Following the success of the Phase I Revitalisation Framework for the Hermanus CBD, the Overstrand Municipality has recently appointed consultants to undertake a Phase II study for the CBD Revitalisation.

The 2000 study was prepared by Gapp, Architects and Urban Designers, was completed in 2002 and a total of 13 projects/interventions were identified.

Over the past 12 years, the Overstrand Municipality and the private sector have made considerable investments in the CBD to implement the proposals of the 2000 Revitalisation Framework. These have positively transformed the CBD and increased it’s attraction to residents and visitors and boosting the local economy.

DIRECTIONAL SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE  EXECUTIVE MAYOR, CLR NICOLETTE BOTHA GUTHRIE  ON 29 OCTOBER 2014

Direction was given by the Mayor at the 29 October 2014 Council meeting for the 3rd review of the approved 5 year Integrated Development Plan (IDP) of 2012/17 along with the budget preparation for 2015/16 to 2017/18 that is currently underway.

In setting and guiding the strategic direction for the 2015/16 IDP review and Budget process a Mayoral Strategic session with the Mayoral committee members and Top Management was held on 26 September 2014. At this session the gathering interrogated our vision, mission and strategic goals, reflected on our performance for the past financial year and discussed key considerations for the 2015/16 financial year.

Mayor mentioned that the biggest consideration in the development of the 5 year IDP and the subsequent 4 annual reviews is prioritizing the “vast needs” of the communities and assessing the resources (Budget) available to address the “vast needs.

On the evening of 23 October 2014, Overstrand wished its former Junior Town Council a fond farewell and welcomed the new team on board in a fitting manner. Quoting from renowned poet Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, Mayor Nicolette Botha-Guthrie revisited a couple of truths about the relationship between the young and the old in her message to all present: “Children are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.  They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts.”

Jokingly remarking that the ‘old folks’ will probably never understand what goes on in the young ones’ minds, she did say that it is the duty of those advanced in years to convey their thoughts to the young, and the duty of the young to take what they have learned from their parents, guardians, mentors and teachers and to build their own thinking around that.

With due recognition for the outgoing Junior Council’s efforts to help make Overstrand a centre of excellence for all it serves, she went on to thank the Enlighten Education Trust whom, from the very outset, has been tasked with facilitating this ‘thought-exchange’ process by equipping Overstrand’s young leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to take their rightful place in “the house of tomorrow”.

Coenie Groenewald, Municipal Electoral Officer for Overstrand, confirmed that the by-elections for wards 2 (Gansbaai), 5 (Zwelihle) and 7 (Sandbaai) will take place on Wednesday 26 November 2014.
 
The cut-off date and time for the submission of nominations for candidates in the by-elections is Friday, 24 October 2014 at 17:00. The list of approved ward candidates will be announced on 10 November 2014.
 
New voters in the relevant wards have the opportunity to register on 18 and 19 October 2014 (from 08:00 till 17:00) at the respective voting stations in the relevant wards, or daily during normal office hours at the IEC's local office at Office 4A, Twin Gables, 26 High Street, Hermanus (tel. 028 312 1464/5). The voters’ roll closes on Friday 24 October 2014 at 17:00.