Highlights
- Message from our Chairperson (Chester Wilmot)
- Upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 18th December
- Estuary Water Test Results & Preventing Estuary Contamination
- Westbourne Road / Dry Bones Valley Sand Dune Dispute
- General Projects – Jetties, Towpaths, River Marking, Protect Our Prawns
- Financial Position
Message from our Chairperson, Chester Wilmot
It has been an honour to work with our committee of 14. We have met bi-monthly and with many smaller subcommittee meetings interspersed during the year. This is a passionate hands-on group as we each try to get physically involved where possible rather than pay professionals to do the work for us.
Partners
Ndlambe Municipality
We have entered into an agreement where we meet with the Director and Deputy Director of Community Services every quarter. The two meetings in the latter part of this year have produced good results. From this has followed new hope in us working together once more.
Some years ago, we sold boat licenses on Ndlambe’s behalf for which we received a commission. This allowed us to utilize this money to pay for some of the work we do. This was stopped for several reasons. After years of trying to reinstate this arrangement, we are now hoping to have that restored for 2025-26 year (with effect from June 2025).
Secondly, Ndlambe stated that they will stop issuing boat-mooring licenses for the Bushmans River after June 2025. Mooring of boats and barges has been problematical for them and there have been numerous complaints and problems for them to deal with. In anticipation of this, we are negotiating with Ndlambe for Estuary Care to be given the right to manage the buoys and retain this very important historic benefit for boat owners.
KOSRA, BRRAG & Chamber of Business & Tourism:
We enjoy solid working relationships with the other three Civic organisations. We have negotiated the roles we have and work we do to to lessen duplication in effort. Estuary Care, while working very closely with the other organisations, we take the lead on:
- Westbourne Rd/DBV Dune issue,
- Sanitation in general with emphasis on keeping our estuaries clean.
- Water Management Committee which handles our water supply.
Both Rotary and KOSRA have a member join our team as an associate member.
Dry Bones Valley Dune and Bushman’s Estuary
I report a year of ups and downs in our efforts to stop KSDNA/Ndlambe from pursuing their goal of bulldozing the dune into the prevailing wind and towards the river mouth. As I write, Ndlambe Municipal Council has just adopted the resolution that they are going ahead with that plan. This news has now caused it to become Estuary Care’s main focus for the year ahead.
We “team lead” the four organisations as we work as a single entity to stop the sand being stored within the estuary. We have written to the Municipality explaining their gross disregard for both financial and environmental matters.
To write fully on this topic would take many pages but please attend our AGM at 10am on 18th December at the Bushman’s Hall where we will discuss the matter or attend a special dune meeting which will be held with our legal team and our environment consultant at the Kenton Bowls Club at 5 pm on 23rd December.
Sanitation (a new Portfolio)
Finances
David Going is our treasurer and he has made a great effort to register us as an NPO and on the government supplier database to receive funding from Ndlambe. He is making sure that our 18A tax rebates for our donors are tax deductible. We had been assured by our previous auditors that we were legal but we needed to submit substantial documentation to ensure correct registration and compliance.
I will not comment on our financial status as it will be covered in the financial report, but Estuary Care is severely hampered by what we can do with a very small budget. The total income from membership is minimal compared to what the needs are. Maintaining only towpaths and access paths is a costly exercise which entails purchasing a chainsaw and weed eater plus the men to cut and cart away the bush. The vital task of river testing is high with each test costing over R800 per sample is another example of vital work we do that needs money, not to mention jetty repair, river signage, professional fees, promotional work etc.
Secretariat
Vanessa Mc Kay is doing an amazing job which goes way beyond just keeping the minutes of meetings.
Membership, Newsletters, Signs and Notices and Social Media
Maintenance of Kenton Green Belt (a new portfolio)
Estuary Care has taken on the task of attempting to stop homeowners from landscaping and erecting structures beyond their boundaries, especially along the river banks of Kenton and into the Joan Muirhead Nature Reserve toward the sea. Some property owners believe they own the natural bush adjacent to their homes. During the year, I have taken photographic evidence as a record of the extended gardens, removal of trees, planting of kikuyu, erection of fences and other expansion over property boundaries to use as “so-far-and-no-further proof”. We ask that everyone consider the protection of the environment as their responsibility rather than selfishly using it for their benefit. If property owners continue to chop out trees and bushes, we will name and shame them and if that fails, we will ask the Green Scorpions to intervene as we have had to do before. We are determined to keep Kenton and Bushman’s the place that brought people here in the first place. All those whom I have been able to meet personally, have readily agreed to stop further intrusions.
Nick Albrightson has done a sterling job with his team clearing paths and fighting the battle against the invader alien plants which is a new fight we have taken on. Nick retires now and he is going to be sorely missed and hard to replace.
River safety, river markers and bait supplies
Dave Curran and team dutifully, month after month, keep the signs up to date as the channels move or poles break. They also do river patrols with the Dept of Fisheries to reduce the over-exploitation of our bait stocks. It will be noticed that notices have been placed in strategic spots to appeal to “buyers” not to buy sand and mud prawns from vendors and to inform people that it is illegal to buy fresh bait (a new way we are tackling the over-exploitation of bait on the river banks). Note: A person cannot even pay another to dig bait for them. The permit holder must be present. Martin Smith gave input into boating safety and we brainstormed ideas to stop reckless piloting of speed boats. We ask for ideas that might stop severe accidents from happening in the future.
Jetties and Slipways
Wayne Morgan and Howard Ball have the task of building and maintaining the jetties. We were hoping to have a second jetty built before the season to augment the one at the Kariega slipway, but a donation that we were expecting did not materialise. Rotary were generous in jumped in with some funding, but we just ran out of time to do it before the holiday season. Hopefully, the new jetty will find some more financial backing as it will cost about R40 000. Members of the committee put in their time for free.
Estuary Care came in at the last minute to repair the broken Kariega Beach wall for which Ndlambe agreed to pay. Well done Howard for coming on short notice to supervise the work.
New Property developments along the rivers
Daphne McNeill and I check on the plans and Daph follows up with site visits to make sure our river banks are not adversely affected.
Boat Licenses
Sue Muirhead got off lightly as this portfolio did not get off the ground this year with it only becoming a real possibility in early 2025.
AGM
The AGM will be held on 18th December 2024 at the Bushman’s Town Hall from 10am –12 noon.
Written notice of any item you wish to be included on the agenda may be given by a member to the secretary (Vaness McKay), by e-mail on gvmckay@icloud.com, or via WhatsApp on 084 584 3235 before the annual general meeting. Please arrive early to enable processing of membership fees and an attendance register.
Agenda:
- Dune Issue
- Estuary Water Quality
- River Marking, Jetties
- Paths & Alien Bush
- Bait Harvesting
- Finances
- Election of Office Bearers
Your participation is vital – ideas and input will be most welcome!
Estuary Water Tests & Preventing Estuary Contamination
Jacques de Wit has been conscientiously monitoring the sanitation issues on the west side of the Bushman’s River, with Howard Ball paying close attention to the Kariega. Estuary Care (with the support of the Chamber of Business, KOSRA and BRRAG) have been working together with Ndlambe Municipality to establish a task team to conduct a study of both the Bushman’s and Kariega Estuaries including testing for E-coli and Faecal strep.
According to the latest tests conducted by Estuary Care, we are pleased to announce that the results from both rivers have shown very low to negative results for both E-coli and Faecal strep. Tests were conducted on the outgoing tide at the slipways of both rivers. Testing will again take place in mid-December. Credit to Ndlambe Municipality and all the role players for giving attention to this matter.
Westbourne Road / Dry Bones Valley Sand Dune Dispute
There has been significant regression in the dune situation as mentioned in the Chairperson’s report.
This is a vitally important matter for the entire community and Chester’s summary is not repeated here. The situation is too complex to cover in a newsletter, so please attend the AGM at 10am on 18th December where we will discuss the matter or attend a special dune meeting which will be held with our legal team and our environment consultant at the Kenton Bowls Club at 5 pm on 23rd December.
General projects
Clearing Towpaths and Invasive Alien Plants
Nicholas Albrightson and Daph McNeill and their team are continuing with regular clearing of the towpaths and access paths and eradication of alien plants in these areas. This happens twice per week and is an extensive exercise which needs dedicated attention. Unfortunately, Nicholas has indicated a desire to step down from his leadership role as the long-serving “Gary Player” of bush clearing and towpath maintenance.
Some of the problem plants are: Ink Berry, usually 1 to 2m high, but can grow up to 15m in height. Used for wind breaks and is ever green. Very small quantities of inkberry can be fatal to cattle. Syringa control is a never-ending process. Of all the exotic trees, Syringa is considered one of the most prominent invader plants. Lantana is very invasive. The stems are very thorny. One of the most common causes of livestock poisoning. Ollieboom or Datura – these plants are robust and resilient which is why they are very difficult to control.
Jetty Repairs, Channel Marking, Signage
The public jetties and slipways have again been repaired and maintained and kept in good order. As reported previously, Andy Shier has given EC (and hence the public) the use of his jetty base which is next to the existing one at the Kariega slipway. Unfortunately there is a cost involved to build the wooden walkway and floating section which we have decided to delay to 2025.
Dave Curran, Ken Rogers and Kevin Ridden have been hard at work, re-setting and renovating channel markers and river signage.
We recently made a new batch of 48 channel signs which are placed on top of the poles we plant on the channel edges. This part of the workload was shared between Martin Smith, Duard Scoltz and Dave Curran. The refreshment of the signs is currently taking place to be completed in time for the seasonal rush.
After a couple of false starts due to equipment failure Estuary Care bought a water pump which is used to drill the holes for the marker poles. The 5 poles requiring placement have now been replaced and we are in much better shape regarding equipment as we go forward.
Signage
Estuary care has revamped river signage and is also posting signs to appeal to people to conserve our prawn populations by not buying prawns from illegal vendors.
Liaison with other organizations
Estuary Care continues to engage with numerous stakeholders and organizations such as Ndlambe Municipality, BRRAG, KOSRA, Chamber of Business & Tourism, Kariega Foundation, Sustainable Seas Trust, Rotary and Round Table and sees our involvement in formal regional and local government planning processes being an essential component of managing our estuary asset in a responsible and sustainable manner. Chester has provided some specifics on our engagement with Ndlambe in his report.
Financial Position
Income for the financial year ended 31 October 2024 was R272 841. The main contributors were donations of R104 216, interest R37 780, subscriptions of R19 455 and an amount of R111 360 which was a carryover from commission on sale of boat licences in the previous financial year. Expenditure was R93 015, due mainly to replacement and repair of jetties, pathways, river signage and slipways costs. Total current assets (cash and cash equivalents) were R720 201 (R540 375 retained income from the previous year plus the surplus for this year of R179 826). This amount includes R466 734 from special dune fund donations, which are ring fenced for dune project work.
We expect a significant amount of activity and cost associated with the dune issue to occur during the coming year. The dune fund will be drained very rapidly in the event of litigation involving the organization we and Ndlambe coming into being.
Estuary Care is now registered on the Government Central Supplier Database (CSD) as an NPO. We have informed Ndlambe Protection Services of the registration to prompt payment of the cost of jetty repairs from September last year. Dave Going has now been appointed by SARS as the Public Representative for Estuary Care and accounting firm BVSA are proceeding with registering the necessary changes with SARS for Section 18A approval to ensure full compliance with all requirements for tax exemptions for donations.
Closing appeal
We need members to become involved in the various portfolios. Currently, we have 77 paid-up members and as can be imagined, the increased cost of regular water testing, the attack on alien vegetation, the building of new jetties and the special dune fund, to name a few, are costly activities. We need more paying members and “supporters” who simply make donations, which are most welcome. Membership fees and donations can be paid to our account from our website by using this link to our website https://estuarycare.co.za/join/
Please contact me on 084 624 0947 or info@estuarycare.co.za to encourage us or advise us on any matter you have on your mind that will improve our estuaries.
We wish all our visitors a wonderful holiday here in this place we call home. We are all feeling we would have loved to accomplish more to make your holiday special, but I am proud of what we have accomplished.
We appeal to everyone to feel that you are part of the Custodians of the Future and to get involved in one of the portfolios, to continue as a member or simply to help our cause through a donation.
We invite you to speak to any member of the committee and I would love to hear from anyone who would care to contact me.
Chester Wilmot
Chairperson
“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”
Chief Seattle
