Dudley Coetzee, Executive Mayor of the Overstrand, hosted the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Elizabeth Thabethe, on Wednesday, 16 May 2019.  She visited Overstrand as part of her Garden Route and Klein Karoo tour.

Her local visit included a guided tour to Gansbaai Academia, African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary, Grootbos, a meal at La Pentola hosted by Chef Shane, a visit to the Zwelihle Youth Café, Pebbles School in the Hemel-en- Aarde Valley with a final stop at Creation Wines before leaving Hermanus.

The Deputy Minister is no stranger to this region and confirmed that visitors to the Overstrand are spoiled for choice when it comes to places to go and sights to visit with their families and friends. 

The Western Cape Provincial Police Ombudsman has launched a formal investigation into the staffing of police stations of Gansbaai, Hermanus, Kleinmond and Stanford.

Overstrand Executive Mayor, Ald Dudley Coetzee, requested the Ombudsman to investigate the understaffing of the South African Police Service (SAPS) stations in the Overstrand.

According to the notice of investigation that was published in the provincial gazette of 14 Mei 2019, the stations of Gansbaai, Hermanus, Kleinmond and Stanford are unable to perform its mandate due to an insufficient allocation of resources, resulting in inefficiency of the delivery of services by SAPS in the Overstrand.

The Overstrand Council has approved the request from the Building Control Department to assist property owners across the Overstrand, whose houses were destroyed or badly damaged during the devastating fires at the beginning of the year.

Residents, who have been affected by disasters and who are in the process of rebuilding their homes, will be charged a fixed amount of R500 (excluding VAT) for building plan fees.

Normally, the 2018/19 tariff of charges for Building Plan Applications for a house of 250m² is R10 000.

The municipality took this decision in an effort to assist residents who suffered great financial losses.

To save water we need to think not just about the water we use directly, for drinking and cleaning in our home, but also to become more aware of how water is used to make the food we eat, the products we use and to generate the power for our lights and stoves.

One of the top ways to prevent your household from using extra water, is to re-use grey water.

WHAT IS GREYWATER?

Greywater is defined as untreated household wastewater that has not come into contact with toilet waste. 

Greywater comes from baths, showers and bathroom hand basins.  Laundry water from washing machines can also be re-used if environmentally friendly detergents have been used.