The De Bos dam level in Hermanus officially pushed past the 70% mark over the weekend - a goal that has not been reached in four years.

The water situation improved dramatically because of generous rain that fell since May 2020 onwards.

Hermanus had 143 mm of rain during August 2020, which makes a total of 521.8 mm for 2020 to date, compared to the long-term average of 447 mm for the period January to August over the last 50 years.  The total annual average rainfall for Hermanus over the last 50 years is 626 mm, a number that has not been reached since 2014.

Overstrand Executive Mayor, Dudley Coetzee, announced that water restrictions still in force in the Greater Hermanus area will be lifted from tomorrow, 1 September 2020.

Soup kitchens supported by Overstrand Municipality have been operating since soon after lockdown earlier this year.  The Municipal funding for soup kitchens will be redirected to supporting home grown veggie gardens from the end of September.  Food kitchens funded by various NGO’s as well as the Government School feeding Scheme are not affected by this decision.

The Overstrand Municipality’s food aid programme provided just under 1 million meals to vulnerable people in the Overstrand.

This was in addition to the School Feeding Scheme, the Department of Social Development’s food hamper project, the SASSA Relief of Social Distress Programme, and the work done by various faith-based and local community organisations, as well as soup kitchens run by volunteers and NGO’s.

Bookings for new learner and driver’s license appointments will be accepted from tomorrow, Wednesday 19 August 2020. Official testing will be conducted during the month of October.

Any learner’s license that expires between 27 March and 31 August 2020 will remain valid until 31 January 2021.

What you will need to apply for a learner’s license

-    2 x ID photos
-    Identity document / card
-    R68 application fees
-    Proof of address

What you will need to apply for a driver licence test

On Friday, 14 August 2020, a hundred black and yellow bicycles were handed over to SAPS, the Overstrand Municipality and four local Department of Community Safety (DOCS) accredited Neighbourhood Watches as part of the Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme (PSTP).

The PSTP is run by the Department of Transport and Public Works in collaboration with DOCS as well as the Bicycle Mobility Consortium made up by the Pedal Power Association (PPA), Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) and Qhubeka Charity.

At the handover ceremony, OnVerWag Neighbourhood Watch in Onrus/Vermont received eight bicycles, five bicycles went to Pearly Beach NHW, five to Franskraal NHW and Zwelihle NHW received ten bicycles to improve safety and to aid them in their crime-fighting efforts.

The police stations of Gansbaai, Stanford, Hermanus and Kleinmond received four bicycles per station while Overstrand Municipality’s Law Enforcement Department, Traffic Department, Fire Department and Environmental Department received 15 bicycles each to assist in providing additional security services to the local community.