MEDIA STATEMENT BY OVERSTRAND EXECUTIVE MAYOR, DR ANNELIE RABIE, REGARDING ALLEGED MISUSE OF COUNCIL RESOURCES

The Municipal Manager (MM) has made me aware of the current internal audit investigation into alleged misuse of council resources. This relates to possible fraudulent transactions with the official fuel and maintenance cards of the Overstrand fleet. 

The MM and I will formally report the matter to the SAPS today, 13 December 2022, in terms of the Municipal Finance Management legislation.

In the meantime, stringent controls have been put in place to mitigate any further misuse.

Early this year thousands of the Common Platanna (African clawed frog) appeared overnight in the Onrus and Vermont neighbourhoods after a night of soft, summer rain and cool conditions. It’s all happening again and we would like to ask nature lovers in the area to help save the tiny creatures as they migrate from the Saltpan in Vermont to the Onrus Estuary. 

Time is of the essence as the Platannas need to get back to water before the sun comes out; those out of the water when the sun is coming out of the clouds, will likely die.

Remember, they are amphibious and must stay in water therefore residents are advised to keep the Platannas in big buckets filled with water.

The buckets must be deep and have high sides in order for the frogs not to crawl out when volunteers carry them from the Vermont Salt Pan to the Onrus Estuary, where they should be released.

The Overstrand Municipality is affected by load shedding as much as any other business in the region.

With the start of the holiday season, and the increase in visitors, the Municipality's water and sanitation infrastructure is put under increased pressure once more.

The move by Eskom to stage 6 electricity load shedding, with periods of interruption of electricity supply of up to 4.5 hours at a time, and up to 12 hours in total in a 24-hour period, does not help the situation either.

Unfortunately, not all installations are equipped with generators at this stage.

Overstrand Libraries are still having problems issuing books to patrons, due to ongoing problems with the provincial library information management system (SLIMS) server

This is a provincial-wide problem that affects all libraries in the Western Cape, except the City of Cape Town.

Library members who cannot take out any new books are taking out their frustrations on the staff, but are reminded that this is beyond the control of the Overstrand Municipality.

To try and find a solution, librarians met with the Director of Library Services in the Western Cape, Cecilia Sani, earlier in the week.

As interim solution it was decided that all Overstrand Libraries will go back to the manual system, where each barcode will be written down.