 |
Site sponsored by: |
 |
|
Site Designed & Maintained by: |
|
 |
|
||||||
| Home |
Please note that the views expressed by the contributors This issue of the Reporter will remain on this web site (www.riebeek.co.za) until the next issue Don’t forget that you can advertise in the Reporter. Ordinary line ads up to about 5 |
||
| Contact Us | |||
| Events | |||
| Fruitfly News | |||
| Handbook Updates | |||
| How to get to the Valley | |||
| Jean's Poetry | |||
| Pestiside Issue | |||
| Property Info | |||
| Publications | |||
| Subscribe / Unsubscribe |
NUMBER 77 May 2012
Click summary Riebeek Valley Special School twins with Sale High School in England The first ever twinning of two schools involving an educational establishment in the Western Cape took place at Riebeek Valley Special School recently.
”Both principals, Mrs. Lynn Nichols and Mr Jeff Peterson, are very keen on the twinning of the two schools. It would appear that Riebeek Valley Special School is the first school in the Western Cape, if not in the whole of South Africa to secure such a relationship with a school in Europe. In England, secondary school students range from 11 to 16 years of age. This reflects the age of students at Riebeek Valley Special School. All students study core subjects such Maths, Languages and sport. Both schools share a focus on technology. I am responsible for one of five ‘houses’ within school. As such, I have responsibility for the attendance, welfare and behaviour for all students in my house,which is similar to the responsibilities that Andre Rowan has in RVSS. My visit to the school is aimed at cementing the twinning and we look forward to an exciting future.” The top picture shows Sale High School and below (left to right) Mark Lees, Jeff Petersen and Andre Rowan.
A sign of Riebeek Valley Tourism
We wondered if the picture above, which shows the sign hanging outside the tourist office in Plein Street Riebeek Kasteel, is an indication of the current state of Riebeek Valley Tourism. We wrote to find out, requesting a reply by the following week so that we could post a report in this edition of the Reporter. Malcolm Bushell, the chairman Riebeek Valley Tourism, replied as follows: “Thank you for bringing up the state of the tourism office sign. The replacement of our sign had been assigned to an erst-while member of the committee and it unfortunately did not get progressed. It is now actually in the process of being completed and will be in place very soon. I really do not appreciate the sarcastic tone of your email, nor will I accept you attempting to impose timescales on responses from us. We will reply to you when we see fit. All of the members of the tourism committee do what we can to improve tourism in the Valley without recompense and to have you send such emails is frankly offensive. If you are not able to correspond with us in a polite manner please do not do so at all.” We have been told by a normally reliable source (as they say in the papers) that nothing had been done about replacing the sign before our email was received. We hope that something is done before the Olive Festival.
The curious case of the PPC LUPO appeal – update This is an update on the piece we wrote in the last issue. Daniel Christen tells us that he has heard from Riette Fourie who works in the office of the Chief Land Use Management Regulator, Provincial Government, as follows: “Your request has been assessed and incorporated into a submission. The matter will be sent en route to the Minister today (April 19th). He has been requested by the Department to make a final decision regarding the processing of the appeal.” Swartland Spatial Development Plan In earlier editions of the Reporter we have covered this issue and complained that participation was difficult because all the documentation was in Afrikaans. We were told by the Municipality at the time that this had been done for cost reasons. Daniel Christen took matters a stage further and complained to Provincial Government from whom he has now had a reply: “It has been confirmed by the Department of Local Government that Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa are the official languages of the Western Cape, as stipulated in terms of the Constitution of the Western Cape, 1998, as well as the Western Cape Provincial Languages Act, 1998, and as such are binding on the Provincial Government as well as the local authorities. Also, in terms of Section 18(2)(a) of the Municipal Systems Act, 2000, a municipality must take into account language preferences and usage in the municipal area, when communicating with the community. This e-mail will therefore also be forwarded to Mr. Joggie Scholtz, the Municipal Manager of the Swartland Municipality.” Quite clearly the Municipality did not take into account the language preferences in the Riebeek Valley which in turn compromised the public participation process for a sizable chunk of the community who speak English but not Afrikaans. So what happens now? We referred the matter to the Municipality but at time of going to press we had not received a reply.
Keith Stone
From Naval Salute to a Village Wave How does the laid back lifestyle of retiring in a small village in South Africa compare to the pomp and ceremony of the life of a career sailor? There is, of course, simply no comparison between living in a small community to living in a large city or even a smallish naval town. However, there is one factor that links the vision of an upright sailor striding around Simon's Town to that of a villager. This is, of course, the fact that whether one is in a crisp naval uniform or in shorts, a t shirt and sandals, one cannot walk the streets with one's hands in one's pockets. A person in uniform is always ready to pay the relevant marks of respect to a senior officer. Villagers are constantly alert to greeting each and every individual that may happen to cross their path when out and about in the streets of the village. Shortly after moving to the sleepy village of Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland, I was introduced to a phenomenon called "the village wave"; a simple form of greeting that takes numerous guises and is practiced by all and sundry. The wave could be an arm shaken about vigorously out of the car window, or it could be the flick of the wrist, a simple finger casually lifted off the steering wheel or even a slight nod of the head. No matter in what form it takes, a villager never ignores a passer-by, a passing motorist or a couple strolling hand in hand around the streets, peering into shop windows or admiring all the beautiful gardens, irrespective of the registration number of their car. So, do not be caught off guard next time you experience "the village wave." It is our local interpretation of a naval salute! Nexus An article written by Hugh von Zahn, a businessman, was reproduced in the Cape Info Newsletter this month. He said: “In the business world you focus on outcomes and results and decide on the shortest path to get there. This is standard business practice. In the weird world of bureaucracy you follow a process, often to the exclusion of results. As long as you can show that you are following a process all will be well, the results are incidental. The real evil of this fixation on process is that bureaucracies create meaningless jobs filled by people who are function directed rather than being held accountable for results achieved. In the strange world of the bureaucracy everything is introverted. All things point to stasis. It is a form of navel gazing. So we see ”vision”, process writ large, pictures of staff, corporate manifestos, pledges and self-adulation – precious little about results.” In the Nexus case the process is still processing. No sign of results.
Riebeek Valley Special School triumph at ELSEN Athletic Championship in Germiston
The picture shows (left to right) Trudy Muller Lorna van Zweel – bronze medal under 15 1500m. Rize Baron – gold medals under 16 200m and 400m Edward Dirks – bronze medal under 16 discus Tersia Fransman – gold medal under 17 200m and silver medal under 17 400m Amy Roman The girls under 16 relay team got a silver medal.
Letters Museum The Committee of De Oude Kerk Museum, would like to express their appreciation to the following individuals who donated time, money and expertise to upgrade the Museum garden:
The committee has decided that the abovementioned gentlemen will be made honourary friends of the Museum. Laetitia Mans, Museum Manager
Trucks in Riebeek Kasteel I am most concerned about the heavy trucks driving (and parking) in the side streets of Riebeek Kasteel. Of particular concern is the open land on the corner of Hermon Road and Hoof Street. The vehicles are too large to navigate the sharp corner so they short cut over this open land. I note today that one was even 'camped' on this piece of property. The result is that two weeks ago they drove over the main water line, damaging it. This meant a call out for a maintenance crew, and no water for us. This is totally unnecessary. Many of the trucks appear lost and use this as a turning circle which is dangerous, particularly since it is near the primary school. I suggest that a "no go" sign for vehicles over (5 tonnes/3tonnes?) is placed on the corner of the R46 and Hermon Road thus preventing heavy vehicles from entering the narrow streets of the village. It might also help if some large rocks were strategically placed on the verges bordering this empty plot. Mike Herzfeld, Riebeek Kasteel
Health and safety hazard in Riebeek Kasteel I would like to bring a health and safety hazard to your attention that is currently manifesting itself in the lower income area of Riebeek Kasteel. This was bought to my attention by a lone lady resident in Waterblommetjie Street, who did report the situation to the Health Department of Swartland Municipality here in Malmesbury. Next to Waterblommetjie Street are two public open spaces that are used for dumping all sorts of household trash including animal parts like skaapkoppe and baby nappies. This attracts flies and creates a stench. Children play amongst the trash. Residents can pick up germs and become ill. The trash does get picked up by someone with a front end loader but only every month or two. Also the following issues are upsetting residents.
H Snyders, Malmesbury
We commented as follows on the above letter. Do let us know what you think. RUBBISH Most of Esterhof is heavily subsidised by the rest of the community. They get a lot of things free which the rest of us have to pay for. This is understandable since many are very poor. But trash on open spaces is of the community’s own making. They do not have to toss down heaps of rotting rubbish which create health problems for both themselves and their neighbours. We imagine the garbage truck calls once a week (as it does with us) to collect bags of rubbish. Why cannot they leave out their rubbish to be collected in suitable containers? Also there is a municipal rubbish tip just round the corner from Esterhof. Additionally we note from the letter that the heaps are removed periodically by fork lift truck. SOUP We are not sure of the current position but there was a soup kitchen run by the clinic in conjunction with Bridget Doyle’s initiative and others in years past. Jean Wright was heavily involved for a time but became disenchanted with the whole operation when it became clear that the community were happy to lean on the help given by those “on the other side of the railway line” but were unwilling to do anything on their own initiative. Many expected to be paid. There was no community spirit of “we must all help each other”. As soon as help stopped, everything stopped. SOLAR PANELS We imagine the lack of solar panels is a question of cost. Hermon is in the Drakenstein area whereas Esterhof is in Swartland.
Weather The rainfall in April was 56mm in Riebeek Kasteel. This is the highest April rainfall for five years. But rainfall during the last 12 months is still over 20% less than the same figure last year. We are now entering the critical time for rain. As we have said before the valley is really dependant on what happens in the period May – August. Around 70% of the annual rain usually falls during these four months. Once again thanks to Chris Haugh for providing the figures. Don’t forget – you can check out the local weather at : http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Western_Cape/Riebeek-Kasteel/ (or Riebeek West or Hermon)
Property News
He lists some special properties from R375000 and features some older houses from R1725000.
To read his article in full click here
Snippets There will be a slow food market at Groenrivier every Sunday from May 27th from 09:00 – 15:00
Those who supported Coenie and Johan in their dispute with Owen Wynand will be pleased to hear that the matter has been resolved.
Animal rescue For further details contact: Newton – 0824545544 Tessa – 0827024197.
Jean’s poetry piece Jean is still in England. |
Sale High School, motto: “
Some readers will have known Keith Stone, a resident of Riebeek Kasteel, who sadly died during the month. A memorial service was held at the ACVV hall on 21st April. He was a retired warrant officer. Shortly before he died he wrote the following article which appeared in the magazine, Navy News.
More about the Riebeek Valley Special School! Following success at the Boland athletics competition (see last issue), RVSS athletes have won a number of medals at national level.
This month Daniel says that once again properties are beginning to sell but advises caution!
We know that catering outlets in the Valley are constantly looking for new sources of income. Perhaps we have found an answer. We see that divorce parties are becoming increasingly popular. Apparently one woman commissioned a special cake. It was a blood spattered three tier confection with a lady (?) in a long dress standing triumphantly on the top clutching a knife and a very dead husband lying at the base. 
This beautiful older gal is a real sweetheart and needs to spend the rest of her years in a loving home. She is suitable only as a companion, but is still young at heart despite her age and has a lovely nature. She will make a perfect companion horse. She is receiving lots of love and attention. She needs to put on lots of weight and being in good hands now she will fill out in no time.