups

Following yesterdy’s post on the Thyspunt Work Groups to be established to help prepare the Kouga municipal area for the construction of a nuclear plant at Thyspunt, local anti-Thyspunt activist activist Hilton Thorpe posted the following comment which some may not have seen so it seems worth reprodicng as a post on its own.

Here is Hilton.s comment but one wonders if the Government would pay attention to the National Nuclear Regulator if they were to rule the site iand the proposed technology, unacceptable such is their determination to develop Thyspunt.

“Everything about the Thyspunt proposal is flawed, from the original site selection under apartheid restrictions to disregard of the Review by the CSIR in 1992, which concluded that the site was not suitable for development; to ignoring of the argument from the local community in 1998 that the site is not viable in terms of international emergency planning requirements; to the Scoping Report, which should have been rejected by the DEA in terms of NEMA requirements for failure to contain material information required; to the “co-operation agreement between the DEA & the Department of Energy, leaving the DoE in charge of nuclear issues, and effectively putting to sleep the viability issue until Eskom has applied to the NNR for a technology licence, which has still not happened; to the proposal by Eskom to apply for a reduction in emergency planning to 3 kilometres around the site, in terms of European Utility Requirements, which have been described by an English nuclear scientist as a “fiction” and only a wish-list; to the multiplicity of flawed draft environmental impact reports; to the flawed impact rating criteria, which made it impossible to have a “fatal flaw”; to the separate, and equally flawed transmission lines EIA, which based its recommendation on “national interest”, rather than environmental considerations; to the fatally flawed Final Environmental Impact Report. No wonder it is taking the DEA so long to come to a decision!

To-date, Eskom has done everything at risk, on the assumption that the EIA & Regulatory processes will go smoothly.

We can shortly expect the process by the National Nuclear Regulator, to determine whether or not both the site itself, and the proposed technology, are acceptable in terms of the Nuclear Regulator Act & Regulations. An immediate problem with this is that South Africa is a signatory to the International Atomic Energy Agency Convention, which demands that the Regulator must be independent of both political and commercial pressure. This will be difficult to justify in the light of recent political developments in the country,and of the fact that Eskom will be financing the process.

The St Francis community should be aware of the probable social impact of the project going ahead. When the Mosgas project began it is said that 100000 unemployed people converged on the town looking for work. Mossel Bay is now a large town, with a huge unemployment problem. Much the same applies to Lephalale, following the Medupi project. This can only lead to land invasion, and all the social pathologies associated with informal settlements.

Eskom’s behaviour so far has been irresponsible, and there is no reason to assume that it will change. It may be necessary to go to court to stop this.”

Thyspunt work groups

Thyspunt work groups to be established

Seven work groups will be established to help prepare the Kouga municipal area for the construction of a nuclear plant at Thyspunt should the national power project receive the green light.

Kouga Executive Mayor Elza van Lingen said the work groups would serve as sub-committees of the Thyspunt Nuclear Project Joint Steering Committee.

The Joint Steering Committee was established in December last year and is co-chaired by Eskom and Kouga Municipality. Members include Kouga Municipality, Eskom, the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT), the East Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta EC), the South African Police Service (SAPS), Sarah Baartman District Municipality (SBDM) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa).

The Mayor said the proposed scope, mandate, activities, budget requirements, risks, milestones and membership of each of the seven groups were discussed at a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee at Jeffreys Bay on Friday (7 April 2017).

“The work groups will be responsible for identifying and addressing opportunities and potential pitfalls for the Kouga area, including infrastructure shortages and socio-economic impacts, should the Thyspunt development proceed,” she said.

“As stated before, the Kouga Council is not opposed to nuclear development per se, but we are not willing for Kouga and its people to be disadvantaged by the project.

“If a nuclear plant is to be built in our area, Kouga’s people must be ready to reap the benefits and proper measures must be in place to mitigate any potential threats.”

The proposed work groups were introduced by Eskom’s acting General Manager: Nuclear New Build, Loyiso Tyabashe, who co-chairs the Joint Steering Committee with the Mayor.

The work groups are: Infrastructure, Human Capital, Regulatory and Environment, Supplier Development, Safety and Security, Finance and Stability, and Stakeholder Management and Communication.

Tyabashe said the groups would be facilitated by either Eskom or Kouga Municipality, as the main roleplayers, and consist of senior representatives from key government departments and state-owned enterprises.

They will report back to the Joint Steering Committee on a quarterly basis.

The Mayor stressed that a final decision had not yet been made about the proposed nuclear plant at Thyspunt.

“These structures are being put in place so as to ensure that roleplayers and stakeholders are ready should the project receive the nod. If approved, Thyspunt will be the biggest development our municipal area has ever seen. We want to ensure that the best interests of our communities are taken into account at all times,” she said.

Tyabashe said Eskom was currently awaiting the outcome of the final Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regarding its nuclear plans from the Department of Environmental Affairs. Applications for two Nuclear Installation Site Licences, at Thyspunt and Duynefontein, have also been submitted to the National Nuclear Regulator.

“There have been some delays in the release of the Environmental Authorisation (EA) due to the scope and complexity of the project, but the Department has indicated that the EA should be issued by mid-2017,” he said.

Issued jointly by Kouga Local Municipality and Eskom

 Queries can be directed to: