Email - Update

The Association is faced with a serious problem. For the past two years Joe and Paddy have run it, virtually as a Citizens Advice Bureau, placing St. Francis Bay well ahead of other communities in the area.

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Beach Report

It is a full 2 years since I first installed the Danish PEM system on our beach. There have been regular GPS surveys done by independent professional surveyors every 2 months during that time to monitor and record the results.

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Email - Update

For some considerable time now, Joe has been trying to get a meeting with the MEC but all previous attempts have failed or been cancelled by the MEC’s office. Joe made another attempt and we are please to say that the MEC along with his Senior Management Team came down to Kouga for a meeting with Joe and representatives of other Residents Associations in Kouga.

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Security - CCTV Surveillience

A Community Police Forum sub-committee held on 13 August 2010 agreed to the following recommendations with respect to the provision of CCTV surveillance in St Francis Bay as an added measure to combat the rising incidence of crime in the area.

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Email - Update

I would like to emphasise that the Dispute with the Municipality is primarily about Poor Management, misuse of funds and ongoing financial mismanagement. This in turn leads to poor service delivery.

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DISPUTE GALLERY

Pictures used in the presentation to the KM.

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COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS RE DISPUTE

The chance of the KM litigating against ratepayers is extremely remote. Any ratepayer has the right to declare a dispute and until such time as the dispute is resolved the KM is not able to apply credit control measures.

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Withholding Rates dispute Q&A

Q: What section of our Municipal Account will be withheld.

A: All property rates and environmental levies would be paid into a Special Account in the name of SFB Residents Association.

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Email - Update

Here as promised is the update on proceedings. Our Dispute Document has been checked out by the Lawyers and we have been given the go ahead. Our Dispute was emailed and hand delivered to the Mayor & MM on 17th Aug.

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Email - Update

We have had some welcome rains and are holding thumbs that our dams start filling up.
Valuations: Appeals have begun and again I urge that you make sure that you feature on the list if you have lodged an Appeal.

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Valuations – update July 2010

Joe and Paddy were invited to a meeting with the Appeal Board to state the case of the Residents of SFB and Kouga in general. Joe explained that the Valuer did a shocking job of the valuations and provided the Appeal Board with facts and figures to prove this.

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Email - Update

Valuation Appeals NB! (Important message if you have appealed.)
Appeals are to start on 10th August. You will note that not all of the St. Francis People who appealed, appear on the list, and this led me to query this with the Municipality.

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THYSPUNT – THE DEBATE HOTS UP - Our Times Focus Group

Consultants, specialists, Eskom and community members from the Greater St Francis area met on Tuesday to debate issues associated with the proposed Thyspunt nuclear site.

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Urgent Letter to the Mayor 28 May 2010

Re: Dissatisfaction with the lack of co-operation by the Kouga Municipality
It is with great disappointment that FEKRRA has once again come to the conclusion that the Kouga Municipality under your leadership has no intention whatsoever of addressing the issues highlighted in our letter dated 23 October 2009.

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Beach Feedback - May

Despite high seas on the 10th and 11th of May where wave heights reached 9.5 meters, the beach “weathered the storm” and the May 2010 survey recorded the second largest volume of sand on the beach since the inception of the PEM project. During the storm the steps at Hobie beach were less lucky and were tossed on top of the revetment!!

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Nuclear Station a Reality May

As you are reading this, you will be in the middle of a Draft Environmental Impact Report, which actively promotes Thyspunt as the ideal site for a 4 000-MW nuclear power plant.

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Email - Update

We have had numerous Nuclear Meetings which have raised more questions than answers, but I have tried to summarise the issues for you. I have been assured that the Valuations Appeals are still on track for 7th June. Appeals will be held on alternate weeks i.e. 7th – 11th June, 21st – 25th June, 5th – 9th July and so on until they are finished.

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Correspondence from Shaw Mead (ASR) re Reef System vs PEM System

The Residents Association has no objection in publishing your letter on our website. It is unfortunate that there needs to be any seemingly unnecessary conflict given the fact that residents are in general more than happy with the progress being made using the PEM system.

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A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE NUCLEAR DETAILS AT THYSPUNT

The technology to be used is Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) technology.
The EIA has been done to meet the standards of Generation 3 technology.
This EIA provides for a capacity of 4,000 MW only, should Eskom want to increase this, a new EIA will have to be done.

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Eskom on Collision course with Thyspunt Alliance

The public and stakeholders meetings held on Thursday and Friday last week in St Francis Bay, Cape St Francis and Sea Vista has residents fuming. From these meetings it was very apparent that Eskom has decided on Thyspunt, despite the site being totally unsuitable given a host of factors

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Letter from Nuclear Expert Apr

You asked for a layman’s guide to The Problem. Forgive me for being pointilistic, but it seems to be the quickest and easiest way of answering a very open-ended request.

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FEEDBACK ON MEETING WITH KOUGA MUNICIPALITY

On the dispute resolution mechanism it was proposed that the most logical mechanism would be to escalate the matter to Province. The CFO has undertaken to write out a proposal along these lines which we will have within a week.

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Email - Update

There are many worrying factors regarding the Nuclear Power Plant at Thyspunt, for which we need answers and we urge you to participate in this process. The Kouga Municipality have advertised for a Professional Valuer to sit on the Appeal Board. Finally after much pressure from Joe and Neil, the Municipality has assured us that payment has been made to the Danes for the second phase of the Beach PEM System.

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Email - Update

Life is St. Francis is dry….. The long awaited Mediated Workshop with the Municipality took place on 1st and 2nd March.....The Final Draft of the St. Francis Building Code has been wrapped up....The Beach saga continues.....The Appeal Board is hopefully scheduled to sit in April

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Nuclear (15th March 2010)

HT informed that he has a lot of support for taking legal action Eskom regarding Thyspunt.
MS asked whether this was the feeling of the majority, and HT reported that at the AGM, he was given the mandate to “pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.”

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Nuclear Hilton Thorpe Article for Our Times

ACCEPTABLE RISK TO ESKOM IF WE ALL DIE - Whatever the arguments in favour of a nuclear power station, it cannot be denied nuclear power generation is a potentially lethal technology. The public needs to be reassured the process will be managed meticulously, and with the health and safety of the local population as a major priority.

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Second Phase of Beach Stabilization to Commence

After a delay of almost four months the payment for the next year of the Beach Restoration Project has been agreed by the Municipality. This delay was caused by incorrect information being sent to the Kouga Municipality

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Successful Facilitated Workshop between FEKRRA and Kouga Municipality

The Federation of Kouga Residents and Ratepayers Association and Kouga Municipality held two days of discussions under the watchful eye of an experienced facilitator this week. Discussions were tough and tense at times but to both parties surprise, an amicable agreement was reached

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Building Guides St Francis Bay March

It must be ensured that with any application for building work to be done, the Building Plans as well as the execution of all work, will be done in strict accordance with the National Building regulations

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Email - Update

We are enjoying the beautiful weather here at the moment, but sadly it is being marred by the drought and The Municipality are now implementing very strict Water Restriction Measures.

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Management Funding

Your Association has had a number of successes to date and is at the forefront of efforts to engage with the local Municipality on a constructive but businesslike manner. This interaction led to facilitated talks where the concerns of ratepayers and residents will hopefully get the attention that they deserve.

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CONTINUED PROBLEMS WITH THE OBJECTION/APPEAL PROCESS

The SFB Residents Association has been very involved in the Objection Process and as such has been more aware of problems than the average ratepayer. We have been horrified at the poor planning that the Municipality have put in place. Listed below are several issues of concern.

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Land Use

St Francis Building Regulations: One of our objectives this year is to ensure that the unique building regulations applicable to St Francis Bay are incorporated into the Scheme Regulations of the Kouga Municipality...Spatial Development Framework: The revised SDF for the whole of Kouga was approved by Council in December. The RA put in a detailed submission on the proposals

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THE PROPOSED KOUGA WINDFARM Feb 2010

In the context of South Africa’s energy requirements, and the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, any move towards an economically viable, affordable, clean, renewable, and sustainable power generation technology is to be welcomed...However, the urge to provide such a technology does not remove the need for rational assessment of each proposal in terms of its geographical situation, its environmental impact, and its economic viability.

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NUCLEAR - GROUNDS FOR SEEKING AN INJUNCTION

The letter from DEAT to Arcus Gibb, dated 19 November, 2008, approves the Final Scoping Report, subject to some 60 conditions, a number of which, in our view, relate to material information required in terms of the regulations, which has not been provided by Eskom.

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Competitor tries to derail St Francis Bay Beach Rehabilitation

As strange as it may seem an attempt has been made by members of the now defunct Beach Trust to discredit the PEM (Pressure Equalization Modules) systems success over the last 14 months. The question arises as to why they would want to do this and what system would they propose in its place?

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St Francis Beach Brings Christmas Cheer

Holiday makers enjoyed a wider more stable beach in St Francis Bay this year. Although it is far too early to state that the problems with our beach are behind us, things are certainly looking up and holiday makers made the most of the improved amenity.

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Email - Update

I trust you all had a good holiday and are well rested to tackle the New Year. We had a very good Christmas Season, and for once the weather behaved itself and gave the visitors heaps of sunshine and wind free days in the early part of the holiday.

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