Social impact assessmentFor Strategic Environmental Assessment ofChange in Structure Plan to accommodate

The proposed development of theLakes Eco & Golf Reserve

On property Hoogekraal 182 SwartvleiFinal report

28 April 2004

By Dr Shakti MalanPO Box 244

Hoekwil6538

shakti@telkomsa.net0833010399

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Executive Summary

A. Report motivation and structure

The Strategic Environmental Assessment is meant to inform the process of planning what would be the best use of the land earmarked for the Lakes Eco Golf Reserve (Hoogekraal 182 – henceforth referred to as the Property). The first section provides a baseline description of the social environment within which the study is located. The final section describes and analyses the potential impacts of three land use options: agricultural zoning, conservation zoning and Change of land use as proposed for the Development.Mitigation and management measures for impacts are also provided in this section.

B. Baseline description

George experienced a sharp increase in population from 1996 to 1999, i.e. and annual increase of approximately 6%. This population increase can mostly be ascribed to the high growth of the African population for 16% per annum. This increase is due mainly to in-migration from the Eastern Cape, where unemployment levels are significantly higher, and per capita income lower. Between 1980 and 1996, unemployment levels have risen from 8% to 18%, with the largest percentage being amongst Africans.

Communities in the ward area within which the Development is located, have a rural quality, with significant differences between the social texture of traditionally Coloured/African and White areas. The Coloured areas that are closest to the Development (Colinshoek, Woodville and Karatara) are Safcol forestry settlements with a high degree of homogeneity. Retrenchments by Safcol are increasing levels of unemployment, but levels of social stability are relatively high. The Welfare Town next to Karatara was established by the Department of Welfare and is still occupied mostly by lower income white residents.

Club Timbers sawmill adjacent to the Development, has its own squatter settlement. Conditions are poor and social degradation is evident. Touwsranten is a mainly Coloured settlement adjacent to Hoekwil. The area was established during the Group Areas Act to accommodate families that were relocated from the lakes. Most employed residents to menial labour as gardeners or domestic servants. As in most Coloured and African areas, alcoholism is a significant concern here.

There area a number of large-scale farmers (mainly dairy and vegetable farming) in the area surrounding the Development. These farms provide relatively secure income and accommodation for farm workers and their families. Also surrounding the Development are various small scale farming enterprises and landowners who mostly relocated to the area from cities in search of a tranquil rural lifestyle.

The road planned to the proposed Development, passes through Hoekwil, a mostly white village overlooking Wilderness. Much of Hoekwil currently consists of 3-hectare erven that may not be subdivided under current regulations. This adds to the rural atmosphere of the village. Farming still happens on a small scale in the village.

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Kleinkrantz was originally created as the Coloured area of Wilderness, but houses then became available as a Coloured area holiday resort. Currently, most houses are either owned by permanent occupants or rented from the State. Kleinkrantz has a squatter camp with poor social conditions.

The town of Sedgefield lies 11 km east of Wilderness, and falls within the Knysna Municipal Area. The town is largely reliant on the tourism industry. Population numbers rise from 3-4000 out of season to 30 000 during season. Smutsville and Sizamile are the Coloured and African townships of Sedgefield. According to local residents, Smutsville came into existence in the ‘50’s when the Group Areas Act forced Coloured families to move out of Sedgefield.

A common phenomenon of Smutsville, Touwsranten and Kleinkrantz communities is that there is a relatively high degree of formal as compared to informal housing, and at the same time a significant shortage of formal housing. Levels of informal housing are higher in Sizamile and the Club Timbers village, both of which accommodate migrants from the Eastern Cape.

Some of the Coloured families closest to the development, live in rented ex-railway houses and on farms in the Rondevlei, Langvlei and Duiwerivier areas. There is no service provision for these houses. Unemployment is a concern for residents. Most households have one inhabitant who provides an income, either through working or through disability or old age pensions C. Impact of land use options

This section summarises the impacts which each of the three land use options would have on the social environment.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated (in brackets after the heading), numbering of impacts corresponds to the numbering in the main body of the report. 1. Agricultural zoning (3.1.1)

Agricultural zoning has the potential to be a secure source of livelihood sustainability, and has the advantage of maintaining the current low-density rural based social identity of residents in the area. However, the agricultural specialist report indicates that farming is not a viable option on the Property. Agricultural zoning would then not contribute to social sustainability.

2. Conservation zoning (3.1.2)

Conservation zoning has the social advantage of maintaining low density development, not putting at risk the livelihood security of residents who use natural resources (e.g. fishing in the Swartvlei) and providing free access to natural recreational areas. However, specialist studies indicate that conservation zoning is not viable as an exclusive zoning for this area.

3. Change of land use proposed for Development

3.1. Policy directives (3.2.1.)

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Policy directives investigated indicate a need to ensure that poverty is addressed, that the sustainability of rural communities is ensured, that tourism development happens in shared vision with local communities, and that golf estate developments not be undertaken to the detriment of vulnerable communities.

3.2. Employment creation (3.2.2)

The Development has the potential of creating a significant amount of employment opportunities, the majority of which will be in the construction industry. The construction industry in the George municipal area is currently lacking in skilled workers. Statistics also indicate that the number of people currently employed in the construction industry of the George district would not provide sufficient labour for the Development at the scale proposed. The Development would therefore have to make use of inexperienced labour with low skills levels. The potential of the in-migration of workers from elsewhere to fill vacant positions should be monitored closely.

Apart from construction work, the following sectors are likely to provide employment on the Development, and offer potential areas for skills training: Caddies Hospitality industry Land clearing, horticultural services, forestry Equestrian activity

Apart from skill levels, factors constraining employment are: Lack of English language skills Unemployability due to alcoholism Lack of transport facilities Some local (particularly forestry) communities see the Property as beyond their world

of engagement.

A request by leaders and residents from all low-income communities is that higher level (i.e. above unskilled labour) employment opportunities be created on the project, particularly for the youth.

3.3. In-migration (3.2.3)

The construction industry in the Garden Route is growing rapidly due to the increase in the amount of developments. This has resulted in a large-scale in-migration of work seekers (particularly from the Eastern Cape) as well as the settling of workers who are brought from elsewhere in the country by contractors. This phenomenon has resulted in the following social problems:

In-migration is placing a burden on low cost housing provision, which is already under strain.

The influx of foreigners has many negative repercussions for the social integrity of local communities. It can lead to community disintegration, the disintegration of families, the degradation of moral codes, and an increase in alcoholism, drug abuse and gangsterism.

An increase in the unemployed population becomes an economic burden for existing communities.

Crime levels rise if population density and unemployment levels rise.

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3.4. Change in rural lifestyle (3.2.4)

The Development as proposed, could significantly alter the rural lifestyle of neighbouring communities and landowners.

3.5. Division of White and Coloured/African communities (3.2.5)

The community participatory process could be divisive if the interests of White and Coloured/African communities are played off against each other.

3.6. Marginalisation of poor communities (3.2.6)

The building of a high-income golf estate in an area characterized by low levels of income, lack of housing and basic services could further inequality. If vulnerable communities are not empowered to participate in the project evaluation process, the process could further marginalise them.

3.7. Lack of shared vision (3.2.7)

There is a lack of shared vision between surrounding communities and the Developer. There are high levels of distrust from sectors of the community towards the Developer. Residents feel that their inputs are used against their will to support the vision of the Developer.

3.8. Noise pollution (3.2.8)

Noise pollution concerns expressed by interested and affected parties are: The noise of increase in traffic on the road through Hoekwil Activities related to the proposed aerodrome and Domestic and animal noises of Reserve residents.

3.9. Change in social composition (3.2.9)

The Development will lead to a significant change in the social composition of the area. The Development is most likely to be inhabited by residents from high-income areas with a high degree of urban sophistication.

3.10. Services (3.2.10)

The Development as proposed will provide some commercial services. Surrounding communities are not likely to make use of these.

3.11. Security (3.2.1)

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The Development will lead to an increased need for security to protect the Property, and could also indirectly lead to increased security risk for local communities (if accompanied by an influx of unemployed work seekers)

3.12. Road through Hoekwil and Touwsranten (3.2.12)

The Development as proposed would lead to a significant increase in traffic through Touwsranten and Hoekwil. This could endanger pedestrians and animals using the road.

3.13. Water (3.2.12)

Water is a scarce resource that is vital to the social and economic sustainability of local communities. The Development could potentially compromise current sources of water provision.

3.14. Closure of Club Timbers (3.2.14)

Club Timbers sawmill could be closed as an indirect consequence of the Development. The sawmill is currently an essential source of livelihood security for employees.

3.15. Cumulative impact: Development of the Garden Route (3.2.15)

The proposed Development contributes to the current development the Garden Route area. Development results in cumulative social impacts. The social impact of this development should be assessed within the context of the social impact of the development of the Garden Route as a whole.

D. Mitigation and management measures

1. Conservation zoning (3.1.2)

2. 1. Maintain areas currently zoned for Conservation use on the Property. 2.2. Ensure public access to recreational areas surrounding the Property. Ensure that the density of the Development does not compromise the movement of

fauna through the Property.

Policy directives (3.1)

Ensure the creation of sustainable employment opportunities. Ensure that the Development does not impact negatively on social cohesion. In

particular, the potential impact of in-migration should be monitored. During further phases of study, socially integrated participatory processes should be

undertaken with the various communities who are interested in and affected by the proposed Development. These participatory processes should be held in a format, style and situation, which is accessible and empowering for all participants.

Further participatory processes should include the formulation of a common vision for tourism promotion in the area. Ways in which the Development could further the tourism potential of the area, should be discussed and developed in consultation.

Provide maximum training opportunities for poor communities

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Investigate ways of providing access to golf recreational resources for poor communities

Ensure that the Development in no way compromises municipal service provision to poor communities. Such compromise would take place if, for instance, the Development leads to an influx of work seekers into vulnerable communities.

Employment creation (3.2.2)

At further stages of assessment, the types and levels of employment that the Development could offer, should be defined in detail and mechanisms identified to enable access to positions for local residents.

A percentage of higher level positions should be reserved for local employment. Ways of enabling potential subcontractors from low-income areas to tender should

be investigated. This includes setting up linkages for small business loans, as well as small business skills training.

Opportunities for the employment of younger people, especially those with higher levels of education, should be maximized.

Employment opportunities for women should be maximized. Conditions of employment (including payment) should be discussed with employees

before employment. Transport systems should be identified to ensure maximum employment access by

communities that currently have little or no public transport access. The possibility of providing low cost housing closer to the Development should be

investigated at the next level of study. The Black Economic Caucus, a Knysna based regional body that consists of 100

black business people, has expressed interest in discussing ways of ensuring empowerment and employment equity on the Development.

Skills training (3.2.2)

During the next phase of study, training opportunities for all applicable sectors functioning as part of the Development should be identified. The number of people to be trained and mechanisms uses for trainee identification and training implementation should be decided on in consultation with local communities.

Unless more advantageous opportunities can be found, the Master Builders’ training program should be used to upgrade and/or develop the skills of all building contractor employees.

An agreement on training requirements and procedures should be made with all service providers and construction companies working on the Development. The Environmental Control Officer should ensure that training agreements are adhered to.

Training for higher levels of employment should include English language training where necessary.

Employment related training opportunities for younger people with higher levels of education should be maximized.

In-migration (3.2.3)

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No workers’ settlements around the Property should be allowed. The possibility of providing low-income housing should be investigated during the

next level of study. A detailed local employment strategy is proposed in this report. It requires of

contractors to strictly adhere to agreements regarding the numbers of local people to be employed. This agreement is accompanied by a skills audit and access to a local labour broker. The Environmental Control Officer monitors the procedure. Community based monitoring bodies are to be appointed to act as additional watchdogs.

Change in rural lifestyle (3.2.4)

Decrease the future population density of the Development by decreasing the number of living units.

Division of Coloured/African and White communities (3.2.5)

The next phase of assessment should include collaborative meetings and discussions between the various communities.

Marginalisation of poor communities (3.2.6)

Ensure equal access to and participation in future public participation processes. Investigate the possibility of providing low cost housing. Investigate ways of supporting local communities through empowering investments

and support.

Lack of shared vision (3.2.7)

Appoint a professional mediator to assist with the finding of a shared vision between the Developer and surrounding communities.

Noise pollution (3.2.8)

The EIA phase of study should include a noise pollution study to identify noise impacts and provide mitigation measures.

Road through Hoekwil and Touwsranten (2.2.12)

Investigate measures (e.g. pedestrian bridges) to ensure safe crossing of roads through Touwsranten and Hoekwil.

Water (3.2.13)

Water provision for the Development should in no ways compromise the domestic or commercial water use of neighbouring communities.

Closure of Club Timbers (3.2.14)

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If Club Timbers were to close as a direct or indirect consequence of the Development, sustainable alternative employment and housing should be found for employees.

Cumulative impact: Development of Lakes area (3.2.15)

The social impact of the proposed Development should be assessed in the context of current development trends in the area during the EIA phase. This assessment should be done in consultation with relevant authorities.

An assessment of the cumulative impacts of project such as the proposed Development would benefit greatly from a regional (Garden Route) Strategic Environmental Assessment.

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Report indexpage

1. Study framework and approach 112. Baseline description 142.1. Description of the broader social environment2.1.1. Density2.1.2 Unemployment and economic growth 152.1.3. Basic services 182.2 Description of local communities2.2.1. Bergplaas/Woodville and Colinshoek 192.2.2. Hoekwil 212.2.3. Touwsranten 222.2.4. Karatara 242.2.5. Sedgefield 262.2.6. Smutsville and Sizamile 272.2.7. Kleinkrantz 292.2.8. Langvlei, Rondevlei and Duiwerivier2.3. Neighbouring land owners2.3.1. Large scale farmers 302.3.2. Small scale farmers 312.3.3. Club Timbers 322.3.4. Club Timbers2.4. The Property 333. Assessment of land use options 343.1. Impact of current land use3.1.1. Agricultural zoning3.1.2. Conservation zoning 353.2. Rezoning of land as proposed for the Development 363.2.1. Local policy directives3.2.2. Employment 383.2.3 Influx of workers from elsewhere 453.2.4 Change in rural lifestyle 484.2.5 Division of Coloured and White communities 493.2.6 Marginalisation of poor communities 503.2.7 Lack of shared vision 523.2.8 Noise pollution 543.2.9 Change in social composition3.2.10. Services offered 563.2.11. Security3.2.12. Road through Hoekwil and Touwsranten 573.2.13. Water 583.2.14. Potential impact: Closure of Club Timbers3.2.15. Cumulative impact: Development of the Lakes area 59Bibliography 60Attachment A 61

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1. Study framework and approach

1.1. Objective

The SEA is meant to inform the process of planning what would be the best use of the land earmarked for the Lakes Eco Golf Reserve (Hoogekraal 182 – henceforth referred to as the Property). The assessment also assists authorities in deciding whether the proposed use(s) are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. The social specialist study describes and analyses factors pertaining to the social environment that influence the choice of land use. This description includes an investigation if measures that could enhance positive impacts and mitigate negative impacts of any proposed land use.

The social environment consists of all social networks and systems that are potentially impacted by a development – a change in land use, in this case. The focus of study is to assess how change in land use for the purpose of facilitating the development of the proposed Lakes & Eco Golf Reserve (henceforth referred to as the Development) would affect the well being of all people in the social environment. Well-being can be described as a good quality of life. Well-being and ill-being differ from wealth and poverty. Unlike wealth, well-being is open to the whole range of human experience, social, mental, spiritual as well as material. The report also aims to indicate at a conceptual level, what measures could be taken to mitigate potential impacts of the proposed Development on social sustainability and well being.

Livelihood security is basic to well being. Livelihood security refers to secure rights and reliable access to resources that support well-being. Well-being is supported by equity, and the provision of equal opportunities should be a qualifying factor for all development. Development also needs to be socially sustainable, that is, it should be based on policies and action with sustainable well being and sustainable livelihoods as objectives for present and future generations (Chambers 1997).

Sustainable livelihoods are ensured by development that furthers the livelihood security of all citizens, especially those who are most vulnerable to external conditions that could threaten their livelihood security. One way of determining the impact of a project on livelihood sustainability, is to investigate what impact it would have on people’s access to human, social and productive capital. These can be defined as follows:

Human capital The ability of an individual to work in order to generate an income Human capital includes

Environmental conditions All dimensions of health Education, training, experience, local knowledge Work/livelihood creating opportunities Safety Cultural resources Amenities and facilities

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Social capital The value we gain from being part of a community or social group or institutional

entity Informal and organised reciprocal networks of trust and norms embedded in the

social organisation of communities Social capital includes:

Spatial identities and relationships Horizontal networks of support (family, neighbourhood, community, culture) Vertical associations that provide access to outside resources (government,

NGOs, political parties) Social identity Power relationships

Productive capital Physical assets an individual requires in order to work/produce goods and services

for subsistence/access subsistence resources Productive capital includes:

Environmental resources Housing/settlement type Productive space Transport Basic services Time Financial capital

It is important to understand the distinction between the social assessment study and public participation processes. Public participation aims to engage all interested and affected parties (I&APs). Public participation has been defined as “a systematic process which provides an opportunity for citizens, planners, managers and elected representatives to share their experience, knowledge and goals and combine their energy to create a plan which is technically sound, economically attractive, generally understood and accepted by most of those affected by it and is thus politically viable”.1

The similarity between social assessment and public participation is that both engage the social environment, and each benefit from the information gathering process of the other. The difference is that a) A social impact assessment is a specialist study, which requires a professional

description and analysis of the social environment. This analysis can be fed by information coming from public participation discussions, which often represents a first level of information. Positions solicited through public process are subjected to scientific investigation in social assessment.

b) Social impact assessment aims at understanding all significant aspects pertaining to sustainable livelihoods and social well being that could be influenced by an intervention. Many of these aspects are not necessarily “voiced” by I&APs during public participation. The social impact assessment specialist employs methodologies (see 1.2) that reveal what may not be evident on the surface.

c) Social impact assessment is an independent study and not a political process.

1 Connor 1972.

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1.2. Methodology

Social networks that are directly impacted, were investigated using qualitative, in-depth research methods, whereas impacts on broader social environments (for instance local towns, regional and social systems) were assessed using secondary and quantifiable data and interviews. The approach used for this study is that the social environment determines the nature and focus of the study. Although the researcher goes in with some guiding questions, the plan of study and the hypotheses are shaped by that which is found in the field. The focus of this stage of study was to solicit the main themes and questions that arise from the social environment, and not to do an extensive study of all communities that may be affected.

The Rapid Rural Appraisal technique (Chambers 1997) was used extensively to solicit responses from community groups. Groups were subdivided into smaller groups. Each group was asked to draw their social environment as they experience it, and then to draw their social environment the way they would experience it if the Development as proposed were to proceed. Participants were then asked to explain their drawings to the larger group. The advantage of this methodology is that it is a participatory form of information gathering, is empowering to participants, and solicits levels of information and experience that people often find difficult to verbalize at first.

1.3. Assumptions and limitations

It is assumed that this study constitutes a first phase of evaluation, which would be continued if the application for change of Structure Plan were to be approved. Guidelines are given in the document as to where further study should be undertaken.

Not all communities in the area were engaged in in-depth research. Research conducted for the strategic level of evaluation, is sufficient to solicit the most significant social concerns about and possibilities of the proposals.

Statistics used for this study are based on 1996 and 2001 census figures. Although they may not always be accurate, they give an adequate indication of trends for the purpose of this study.

This study is distinct from the public participation process (see 1.2).

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2. Baseline description

2.1. Description of the broader social environment2.1.1. Density

Population statistics for the Eden district (as per census) indicate George as the largest municipal area of the district. George is also the second largest town in the Western Cape, with the CMA having a population of 2 557 000 and Paarl 161 000.

TOWN 1996 2001

Plettenberg Bay (now Bitou) 18434 29183Knysna 43194 51468George 108183 135409Mossel Bay 59818 71493Langeberg 38566 44113Kannaland 21193 23971Oudtshoorn 79225 84692District Management Area 12428 14596

TOTAL 381041 454925

George experienced a sharp increase in population from 1996 to 1999, i.e. and annual increase of approximately 6%. This population increase can mostly be ascribed to the high growth of the African population for 16% per annum. This increase is due mainly to in-migration from the Eastern Cape, where unemployment levels are significantly higher, and per capita income lower. Many migrators come to the area as seasonal workers and stay behind when the season is over. This situation creates an oversupply of lowly skilled (mainly agricultural) workers that impacts on the already low wage levels of the sector (George Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2002).

Statistics for Ward 1, which stretches from Victoria Bay to just before Sedgefield (the Ward area within which the Development is situated), indicate a dramatic increase in the number of isiXhosa speaking residents in the area:

LANGUAGE Ward 1Persons 1996 2001 %

changeAfrikaans 4780 4362 -8.74English 1455 1401 -3.71IsiNdebele 4 12 200IsiXhosa 355 2415 580.28IsiZulu 17 27 58.82Sepedi 4 3 -25Sesotho 19 48 152.63Setswana 8 27 237.5SiSwati 5 6 20Tshivenda 7 9 28.57

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Xitsonga 5 18 260Other 389 69 -82.26

An increase in population is expected to continue, with an expected annual increase of 1.5% per annum (low in-migration scenario) to 5% (high in-migration scenario). The implication is that George can prepare for an additional 100 000 residents by the year 2010. The George Municipal Integrated Development Plan indicates that this increase in population has specific implications in respect of: Housing and basic services and the ability of the Municipality to provide such

services The ability of the economy to support additional people and provide additional jobs,

especially to those with limited skills migrating from specifically the Eastern Cape, The spatial needs for such a population in respect of housing and infrastructure (e.g.

schools, sport facilities and work opportunities) and the environment. The demand to ensure that development is sustainable from a social, economic and

environmental point of view.

In 1999 the White population made the lowest contribution to the total population of the three ethnic groups (23%), followed by the African population with their increased share of 27%, and the Coloured population with a slightly lower share of 50%. Census data indicates a 400% increase in the African population for Ward 1 (the municipal district that stretches from Victoria Bay to Sedgefield, thus the ward within the Development is situated). This increase can be largely ascribed to the in-migration of work seekers from the Eastern Cape. POPULATION GROUP Ward 1Persons 1996 2001 % change 1996African 542 2748 407.01 59Coloured 3250 3028 -6.83 5960Indian 24 27 12.5 7White 3280 2596 -20.85 0Total population

7437 8399 12.94 6035

Census date also indicates an overall increase of 23% in the female population of Ward 1, which suggests that employment creation should place special focus on opportunities for women.

2.1.2. Unemployment and economic growth

Although the real output of George district remained relatively high since 1980, high population growth, combined with a low labour absorption of the economy resulted in rising levels of unemployment in the George labour force. The level of formal employment dropped from 88% in 1980 to 64% in 1996. Unemployment levels have risen from 8% to 18%, with the largest percentage being amongst Africans. The following are the most current employment statistics used by the George Municipal District:

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GEORGE Male Black African

Coloured Indian/ Asian

White Totals

Not applicable 0 0 0 0 0Employed 6119 11670 82 6399 24270 42094Unemployed 4116 3239 11 338 7704 16943Not economically active

2684 6056 26 3172 11938 31065

Totals Male 12919 20965 119 9909 43912 90102Female Black

AfricanColoured Indian/

AsianWhite Totals

Not applicable 0 0 0 0 0Employed 3272 9297 46 5209 17824Unemployed 4948 4041 5 245 9239Not economically active

3872 10003 61 5191 19127

Totals Female 12092 23341 112 10645 46190Employment Totals 25011 44306 231 20554 90102

Despite the sharp increase in unemployment levels, figures in George are still well below the national average of 33%.

While employment levels are relatively high, the levels of income in the George area are exceptionally low, with 87% of all individuals had a formal income between R0 and R1 000 per month. This figure includes people in the non-earning age categories of 0 – 14 and 65+, and reflects on high dependency rates. The Southern Cape records income levels of more than 20% below the national average (George Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2002: 8). (George Municipality Development Profile 2000).

This information suggests the need for a focus on the creation of employment opportunities that raise the level of income of the most vulnerable. Interviews with residents of African and Coloured areas indicated a focused desire for employment opportunities in higher income levels, and for the skills training that enables access to these positions.

The Human Development Index2 indicates a relatively low quality of life for Coloured and African residents in the George area (0.49 for African and 0.52 for Coloured residents).

The age-pyramid for George reflects a particularly large percentage of black residents in the younger age group, ages 0 – 34 years. The Coloured population has particularly large percentage of people in the 20 – 24 and 30 – 34 age group. These figures suggest the importance of considering the factors that support sustainable livelihoods (such as employment) for young people in the broader social environment. The creation of employment opportunities for women is also of significance. Unemployment levels amongst women were much higher than for men. The George Integrated Development 2 The HDI measures quality of life by taking various factors into account, e.g. average life expectancy, infant mortality rates, access to primary health and educatino, etc. A value closer to 1 indicates a high quality of living.

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Plan (2002) suggests a direct focus on gender issues as a means of alleviating poverty and inequality.

The percentage of the George labour force in lowly skilled elementary occupations (34%) is slightly higher than that of the national average (33%). Of these, the largest percentage (22%) are identified as craft workers, service workers (15%) and professionals (15%). An increasing number of people (estimated 11 000) also find work in the low wage informal sector, which includes casual farm workers and hawkers.

Statistics of the George Municipality indicate that the overwhelming amount of citizens in Ward 1 are employed in elementary occupations.

OCCUPATION Ward 1Persons 1996 2001 % changeCraft/Trade 284 279 -1.76Elementary 856 1185 38.43Legislators/Senior officials 158 213 34.81Unspecified/Not economically classified - 0 -Plant/Machine operators 98 96 -2.04Professionals 132 171 29.55Service workers 140 252 80Agricultural/Fishery 204 150 -26.47Technicians 107 138 28.97Undetermined - 180 -Clerks 137 147 7.3

Their levels of education influence the levels and types of employment for which people qualify. A large percentage of the Coloured and black populations for the George municipal area have only primary education (40% and 37% respectively), but the numbers for people with some secondary education are not much lower (30% and 31% respectively). A small sector of the Coloured and African populations have matriculated (7% and 9%) or have post matric qualifications (2% and 4%). These figures show a significant increase in the percentage of particularly Coloured residents with matric and higher levels of education.

The following table indicates levels of education in ward 1. The increase in the number of people with no or low levels of education could be due to the in-migration of unemployed work seekers into the area.

HIGHEST EDUCATION LEVELS ATTAINED BY OVER 20 YEAR OLDS Ward 1Persons 1996 2001 % change 1996No schooling 326 567 73.93 439Some primary 689 1101 59.8 761Complete primary 363 471 29.75 387Secondary 1082 1326 22.55 1057Grade 12 1151 1386 20.42 303

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Higher 590 768 30.17 34

Economic activity in the Knysna municipal district shows a high percentage of employment in the trade sector (31%, with 19% of trade being estimated as tourism related). Other strong sectors are the construction industry (10.6%), financial and business services (19.5%) and personal services (10.8%) (Knysna LED development strategy 2002).

2.1.3. Basic services

The following table indicates an overall increase in the provision of water, one of the basic services needed by communities.

WATER SERVICES Ward 1Households 1996 2001 % change 1996Dwelling 1100 1071 -2.64 864Inside yard 155 357 130.32 190Community stand 25 447 1,688.00 5Community stand over 200m

- 525 - -

Borehole 412 9 -97.82 0Spring 3 0 -100 2Rain tank - 123 - -Dam/Pool/Stagnant water

- 18 - -

River/Stream 37 15 -59.46 0Water vendor 8 6 -25 0

Levels of basic sanitation provision levels have decreased significantly from 1996 to 2001, with George Municipal statistics indicating a 1 565% increase in people who have no sanitation provision for Ward 1. The absence of formal service provision is generally associated with the absence of formal housing, and could in this case again be ascribed to the influx of work seekers who set up informal structures.

SANITATION SERVICES - GEORGE MUNICIPALITY Ward 1

Households 1996 2001 % changeFlush toilet 1329 888 -33.18Flush septic tank

- 579 -

Chemical toilet - 9 -VIP - 9 -Pit latrine 290 33 -88.62Bucket latrine 63 192 204.76None 58 966 1,565.52

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In conclusion, this baseline description of the George Municipal Region indicates that in-migration is having a significant impact on levels of employment and service provision in the area. Figures also indicate a need for forms of employment that raise the levels of income, which are markedly low for this area.

2.2. Description of local communities

The following section gives a baseline description of the communities that are closest to the Property. For the sake of focus, the study looks at Ward 1 communities and does not include the larger populations of George and Knysna.

2.2.1. Bergplaas/ Woodville and Colinshoek

Bergplaas (also known as Woodville) is a settlement established by Safcol for forestry workers and their families. The turn-off to this community is located on the Seven Passes road, about 7 kilometers from the Property. Since 1996, Safcol has been relocating employees who were living in this settlement to other forestry stations. Only about one third of the forestry houses (22) are still occupied. The size of households varies between 3 and 9 people per household.

The local school at Bergplaas, which has room for 90 pupils, currently has 35 primary school pupils. Some pupils are from Colinshoek, a similar forestry station 2km on towards Hoekwil. The school has a headmaster (from George) and two teachers. There are 22 high school pupils, who attend school in George.

All the men in this settlement, with the exception of one pensioner, are employed by SAFCOL. Their employment status, however, is uncertain, since SAFCOL has not indicated their future plans for this forestry station. (Note that no formal indication has been given by SAFCOL that further retrenchments are to be expected). Income varies according to rank. Women complain that some of their husbands bring back little cash, after pension, tax and other expenses are deducted from the salaries.

Most of the women living in this settlement have some form of part time (two or three days a week) employment on nearby farms, in Hoekwil, Wilderness and George. Some women have permanent employment in Wilderness. Average wage is R60 per day, and taxi return fares to Wilderness are R11. Women who work, as well as the high school pupils, walk 6km from Bergplaas to the main road in order to catch a taxi. This takes them just over an hour.

Inhabitants of Bergplaas do most of their shopping in George. Safcol provides transport to George once a month. In the weeks between, residents use taxi’s to George or buy on credit at the Bergplaas cash store. Bergplaas has an abundance of vegetable gardens which boast prolific crop. A number of families have cows which they milk for their own use, and sell to neighbours. Occasionally excess cattle are slaughtered for meat.

Bergplaas can currently be described as a stable community with a relatively high level of livelihood security, due to the following factors.

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Employment levels are relatively high. The fact that all men receive an income, provides income security. Future projection indicates that Safcol employees might loose their employment or be relocated. There are also some high school pupils who will be looking for blue or White collar employment opportunities in a couple of years’ time. Bergplaas itself offers no additional employment opportunities. Women would benefit from full-time employment at a closer location.

Bergplaas is a closely-knit community. All members of the community know each other by name. Although residents lead quiet lives and focus on their own families, they provide support to each other in case of illness, and also share news of opportunities to come. There are no new people coming in (inkommers) in Bergplaas, and so a stable social identity has been developed.

There is a strong sense of place in this community. When Bergplaas was a larger community, residents used to have annual gardening competitions. Houses are still kept with great pride, and gardens are a beauty to behold. The mapping exercise done with residents confirms that the settlement itself is the center of their world. Primary school children drew one big house to represent their environment. For them, their world takes place within the confines of a safe family home. The house had the addition of a telephone and a telephone number – indicating the desire for, and the availability of, access to the outside world. The second sketch of the primary school children indicated their school and then a broad road with steps all the way to their houses, each with a number on (indicative of a sense of order and placement in the community). There are fruit trees on the picture (these exist and are still harvested by the community) and a large cow. A watchtower, from where one father watches over the plantation, and a large storeroom, where the other fathers gather to get their woodcutting implements, indicates the workplaces of the fathers.

The high school students drew a more detailed map with many roads lined with trees – a significant feature of the landscape there. Their neat drawing of the school has a soccer field in red – an important resource for the teenagers. All houses have green lawns. There is a cow, and a large drawing of the community hall. This is the center of community life, where church services are held, as well as games evenings, church bazaars, beauty pageants and the occasional disco.

The map of the adults includes rows of numbered houses (named ‘Bergplaas Bosdorpie), a cow, a large picture of the community hall, the Safcol office a distance away, and the school. The latter two buildings have telephone numbers written on them, indicating that they represent important community resource points. There are many trees and birds, and people walking down the streets. Safety and familiarity are strong features of this community.

Horizontal support networks are clearly strong. This is facilitated by the fact that the constitution of the community is so stable. Vertical support networks are provided through employees and the owner of the Bergplaas cash store, who has taken the cause of the community upon him.

Colinshoek is also a Safcol forestry settlement. Colinshoek houses about 16 families, almost of who have been in the settlement for ten years. Only ten men from this settlement are still employed by Safcol. Some men have found employment elsewhere, but a number are unemployed. Similarly, some women are employed as domestic

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servants in private homes or guesthouses nearby, and some are unemployed. Colinshoek is located 3km from the road, and so access is easier than access from Woodville. Children catch buses to Oakhill Primary School and George and Parkdene High Schools.

As houses become empty because of retrenchments, Safcol sells the houses. Houses can be deconstructed and relocated. Thus far, sixteen houses have been sold and relocated to Touwsranten and other areas.

The livelihood security of Bergplaas and Colinshoek communities could be threatened by The retrenchment or large scale relocation of Safcol employees An influx of people from elsewhere (inkommers)

2.2.2. Hoekwil

Hoekwil is a small town situated on a plateau northeast of Wilderness. The town was developed out of the farm Olifantshoek, which was subdivided into smallholdings at the beginning of the century. The Hoekwil school was built in 1926 and a local church established in 1946. The Dutch Reformed Church started building an old age home in 1996. The Hoekwil population currently consists of about 206 families. A significant feature of Hoekwil is its exquisite setting, with views over the ocean, natural forests, ravines and large tracks of land belonging to National Parks.

The road planned to the proposed Development, passes through Hoekwil. Much of Hoekwil currently consists of 3 hectare erven that may not be subdivided under current regulations. This adds to the rural atmosphere of the village. Farming still happens on a small scale in the village. The Knysna Wilderness Plettenberg Bay Structure Plan identifies Hoekwil as “rural occupancy”. The surrounding area is indicated as natural area, and the northern area as agricultural.

The Hoekwil Structure Plan indicates that residents have a desire for a degree of densification (through the subdivision of plots) but under the guidance of two principles, namely: The continuation of rural character (as opposed to industrial, commercial or

residential) and The sustainable maintenance of the natural environment.

The mapping done by Hoekwil residents depicts their existence as simple, tranquil village life centered around the small communal area (the cafes, the church, the school and the post office) and expanding out from there on to meandering roads. Along the roads are houses interspersed by open areas and trees. One map indicates frequent interaction between neighbours and between residents and the shop. Hoekwil is currently a small town where people know each other by name.

Other images include duck ponds, a river with colourful fishes, mountains, horse riders, cyclists, birds, tortoises, a ravine, hiking trails, people walking and cycling. The children drew a map with a prominent cow, symbolic of the semi-rural and agricultural nature of the town. One of the maps included George in the faraway distance, drawn in red and with industrial images, expressing their anti-city sentiment. Hoekwil is part of the George

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municipal area and Hoekwil residents do their shopping there, but they limit visits to the minimum.

One of the maps included Touwsranten. Of significance is the fact that Hoekwil is drawn on this map to consist of colourful houses and with much detail, whereas Touwsranten consists of rows of squares drawn in one colour. Across the road from Touwsranten, an area is tentatively demarcated and indicated with the word “450 houses?” This indicates the fact that the George municipality is planning to erect approximately 450 low cost houses for Touwsranten residents in this area. Hoekwil residents are concerned about any futher expansion of the township.

Another map included the old age home, indicative of the fact that many residents of Hoekwil have come to retire here. The estate agent’s office is drawn in (and marked as ‘VIP’) indicating the importance and scarcity of property in Hoekwil.

The main road running through Hoekwil is drawn on one map with a number of users that are indicative of current road use. There is a large wood carrying truck (on its way to the sawmill), a cyclist (Hoekwil is a popular route for cyclists, and is used by many cyclists and

pedestrians on their way to Touwsranten), a donkey cart (used by residents of Touwstanten and by farm workers as transport)

and In front of it a fast 4 X 4 vehicle (Hoekwil is on a tourist back route, which eventually

ends up in Knysna).

Another map has the road running down Hoekwil drawn in red, indicating that it is perceived as an important but potentially also dangerous access route to the N2. The road up the mountain is narrow and is encumbered by heavy traffic. Some residents felt that the road will not be able to expand its carrying capacity. During the floods of March this year, the road was flooded because the drainage system running below the road was not sufficient. Where the Hoekwil road connects with the N2, a big red cross was drawn, indicating the danger and difficulty residents experience in entering the N2 from the Hoekwil road.

2.2.3. Touwsranten

Touwsranten is a Coloured settlement just outside Hoekwil. The original settlement consisted of a handful of houses owned by farmworkers. The area was then called Hardekoejawel. Under the Group Areas Act, many Coloured families who lived in the Langvlei, Duiwerivier, Rondevlei and Swartvlei areas were moved to Touwsranten. These families used to own land and had productive smallholdings which provided amply in their subsistence needs. Some Touwsranten residents have embarked on land claims, and are still awaiting decision.

Apart from houses, Touwsranten has a primary school building, which is also a church building, a library, a hall and a clinic. There is a need for a high school in the area. Children travel to George to attend high school.

The George Municipality Development Profile (2000) provides the following statistics about Touwsranten residents. At the time, the population of Touwsranten was estimated at 963 Coloured and 50 African residents. Employment levels were high, with 87% of

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people being indicated as employed, and only 19% as looking for work. At the same time, the majority (57%) stated that they had no income. These figures seem to contradict each other, and may be explained in the following ways: The majority of residents work on a piecemeal basis. They may have some form of

employment, and still not be working most of the time. Residents who live on pensions or are dependents may have indicated that they had

no income. Of those who indicated some form of income, the majority (27%) had an income of below R1 000 per month.

Half (49%) of Touwsranten had a primary school level of education, a quarter (24%) have secondary education, and 10% have no schooling at all. The low levels of education contribute to limitations in employment options available to Touwsranten residents.

The majority of Hoekwil residents are employed either as gardeners or as domestic workers. They work on a “piece job” basis, which enables employers (mostly residents of Hoekwil and Wilderness) to circumvent labour legislation. Many residents work only a few days of the week. As one resident, a gardener, said, “I work from one madam to another boss” ("Ek werk van een mies na ‘n ander baas”). There are also residents who have carpentry and bricklaying skills. Contractors source them when work is available. Many men wait at the street to be picked up as building “appies” (“handlangers”). Women similarly wait to be picked up by farmers looking for seasonal labour force. A few Touwsranten residents work at hotels and petrol stations in Wilderness.

Touwsranten, like many other Coloured communities that were shaped by the workings of Apartheid, suffers from an underlying low morale and lack of self-esteem. This contributes to alcohol abuse, which is a cause of concern in this community.

A factor that contributes to people’s lack of self worth is their perception that the skills which they lack make them marketable in the workplace. The majority of Touwsranten residents have no means to improve their skill levels and their ability to take better work positions. One of the reasons is that the types of employment which they have, offer no opportunity for growth and further development.

One of the few people in Touwsranten who managed to improve his skills, is a temporary teacher at Touwsranten primary school. He describes how he used to do gardening work as a schoolboy to earn some income, but also how he resolved never to make this his occupation (“Ek wil nooit dit aan my doen om in ‘n tuin te werk nie”). He is concerned that most high school pupils, who leave school, have no employment model except gardening and domestic service, which is what their parents do. He argues that “people here do not have the motivation and the courage” to improve their levels of employment (“Mense hier het nie die motivering en die moed nie”).

When asked to map their living environment, children from Touwsranten drew colourful pictures with many well defined people, flowers and birds. An interesting feature of the maps were the dominant presence of houses. Houses had large taps with running water attached to them outside, reflective of good basic service provision in this area. A fascinating feature is that the houses all had the word “school” written on them. One of the children drew her parents in the house/school, and named each of them on the drawing. The drawings indicate the sense of community which children experience in

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Touwsranten, but also the strong presence of the school. Discussions with adults in Touwsranten indicate that their main employment concern is for their children to obtain better skilling and employment opportunities than they had.

Lack of employment opportunities for matriculants is a concern in Touwsranten. There are high levels of unemployment amongst the youth, and also high teenage pregnancy figures.

Although Touwsranten is a relatively low density township (the average household size is 2.9) there is a great desire and need for formal housing. The George Municipality plans to build 450 houses on the other side of the road from where the settlement currently is. There is a waiting list for houses which is twice that long. A proposal has been turned down to resettle an informal settlement in Wilderness Heights in Touwsranten. Touwsranten residents strongly resisted this. One of the reasons is that they regard these informal settlers as having a different community ethos to that of Touwsranten (“Die mense se standaard is laag. Hulle wil net maak en breek”, said one Touwsranten resident).

There is a general sentiment against allowing in any foreigners from elsewhere, and particularly African outsiders. One resident said that African people who come to the area, have houses where they came from (mostly the Eastern Cape). Local people are still battling with their own housing problems, and cannot make room for those who already have. One of the original Touwsranten residents said that she might consider leaving when the housing extension is built, because it would lead to an increase in the population and a resultant change in ethos (“Ek weet nie. As hier nog huise kom of ek sal kan bly nie. Die mense raak al hoe deurmekaarder”). She argued that people in Touwsranten know each other, and that this allows them to keep some check on undesirable social conditions. This is one of the reasons why there is no gangster problem in Touwsranten at present.

The community ethos of Touwsranten is influenced by two opposing but co-existent currents. The one is the misuse of alcohol, and related social problems. The other is the strong presence of Christian church groupings. A leader in one of the five church groupings (“bekeerbedienings”) started a soup kitchen from her home for children who go without food. She initially had 75 children on her books, but the number dropped to 47 when mothers started getting child support grants. She says that many children go hungry because of the influence of alcohol on their parents. She perceived the pattern as follows. Parents who are alcoholic lose their discernment about how to spend their income. So in stead of stretching their money to make sure that there is food for the month (or week), they buy plenty food for a few days and remain without until the next payday comes. In addition, they buy alcohol on credit, which has to be deducted from their next income. Additional social concerns in Touwsranten are the prevalence of diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/Aids.

2.2.4. Karatara

Karatara is situated approximately 20 km northeast of Sedgefield and the same distance from the Property. This settlement can be reached from the Property via the Seven Passes road. The town consists of a forestry settlement and a “Welfare town”. These two settlements have been developed in tranquil, rural forest environment which is relatively isolated from towns in the area. The forestry settlement was established in

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1928, and was occupied by White forestry workers. Houses were state owned and employees had to evacuate the houses once they were not in service any more. Currently the majority of the estimated 400 inhabitants are Coloured. Residents take great pride in the beautifying of their properties. The settlement has only 58 houses, which results in overcrowding. The majority of residents are still employed by DWAF and SAFCOL. Many are working at stations as far as Farleigh and Goudveld. Some of the women work for a contracted cleaning service at Leisure Island.

The Welfare town was established around 1939 by the Department of Social Works in an attempt to address the phenomenon of “poor White people”. The Welfare Town has 123 brick houses placed in a square, linear development. The town has a church, a primary school, a non-functioning old age home, various small grocery stores and a municipal office which administers welfare grants. The Welfare town currently has a population of approximately 440 mostly White residents. The Welfare town houses many elderly people, and people with physical and mental disability.

There is some degree of uncertainty regarding future employment amongst current Karatara residents. SAFCOL is retrenching workers rather than recruiting new ones. Farms in the area can only support a limited number of job seekers. The lack of public transport in the area prevents easy access to employment opportunities elsewhere.

The Knysna Municipality is in the process of taking over management of Karatara. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has indicated a willingness to de-proclaim the land of the Karatara Forestry settlement for the purpose of a land reform project. Various forestry communities were involved in the identification of 272 beneficiary households for the projects. These households are headed by ex-forestry workers who have been retrenched or are of retirement age. These households will, if plans are approved, gain ownership of the land and receive subsidies for housing construction. There is some dissatisfaction and concern about the fact that this project will result in forestry workers from other communities being resettled in Karatara, since this might lead to the destabilization of the existing community (Hilland Associates 2003).

A community leader of the forestry settlements expressed his concern about promises of employment by big developers and advocated for the enabling of self-sustaining vegetable and animal farming as a way to ensure livelihood sustainability. He said that money is not important for his people, they are interested in putting bread on the table.

He asked that forestry workers be respected and acknowledged, despite the fact that many of them have no education. He said that “hierdie mense het almal uit die bos gekom” (“These people all came out of the forest”). This statement describes the temperament and texture of the forestry communities. Most residents have spent all their lives in forestry areas, in close contact with nature, and with little contact with the developing outside world. Relocation in itself is hugely unsettling to them.

Forestry communities in the area have been disappointed before by the promise of job creation for local people at the Rheenendal sawmill. When the sawmill opened, workers were brought in from Knysna, the reason being that local workers were found not to be experienced enough at the tasks required. He said that his people feel “left outside” (“die mense sit nou buitekant”) when developments such as this happen in their area. He also referred to a resort development on the Phantom Pass about which they were informed. He said about such proposals: “Die mense se koppe draai al oor al die ontwikkeling.

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Mense wil werk hê – maar op watter manier?” (“Our people’s heads are spinning about all the developments. People want work – but in which way?”) His question reflects his skepticism about whether Karatara people will benefit from employment created by developments in the area at the end of the day.

Although there is some concern about crime levels in Karatara, the town is peaceful compared to areas in Knysna. Community leaders ascribe this to low density housing and current high levels of employment.

2.2.5. Sedgefield

The town of Sedgefield lies 11 km east of Wilderness, and falls within the Knysna Municipal Area. A farmer, originally owned the land from which Sedgefield was developed. Historically, a number of families settled in the area, many of who used their dwellings as holiday houses and later as retirement homes. The population of Sedgefield has diversified, but the use of property has remained similar, with the addition of shops focused on the tourist trade and many Bed and Breakfast establishments.

According to the chairperson of the Sedgefield Ratepayers’ Association, Sedgefield has 3 – 4 000 residents. This number increases up to 30 000 over season.

Sedgefield residents are adamant to keep village status. In 1993, residents of the town voted for low instead of high impact development in the town. The town currently has no resort or housing 5 (boarding house or hotel) regulations. The N2 runs through Sedgefield, and is lined with numerous individual shops and a number of small superettes. Plans for the construction of a larger supermarket close to Smutsville and Sizamile has been approved. A proposal for a shopping center on the site where the Scarab craft market is currently being held, is vehemently opposed by local residents.

The character and lifestyle of the area is influenced strongly by the presence of this craft market, and the Wild Oats Farmer’s market. Both markets are supported by residents from the entire Garden Route, and by many visitors and tourist. The markets have become an important gathering place and community building place for local residents. It also facilitates a more immediate relationship with the land, because residents are able to purchase their fresh produce directly from the farmers.

The impetus to stay small is counteracted by the presence of a large number of estate agents. The growth rate of Sedgefield is exceptionally high (16.5%). Building consists mostly of single residential homes.

Sedgefield is largely reliant on the tourist industry for income. This source of income seems to be relatively insecure at present. In 2001/2 Sedgefield contributed around R7.8 million or 3% of the Knysna regional tourism sector value. This follows after a dramatic increase in tourism income from R9 million to R28.8 million from 1998 to 1999 (Knysna Municipality IDP 2002). The larger Sedgefield area (including Sizamile and Smutsville) has a high level of employment in elementary (unemployed) occupations (39%), as well as craft and related trades workers (16%) (Knysna LED strategy 2002)

Sedgefield residents are very protective of their natural environment. Local regulations prohibit any inhabitant to cut down a tree without approval. A proposal for a golf estate development on the sea side of Swartvlei was turned down, partly under pressure from

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environmental activists from this town. Sedgefield residents have many environmental concerns about the proposed development (see discussion later).

The force with which Sedgefield residents campaign for the protection of the natural environment has a number of related motives: The location of Sedgefield is attractive to tourists because of its setting in relatively

large open spaces of natural environment. Development in these areas would detract from the tourism interest in the town. As the Ratepayers’ Association chairperson said, “the view is our income”. The Sedgefield economy cannot currently afford to have their tourism income challenged.

The natural environment as it is appeals to people’s sense of aesthetics, and encourages a more direct relationship with nature. This increases people’s sense of well being.

Sedgefield residents regard themselves as custodians of the natural environment within which they live.

2.2.6. Smutsville and Sizamile

Smutsville and Sizamile are the Coloured and African townships of Sedgefield. According to local residents, Smutsville came into existence in the ‘50’s when the Group Areas Act forced Coloured families to move out of Sedgefield, of which they were the original inhabitants. The land on which Smutsville was built, was donated by a White farmer, Boet Smuts.

One resident who as relocated said that there is so much pain in that memory that he would rather put it past him (“Dit was seerkry se dae”). Some Smutsville residents were relocated from as far as Beervlei above the Property, where their families owned land and had small self sustaining farms. These small farmers and their children used the Wolwerivier, which runs through the Property, for adventure and exploration. One informant said that they used to catch championship sized fish (“kampioenvis”) in the Wolwerivier. The relocation also lead to the shattering of families, who have become dispersed from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.

Sizamile was established around 1994-6. One story used by local (White and Coloured) leaders to explain the appearance and growth of African townships like Sizamile on the Garden Route is that the African National Congress encouraged a mass in migration of people from the Eastern Cape around this time to influence the voting polls. Another story is that people from the Eastern Cape were attracted to Sedgefield by the building of the N2, and the possibility of employment opportunities offered. When the building was complete, people stayed on and formed Sizamile township. Initially, the only land that was available, was around the rubbish dump and funeral parlour of Smutsville. The health conditions which developed amongst residents in this area eventually convinced Cape Provincial Administration to develop Sizamile on land donated by Parks Board for the purpose.

Residents of Smutsville and Sizamile emphasised that these areas are their homes. Many Smutsville residents were born in the Sedgefield area. Sizamile residents came from the Eastern Cape mostly, settled here and became “one family”.

Residents of Smutsville and Sizamile have limited access to vertical networks or sources of decisionmaking. Their position reflects that of most communities of colour in the area.

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Representation on local decisionmaking bodies happens via the (largely White) Sedgefield Ratepayers’ Association. Residents stated that they had no community resources, such as facilities and training centers, to draw on.

A socio-economic survey commissioned by the Knysna Municipal Area (2002) provides some valuable statistics that can be used to gauge levels of vulnerability in these two communities.

Housing is indicated as relatively secure and density as acceptable at present. Smutsville has an estimated population of 1 192. There 298 housing units, of which 153 (40%) are formal dwellings. The average household size is 4. Sizamile has a population of 1 131 and 352 dwellings, of which 180 (42%) are formal dwellings. The average household size is 3.

Income levels are low, and indicated an important area of vulnerability for these communities. The average monthly household income in Smutsville is R1 085, and in Sizamile R1 401. Residents of both communities said that unemployment levels could be as high as 80%. They were particularly concerned about the number of unemployed matriculants. In general, skills levels are low. Smutsville and Sizamile residents felt that people from their community were seldom given employment opportunities, even if they are skilled. A Sedgefield supermarket promised to employ local people, but then “chased people away”and replaced them with people from George because they ostensibly did not have the skills required. Residents said that all the large businesses in Sedgefield, with the exception of one petrol station, employed people from George.

Service delivery is reasonable, although there are areas of concern. In Smutsville, 40% of residents have water connected to their house, and 28% of Sizamile residents are in this position. 42% of Sizamile residents have no access to a toilet facility. The vast majority (80% for Smutsville and 71% for Sizamile) have no access to a telephone, but there is one nearby. 60% of Smutsville residents and 42% of Sizamile residents have no access to electricity. The most important energy source in Sizamile is paraffin.

Residents from both communities do not pay for rates and services. This is of concern to the Sedgefield Ratepayers’ Association, which argues that their members have to “pick up the tabs” when an influx of job seekers from elsewhere into these two areas occurs.

The chairperson of the Ratepayers Association, who also sits on the Police Forum, said that crime levels are high in this area. Many crimes are alcohol related, and involve grievous bodily harm. She is concerned about children who have no home and who wander the streets aimlessly. Nevertheless, people coming in from the Eastern Cape argue that conditions here are better than where they came from.

A current concern of the two communities is schooling. There is no high school, and one is urgently needed. The primary school is falling apart, to the degree that schooling has been stopped until renovations have been done to the building.

The Sedgefield Ratepayers’ Association would like to create a job office to facilitate employment in the area. An attempt was made to provide in-service training for the low cost housing project in Sizamile. A political party promised a training centre for the restaurant trade. None of these visions for skills training and job placement in the area have materialised.

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2.2.7. Kleinkrantz

Kleinkrantz was established as a coloured township under the reign of PW Botha. The original intention was for this area to be used for the relocation of coloured families who lived around the Lakes. The Labour party approached PW Botha and asked whether Kleinkrantz could be marketed as a holiday town for coloured people. There were no other holiday towns for Coloured people at the time. The proposal was approved. The houses were furnished with water and electricity and given to estate agents to market.

Coloured people who were living around the Lakes, were then relocated to alternative areas, Touwsranten in particular. Only 74 houses were built in Touwsranten for this purpose, whereas 219 houses had been built in Kleinkrantz to cater for the original relocation housing need. This resulted in two or three families having to share one house in Touwsranten.

Many families opted to return to shack dwellings. However, they could not return to the Lakes. Consequently, a shack settlement got established in Touwnsranten. The Department of Housing gave 54 hectares for the squatter settlement. Currently, the squatter settlement houses approximately 84 households. Residents have no water, electricity and sanitation. Health conditions are appalling.

The establishment of Kleinkrantz as a coloured holiday destination did not happen without difficulties. Many home owners failed to pay off their bonds, and consequently houses were repossessed. These houses are now being rented out by the George Municipality at rates that are affordable to lower/middle income families (rental is R300 per month on average for a three bedroomed house).

Household size is indicated as small (3 persons). Statistics for Kleinkrantz are unlikely to be a true reflection of current patterns, as Kleinkrantz is indicated as having no residents occupying informal houses. Population density in informal settments tends to be higher than in formal areas.

The main need of the Kleinkrantz community is the provision of housing and basic services for residents of the squatter settlement. Squatter residents said that they do not wish to be relocated elsewhere, since they have established social networks where they currently are. Also, access to work opportunities is easier than it would be, were they living in Touwsranten, for instance.

Skills levels in Kleinkrantz are relatively high compared to other areas. The 1996 census indicates significantly higher levels of education in Kleinkrantz than in Touwsranten. There are many skilled and semi-skilled craftspeople in Kleinkrantz who are in need of employment. In spite of higher skill levels, income levels are low. For the 1996 census, the largest segment (45%) of Kleinkrantz residents indicated that they had no income, and the second largest segment (22.9%) indicated an income of R1 000 – R4 500 per month. A small percentage (1.5%) indicated an income above R6 000.

There is a growing trend that prime (particularly seaside) property in Kleinkrantz is being purchased and developed by higher income (mostly White) land owners. This changes the composition of the area, but does not necessarily bring opportunity for established residents. Most developers bring in their own building contractors and staff. There is a

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concern in Kleinkrantz that the community will be forced to provide homes for these labourers coming in from elsewhere.

2.2.8. Rondevlei, Langvlei and Duiwerivier

Some of the Coloured families closest to the development, live in rented ex-railway houses and on farms in the Rondevlei, Langvlei and Duiwerivier areas. The housing situation in these areas, is paradoxical and complex. Residents have a relatively high degree of housing security, since most either live in formal houses for which they pay marginal rent (R57 per month) or in formal farm workers’ houses.

However, their housing security is dependent on the stability of their horizontal (intra-community) and vertical (institutional) relationships. The following example illustrates the complexity of horizontal relationships. George (imaginary name) has managed to secure a house from his family through the tenant who was in the house before. The reason why the ex-tenant ensured that George could take over his lease, is that George joined the church which is run by the family of the ex-tenant. George finds the church insipid, but fears that he will lose his tenure if he leaves the church.

Vertical relationships that affect security of tenure are relationships (and employment by) with farmers (in the case of farm workers) and relationships with the railway authorities (that own the ex-railway houses).

Although residents have formal houses, they have no formal service provision. They have no running water or electricity, no waste and sewerage removals. Residents burn their waste and “empty their own toilets” (according to local residents). They also have no facilities, such as a soccer field.

Unemployment is a concern for residents. Most households have one inhabitant who provides an income, either through working or through disability or old age pensions. Employment is drawn from local farms, housework and garden work for families in the area, domestic cleaning services. A handful work for the Developer as painters and cleaners on the Property.

Children go to a local primary school, but have to walk long distances to take a taxi to George if they want to go to high school. Many parents cannot afford to put their children through high school (School fees are R400 per year, excluding books and uniforms).

Transport is a problem for residents of these areas. They rely mostly on lifts to Sedgefield (which often means standing in the rain waiting for long periods of time) and taxi’s (an expensive option - a taxi to George costs R17).

2.3. Neighbouring land owners

2.3.1. Large scale farmers

There are a number of large farms neighbouring the property. These focus mainly on dairy farming (this region is the largest dairy producing area in the George Municipal

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area) and vegetable farming. Interviews were done with one dairy farmer and a representative from a large vegetable farm in the area.

The farm Lancewood is owned and managed by Jack Rubin. The farm was started 50 years ago. Initially, Mr Rubin only had a share in the farm, and then bought it out after 20 years. Mr Rubin said that most of the farmers in the area are long standing.

Currently, Lancewood farm is feeding 1 900 animals. There are 20 families living on and being supported by the farm. Most of these families are second generation farm workers. In addition, five managers and their families live on the farm. In total, the farm employs 45 people. These families are completely dependent on the farm for employment and housing. There are no vacancies for farm workers in the area.

The main concern of the farmer regarding the proposed Development is the impact it could have on water supply to existing farms. The water available from local rivers currently barely supplies in the needs of local farmers. This matter is being discussed with the Developer by the Wilderness Water Forum. For a detailed assessment of the water provision implications of the Development, see the Water specialist study.

One of the largest vegetable farms in the area is Mandalay farm, owned by Peter le Pan. The farm consists of 500 hectares. Crops include celery, salad, peppers, artichokes, brussel sprouts and spinach. The farm employs 300 – 500 people, of whom the majority (400) are collected from Touwsranten, Oudtshoorn, Dyselsdorp and George. There are 60 permanent families living on the farm. Peter le Pan is farming a section of the Property (cultivating carrots) while plans for further development are still underway.

2.3.2. Small scale farmers

There are a number of small scale farmers in the area who farm quite profitably. The farming of indigenous flowers occupies a number of farms. One protea farm consists of 20 hectares, of which 6 hectares is under proteas and olives. The farm only employs occasional casual workers. Another farm, which specializes in the production of nectar from indigenous flowers, consists of 78 hectares, of which 2 hectares is under cultivation. Twenty hectares are used as pasture which is cut and bailed. The rest of the property is indigenous forest. The enterprize is highly profitable. Other profitable farms in the area grow organic vegetables and herbs. All of the above are low density farming methods, which conserves and maintains a large percentage of the indigenous natural environment. At the same time, small-scale farming is currently not providing much income generating opportunities.

A meeting was held with neighbouring landowners during which they were asked to map their current environment and changes that they foresee if the development were to go ahead as proposed. Participants were from the Rondevlei, Rondevlei Heights, Wolwerivier and Duiwerivier areas.

The mapping exercised revealed the following about the perceptions and experiences of landowners:

Most neighbouring land owners moved to their current properties from big cities in the past ten years in search of tranquility and a rural lifestyle. One resident said: “We

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all live on roads a long way from home (their cities of origin). That’s why we bought here”. It is clearly important to residents to remain off the beaten track.

Their relationship with the natural environment is of primary importance to them, and greatly affects their sense of well being. The mapping exercise (see discussion further on) indicates that land owners are aware of, and interact with the natural fauna and flora of the area. They are however living in an area which includes not only uncultivated nature conservation land, but also agricultural and forestry area. Although the latter areas cannot be defined as “natural environment”, the low residential density of these areas gives residents a sense of space and privacy which they value as much as the natural environment itself.

Residents felt that the preservation of all aspects of the natural environment must be assured at all costs. This includes not only the preservation of areas zoned as nature conservation land, but also the maintenance of natural corridors that allow fauna to migrate.

Small-scale farming (mainly flowers and organic vegetables) and rural residential use were the main land uses amongst participants.

2.3.3. Club Timbers

Club Timbers is a sawmill that borders on the Property to the east. The sawmill has been running for 35 years. They produce 2 500 axe handles a day and load seven standard and two superlink trucks of wood a day. Wood is transported on the Seven Passes road.

The timber industry in the Western Cape is on the decline. In the last five years, no more trees have been planted to supply wood for Club Timbers.

The Club Timbers property is 68 hectares in size. Of this 10 hectares is used for the sawmill. Club Timbers property borders on the Property to be developed for a stretch of 5 to 6 kilometers.

The Club Timbers property houses ten households and their families. The owner of Club Timbers bought 7 hectares of land to the north of his property as a space for the housing of his workers. This land now accommodates an expanding informal settlement. Property transfer was done to one of the senior Club Timbers employees.

Club Timbers employees are mostly African. The manager of the enterprise estimates that there are around 200 people living in the informal settlement, of whom 60 work at Club Timbers. The informal settlement functions independently of the sawmill. It has become known as a dangerous place, due to the impact of alcohol and maryuana abuse, and the prevalence of violent assault and rape. There are three shebeens in the informal settlement. The manager of Club Timbers ascribes alcohol abuse to a lack of entertainment and other opportunities in the area. On the other hand, this informal settlement has a strong community support network and is very accepting and inclusive.

The manager of Club Timbers has a familial relationship with his workers, some of whom have been with him for 18 years. He said that they were “just as much part of the place as I am”. He believes that Club Timbers is currently ensuring the livelihood of 300 people.

2.3.4. Geo Parkes and Sons

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Geo Parkes and Sons has a 2 000 hectare plantation that borders on the Property. The company owns various other plantations. The enterprise employs 20 permanent and 20 seasonal workers on the land. The permanent workers and their families live on the land. There are 20 trucks going up and down the Karatara road from Geo Parkes and Sons.

The largest concern which this company had about the proposed Development is that the increase in the number of people on the property would increase the risk of fire. Another concern was an increase in traffic on the road past their enterprize. A personal concern of the owner was that the natural environment should not be affected. He reported seeing leopard, bushbuck and fish eagle on his property. He believed that an increase in the population would chase the animals away. If the Development lead to an influx of migrant labour into the area, this could affect their staff and lead to social problems.

2.4. The Property

The Property used to be used for the cultivation of wood and for hops farming. The enterprize that owned the Property, were liquidated, and the Developer bought the Property. One of the conditions of sale was that the liquidator had to ensure that all people living on the property had to be relocated. The farm used to employ 20 people and house 5 families. After the purchasing of the land, the five families living on the land were told to relocate within two days (just before Christmas). Families were each given R80 000 of compensation costs.

This action had significant social consequences. The farm worker families are not equipped with knowledge and experience to make long-term lifestyle choices in deciding how to use the money. They also had no clear understanding of their rights. Consequently, much of the income was used up on increased living expenses. Families also did not have alternative communities where they could readily relocate to, and no alternative employment. The result is that they dispersed to George, Kleinkrantz and Rondevlei informal settlements. Many have not been able to find secure employment. One neighbouring landowner who employed one of the displaced workers recalled his story. She said that the man (“Peet”) spent six months “drinking up his money” after having to leave his secure community and relocating to George, where people were “freaked out when new people move in”. After the six months, Peet came to her in despair, fearing that his wife was going mad from stress about the impact of relocation. Peet ended up in jail after being involved in a knifing. This change in social behaviour is a direct a response to the impact of relocation, unemployment and a change in lifestyle.

The demand for immediate relocation compensated with by cash clearly was an ill devised response to an action which would threaten the livelihoods of vulnerable families. Although the Developer was not directly responsible for this action, it has left local communities with distrust about the social response they can expect in future.

This incident also signals about any activity related to the Development that might result in a) new people having to move into existing communities or b) people (e.g. the Club Timbers informal settlement) having to relocate. The mistakes made here should not be repeated.

Another unfortunate legacy of the Urbans land liquidation is that it has created suspicion amongst neighbouring landowners about the degree to which development action would

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be done in consideration of wild animals on the property. Two neighbours recalled how the pre-liquidation phase of the Urbans enterprise resulted in a large-scale and rapid cutting of trees for the purposes of selling. This sudden noise and activity intrusion into their habitat, caused wild animals the flee in bewilderment on to their (the neighbour’s) land. The value which local landowners place on a harmonious relationship with nature should be respected by any prospective Development.

3. Assessment of land use options

For the purpose of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, the question that is asked is: What should the land (the Property) be used for? Since most of the social impacts relate to the land use as proposed for the Development, the social assessment of land use options will focus mainly ona) the impact of current land use andb) The impact of the development as proposed, with its requirement of a change in land

use.

For section b), mitigation measures are provided to address negative impacts.

3.1. Impact of current land use

3.1.1. Agricultural zoning

The Property and the area surrounding the Property is currently zoned as agricultural land, and the majority of landowners are farming. Farming practices are described in more detail under “Neighbouring land owners”.

The social implications of keeping the current agricultural zoning on the Property are the following: Agricultural land use is supportive of the existing nature of neighbouring communities

and landowners. Communities are small, set far apart and self contained. Neighbouring landowners are either farmers or settled on the land to live close to the natural environment. Agricultural land use preserves the sense of uninterrupted natural land more than residential housing development does.

Agricultural zoning keeps the density of occupation low. Employment created on neighbouring farms includes occasional casual labour

(protea farming), 45 permanent workers (dairy farming) and 300 – 400 workers, of whom 100 are resident on the farm (vegetable farming). Although farming does not supply nearly as many jobs as would be created by the Development as proposed, it does create sustainable livelihoods (including secure accommodation and infrastructure) for a significant number of workers.

However, the positive impacts which agricultural land use may have on the social environment are outweighed by the fact that the agricultural specialist report indicates that farming is not a viable option for the Property. If the land cannot be farmed sustainably, agricultural land use will not provide social sustainability either.

3.1.2. Conservation zoning

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The Swartvlei is used for fishing by residents of Smutsville and Sizamile. For many families, this provides an important source of food. Fishing licenses can be obtained at R2 each. Any impact on the Swartvlei would endanger this source of food for vulnerable communities. The rivers running through the Property have been much-enjoyed sites for hiking and kloofing by local residents.

A significant characteristic of residents in the social environment of the Property is their strong relationship with the natural environment. For many, this relationship is as important, if not more important than, their relationship with people. Most people who resettled to the area, were motivated by their close proximity to undeveloped and/or natural land. Many residents have concerns about the impact which this development will have on the aquatic life in the Swartvlei and the animals on the land itself. A specific concern is that the presence of 3 000 people on the property will discourage wild animals from using the natural corridors left for migration between areas.

However, other specialist studies conducted indicate that using the Property exclusively for conservation purposes would not be economically viable. The absence of economic sustainability makes this land use option socially unsustainable.

Mitigation

The social environment would benefit most from the maintenance of areas on the Property currently zoned as Conservation area. The integrity of the surrounding natural environment (including the Swartvlei and rivers bordering on the Development) should be maintained. See natural science specialist reports and the proposals of the Developer in this regard.

The density of development should in no way impact on the movement of fauna. See natural science specialist reports in this regard.

Public access to conservation areas surrounding the Property should not be limited.

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3.2. Rezoning of land as proposed for the Development

3.2.1. Local policy directives

There are a number of local policy directives that give guidelines regarding the assessment of a developments of the nature proposed.

Addressing poverty

The Eden District Integrated Development Plan (2003) indicates as a strategic priority the addressing of poverty on an individual, household and community level. Individual poverty is described in the IDP as affected by employment and access to basic resources, while household poverty is characterized by an inability to provide for the household, and a lack of assets and support networks. Community poverty refers to a lack of services and infrastructure and a lack of social cohesion. Poverty management is therefore also seen as having a socio-political base, one of the aspects being access to political voice.

The Development as proposed would create a significant number of employment opportunities and thereby address poverty. Current land use in the area (agricultural) supports sustainable livelihoods by employing a smaller number of workers, but providing housing, longterm employment security and other aspects of livelihood security for workers. The impact which current and proposed land use could have on social cohesion and factors involving equity are important considerations in assessing whether the proposed change in land use would facilitate sustainable livelihoods.

Management measures

Ensure the creation of sustainable employment opportunities. See section 3.2. Ensure that the Development does not impact negatively on social cohesion. In

particular, the potential impact of in-migration should be monitored. See section 3.3. Ensure full participation in public processes during further stages of evaluation. See

section

Rural development

The George Municipality Integrated Development Plan advocates for sustainable rural development. This is regarded as attainable through effective participation to assure that the projects and activities undertaken respond to articulated priorities on the local level. The Integrated Rural Development Strategy aims to attain socially cohesive and stable communities with viable institutions, sustainable economies and universal access to amenities, able to attract skilled and knowledgeable people, equipped to contribute to their own and the nation’s growth and development.

Social sustainability is seen as an important dimension of a successful strategy. This dimension is described as follows: “Rural communities hold a wealth of social capital in the form of extended networks of mutual solidarity, shared beliefs and traditions, and commitments to retain long-standing practices of daily life. Development projects when defined through sound participatory processes can reinforce and sustain social capital. Conversely, incremental resources brought into rural communities, can be divisive and

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destructive if various groups compete for access through a process that is not generally accepted and understood” (George Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2002:16).

Management measures

During further phases of study, socially integrated participatory processes should be undertaken with the various communities who are interested in and affected by the proposed Development. These participatory processes should be held in a format, style and situation, which is accessible and empowering for all participants.

The social assessment of the full Environmental Impact Assessment should investigate the impact of the proposed development on the social capital of rural communities, and suggest ways to enhance positive, and mitigate negative impacts. On the level of strategic assessment, factors pertaining to social capital are identified.

Tourism

The development as proposed would contribute to the tourism sector of the George municipal area. Tourism is regarded as an important economic sector in the Southern Cape. The White Paper on Sustainable Tourism Development and Promotion (March 2001) states that tourism in the Western Cape has not been managed and developed in accordance with a clear, collective strategy and policy. The George Municipality Integrated Development Plan (2002) suggests that tourism should be part of the overall development of a community. All communities have the potential for developing and attracting tourists and visitors. Some communities may have to work harder to find their niche. It is regarded as important that tourism be seen as a system that heavily relies on partnerships and co-operation that promotes learning from experience.

The application for change of land use, which accompanies the proposal for the Development, presents authorities with an opportunity to make strategic decisions about the future profile of the social environment in the area. The current social environment with its rural quality is an asset that contributes to tourism as much as the natural environment does. This environment would be significantly altered by the Development as proposed.

The guidelines set in the George IDP (2002) emphasize the need to undertake tourism developments of this scale in partnership with local communities. It implies a need for consultation that results in the co-creation of a common vision between all parties involved (including the Developer, the Authorities and members of the local and regional social environment).

Management measures

Further participatory processes should include the formulation of a common vision for tourism promotion in the area. Ways in which the Development could further the tourism potential of the area, should be discussed and developed in consultation.

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Golf Course Development

The Eden District Integrated Development Plan recognizes the development of golf courses as a focus area requiring the formulation of guidelines. Guidelines should focus “on future development of golf estates versus other types of development”. The Development as proposed gives authorities opportunities to initiate the formulation of clear guidelines in this regard.

These focus areas formulated in the Eden District Integrated Development Plan is developed into a number of strategies. Of importance for the social specialist study is the guideline that states that “Social upliftment should be part of the development criteria for golf estates development”. The section specifically requires and analysis of the real impact which golf estate developments may have on disadvantaged communities in terms of The generation of income for disadvantaged communities Training provision for employment The amount of sustainable jobs created Not compromising municipal service provision for poor communities The potential that exclusive developments could exacerbate the discrepancy in

access to recreational resources between rich and poor.

Management measures

Ensure sustainable job creation for poor communities Provide maximum training opportunities for poor communities Investigate ways of providing access to golf recreational resources for poor

communities Ensure that the Development in no way compromises municipal service provision to

poor communities. Such compromise would take place if, for instance, the Development leads to an influx of work seekers into vulnerable communities.

The rezoning of the land for the purpose of development as proposed is likely to have the following implications.

3.2.2. Employment

The Development as proposed is likely to create a significant amount of employment opportunities. Employment can play a significant role in enabling sustainable livelihoods for poor and vulnerable communities. The George municipal area is currently is estimated to have an unemployment figure of 18% (George Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2002). Unemployment levels in local communities are relatively high. It could therefore be argued that the area to be developed, does not have a significant unemployment problem, and that employment creation would not in itself constitute a valid enough motivation for the development if other factors mitigated strongly against it.

However, it is both local and national policy to redress unemployment and poverty wherever possible. In the case of the proposed Development, the potential for job creation needs some careful thought to ensure that employment to be created will be accessible to and to the benefit of local communities, and also to ensure that a local labour force is available.

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a) Employment opportunities

The number and types of employment that may be created by a Development as proposed may be postulated using the example of other golf estates in the area. One of the limitations of this approach is that there is a difference in the constitution of estates. The examples of Oubaai and Fancourt give some indication.

Oubaai, which is currently under construction, will consist of an estate with one golf course, approximately 400 residential stands, approximately 150 residential units in a village area including a few shops and a hotel with approximately 100 beds. The economic specialist report has calculated the total number of jobs that would be created for the construction of Oubaai to be 4 455 person years of employment (i.e. 4 455 jobs of one year duration each) over a period of four years. The report argues that, since the development as proposed is roughly twice the size of Oubaai, the construction phase may create in the region of 8 – 9000 person years of employment.

During operational phase, the total anticipated staff component for Oubaai is 260, consisting of the following (Hilland Associates 2002):

No. Jobs i.Golf course maintenance 25ii.Club House (Golf) 20iii. Caddies 20iv.Security 15v.Garden Services 20vi.Building maintenance, public areas & Nature Reserve 25vii.House cleaning staff 25viii. Hotel staff 100ix. Shopkeepers 10

The economic specialist report doubles this figure for the Development as proposed to come to an estimate of 520 permanent jobs.

Fancourt in many ways has set the pace for golf estate developments on the Garden Route. The nature of this estate is different from the proposed Lakes Eco Golf reserve in that it consists of less residential units and focuses more on opportunities for casual visitors. This is indicated by the presence of a large hotel, six restaurants, four 18 hole golf courses and two practice courses.

Construction at Fancourt will in estimate take place over a period of three to four years. The building contractors responsible for construction at Fancourt have 280 employees, of which 99% were occupied by construction at Fancourt in the previous year. Up to date, work has involved the construction of 22 houses, a lodge and two clubhouses. In addition, 1 200 subcontracted workers are on site daily. They are responsible for specialist fields such as civil engineering, painting, plumbing, roofing, built in cupboards, glasswork, electrical work, flooring, gas installation, wooden doors and windowmaking.

If the Fancourt example were used as a guideline, more than 75% of people employed on building sites are specialized craftsmen. Consideration should be given to whether

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this amount of skilled labour will be available for the construction of a golf estate of the size proposed by the Developer.

Fancourt currently consists of 110 lodges, 70 residential lodges, 6 restaurants, 4 club houses, a hotel with 155 rooms, a health and beauty spa, a gymnasium and a children’s entertainment facility. The operational phase of Fancourt currently results in the employment of 450 permanent staff members. Over season, an additional 50 fixed term contractors are employed. Staff members work in the hotels, the horticulture department, the nursery and on the golf courses. The Fancourt Home Owners Association has contracted housekeeping services, which employs 50 staff members. Staff is provided through a labour broker.

b) Local employment trends

In order to assess the likelihood that local residents will be the recipients of employment opportunities to be created by the Development, local employment trends were analyzed.

* Construction

The vast majority of employment opportunities that will be created by the Development are in the construction industry. In 1998, the entire George municipal district employed 3 510 people in the construction industry (George Municipal Development Profile 2000). This amount is significantly smaller than the amount of employment opportunities in the construction industry, which the proposed development may generate. The implication is that the George municipal area may not have sufficient labour for the construction of a development of the size proposed.

Local building contractors who were asked which percentage of their labour force comes from the local environment have said that the majority of their staff constituency are local people who have been employed by the contractor for a considerable period of time. The building contractor responsible for the construction of Fancourt stated that all his workers come from the George area. He said that he has learnt to be selective with the employment of craftsmen, and so reserve employment for workers who have proven their ability over the years. Many of his workers have been with him for ten to 18 years. Subcontractors on the Fancourt construction team use mainly local labour, but also have workers from Dysselsdorp, Albertinia and Calitzdorp.

It should be kept in mind that local legislative imperatives often require of building contractors to use local labour, and so it is in the interest of contractors to state that they use local labour. Instances have been found where contractors who claim to be using local labour, have been bussing in people from elsewhere in the country. This trend seems to be more prevalent amongst contractors who are also from elsewhere in the country.

The phenomenon that should be considered in evaluating the likelihood that local labour will be used for construction is that building contractors are most likely to employ workers who are currently on their books. Although there are numbers of construction workers and craftsmen in the local communities consulted, they are mostly employed by local contractors. The majority of construction workers and craftsmen in the Garden

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Route are resident in larger towns like George, Plettenberg Bay and Knysna, where the larger construction firms are based.

If this trend is taken in to consideration, it could be assumed that, unless otherwise enforced, employment offered in the construction phase of the Development is likely toa) consist of the re-employment of construction workers and craftsmen who are already

on the books of construction companies (i.e. the Development will contribute to longer periods of employment for people who already have some form of employment) and

b) be benefited from mostly by workers in the larger Garden Route area, and not in the first place by local surrounding communities.

* Cleaning services

The second largest source of employment on the proposed Development is domestic and cleaning staff. Staff could be sourced from local communities, since the majority of women in local areas are employed part-time in this economic sector. Language and levels of sophistication may be an obstacle, as discussed later. Local residents and hospitality industries have started making use of local cleaning services that coordinate the supply of domestic and cleaning service. This option could address the raised concerns.

* Gardening and horticultural services

A number of people will be employed in this sector. The majority of men in the Hoekwil community are currently employed in this sector, some by gardening and landscaping services. Some provide exceptional service, and some are unreliable due to factors discussed later.

Management measures

The following measures can be put in place to direct employment trends: A decision needs to be made in consultation with local communities and building

contractors as to the percentage of jobs that are to be kept for local communities, and the percentage of jobs that are to be granted to residents of the larger Garden Route area.

The feasibility of training people who have no experience in the building industry for employment should be considered. This aspect is discussed in greater detail later.

Community based monitoring bodies can be appointed to ensure that employment of local people takes place as agreed, and that no irregularities occur in this regard.

c) Levels of employment

A request by leaders and residents from all low-income communities is that higher level (i.e. above unskilled labour) employment opportunities are created on the project, particularly for the youth. Their concern is that people from their communities never get higher level jobs because they do not have the skills or the experience. A community leader from Karatara said that employment creation often seems to benefit only those who already have money, that is, the ability to study and acquire skills. A Smutsville

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community leader said that motivation levels of workers were affected by the fact that there are “no black guys on top”.

There are many skilled craftsmen in areas like Karatara and Kleinkrantz who have the skills to subcontract, but do not have the financial means to tender for building contracts.

Mitigation

At further stages of assessment, the types and levels of employment that the Development could offer, should be identified, and mechanisms identified to enable access to positions for local residents. It is suggested that a percentage of higher level positions be reserved for local employment, and that skills training be undertaken where viable to facilitate employment.

Ways of enabling potential subcontractors from low-income areas to tender should be investigated. This includes setting up linkages for small business loans, as well as small business skills training.

The Black Economic Caucus, a Knysna based regional body that consists of 100 black business people, has expressed interest in discussing ways of ensuring empowerment and employment equity on the Development.

d) Skills and experience available

The vast majority of residents in local Coloured and African communities are employed as unskilled labourers – the men as gardeners, farm labourers and building “appies”, and the women mostly as domestic servants. There are however also a number of skilled craftsmen and people with higher levels of skills (some of whom are employed by local hotels) in these communities. There is a shortage of skilled craftsmen in the building sector of the Garden Route. At further stages of development, a skills audit could be undertaken with the assistance of local communities to determine the types and levels of existing skills available.

Management measures

Capacity building and skills training to facilitate employment of local community members on the Development needs to be incorporated as part of the management plan of a development of the scale proposed. From information currently available on the Development, the following employment sectors are identified as areas where skills training for employment could be undertaken: Construction Caddies Hospitality industry Land clearing, horticultural services, forestry EquestrianThe nature of employment opportunities (type and extent) should be investigated and defined in greater depth during the next phase of assessment. Means and mechanisms for skills training should be identified and initiated.

The main area of employment presented by the Development, is construction. Opportunities for the training of unskilled and skilled construction workers from local

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communities should be maximized. A program has been established by the local branch of the Master Builders’ Association (MBA). This program offers on-site training accredited with and financed through the appropriate Sector Education and Training Association. The MBA accesses the appropriate service providers that conduct training in the specified field. The program will be launched in April 2004. Service providers have the skills to perform aptitude tests on site, and provide training from the current level of trainees. Building contractors are able to continue with their task without losing staff during training. The MBA also has a “Recognition of Prior Learning” testing system at their offices.

The MBA has currently arranged service providers to do training in bricklaying and carpentry. However, training for any of the other skilled sectors can be arranged. Training is on command, and commences when the need is identified by the contractor and approved by the relevant SETA.

The MBA has identified a lack of skilled workers and foremen in the George area, and aims to upgrade the existing skills of workers though on-site training and learnerships. Learnerships entail a training program, which stretches over 2 – 3 years, and requires commitment and dedication from participants.

If approval is given to the proposed change of land use, the Environmental Impact Assessment should further investigate training opportunities linked to project employment. The aim would be to maximize the benefit that can be obtained by local residents. Findings should be contained in the environmental management plan.

e) Employability

A complaint received from many employers in the area of the Development is that local labour is unreliable due to the high levels of alcoholism. Alcoholism is a significant social phenomenon in the area, and should be recognized as such. It is important not to denigrate or classify whole communities with this label, but at the same time to look realistically at the impact of alcoholism on the employability of those individuals who suffer from this disease. Alcoholism is an historical illness furthered by the “dop system” (which is still active in many areas) and exacerbated by low self esteem, unemployment, hopelessness, aimlessness, boredom and social habit.

Mitigation measure

In order to prevent disillusionment by local communities, whose residents get retrenched due to unreliability, conditions of employment need to be discussed with communities and agreed upon.

f) Communication skills

Afrikaans is the language spoken by 71% of the George municipal area (George Municipality Development Profile 2000). Most residents from low-income areas are Afrikaans and have a limited command of English. This might influence their employability as domestic servants, and in positions that require communication with Estate residents who do not understand Afrikaans. Sales profiles at Oubaai Estate indicate that a large percentage of buyers are Afrikaans, which lessens the need for

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English language skills amongst workers. However, properties are mostly rented by foreigners with no Afrikaans language skills. A similar scenario can be expected for this development.

If domestic servants are managed by contacted cleaning services, communication between property owners and cleaning staff will be limited.

Mitigation measures

Training for higher levels of employment should include English language training where necessary.

Younger people, who have higher levels of education and may stand in line for higher levels of employment, tend to have better English language skills. Opportunities for the employment of younger people should be maximized.

g) Transport and sense of place

Two factors that influence people’s access to, and choice of employment opportunities, are the availability of transport, and people’s sense of place.

The Garden Route has a weak public transport system and very limited taxi opportunities. Workers from low-income areas spend a significant portion of their salaries (up to 30%) on travel. A concern raised by many communities is that access to the development would exclude them from employment opportunities. Karatara residents would access the Development on the Hoogekraal Road

(Highway 355), a treacherous dirt road which currently is not on a taxi route. The road is not well maintained due to a lack of funds, and is difficult to pass through when it rains. Residents from forestry settlements in Kraaibosch and Farleigh might also be interested in employment on the project, but they have even longer distances of dirt road to travel to get to the Property.

Woodville/ Bergplaas residents have to walk 7km to reach the Seven Passes road that leads to the Development.

Smutsville/Sizamile residents would have to take the same route as Karatara residents, with the addition of the 20km journey from Sedgefield to Karatara. There are no taxis on this road.

Secondly, sense of place plays a prohibitive role. Karatara residents said that the Development was taking place “oorkant die grens” (“beyond the border”) of where they would hope to find work (the border being the Seven Passes road between them and the Property). They felt that this Development is better positioned to provide opportunities for people from Touwsranten and Bergplaas. Residents from Smutsville and Sizamile expressed concern that the Development was not meant for them (as an employment opportunity) because it is situated within the George Municipal Area, of which they are not part. This sense of not being well situated for employment is borne out of people’s experience from the past.

Mitigation measures

Mitigation of this impact may include the location of transport providers who would be available to assist contractors in transporting workers from these sites.

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The possibility of providing low cost housing closer to the Development should be investigated at the next level of study.

h) Payment

Expectations and realities regarding payment play a role in the feasibility of local employment. An example was found in Sizamile, where local people were given employment on a low cost housing project. Negotiations with the community regarding job creation did not clarify payment. The contractors paid sub contractors, who only paid workers a marginal amount. The result is that workers did not return and people from George were brought in to complete the building.

Management measures

Overheads involved in employment need to be considered. Karatara residents, for instance, would have to consider whether the cost of hiring a taxi to the Property would leave them with enough income to make the day’s labour worthwhile.

Discussions with local communities regarding employment opportunities should clearly specify payment that could be expected.

3.2.3. Influx of workers from elsewhere

The development as proposed would require a large amount of construction labour. A great concern of all communities consulted is that a) the labour force would not be drawn from the local population, that b) construction companies would arrive with their own labour force from elsewhere in the country, that c) some of these workers would remain behind when the building is completed and that d) unemployed people from elsewhere in the country would flock to the area in the hope of finding work on the project. If workers came from elsewhere, they would have to be housed somewhere. The Developer has made no provision for workers’ housing, with the assumption and intention that workers will be drawn from nearby villages.

It is of paramount importance that a change of land use does not lead to an influx of workers due to any of the above causes. The levels of vulnerability in Coloured and African townships in the area would increase significantly if an influx of workers or work seekers would occur into their areas. The reasons are the following:

a) Housing and infrastructure

This phenomenon would put pressure on housing, which is a basic and scarce resource in all the areas mentioned with the exception of Bergplaas.

There is no land available in existing townships for new residents. The George Municipality is currently planning the provision of 450 houses to address the housing shortage in Touwsranten. There is a waiting list of 900+ for residents who are not provided for by this development. The neighbouring townships of Wilderness Heights and Kleinkrantz also have urgent housing shortages. Consideration was given to the resettlement of some of these residents to Touwsranten, but no space is available.

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Similarly, the Smutsville and Sizamile communities in Sedgefield are bursting out of their seams. There is no more land available for the expansion of these townships in their current location. The Greater Knysna municipality is considering purchasing land outside Sedgefield towards Knysna to take care of the most urgent housing needs of residents in these communities.

Infrastructural concerns include possible problems with waste and sewerage disposal by informal squatters.

b) Social integrity

Almost all the communities consist of residents who have been in the area for quite some time, and either work or have worked for the same employer (SAFCOL in the case of Bergplaas and Karatara) or were relocated together under the Group Areas Act (Smutsville and Touwsranten). Sizamile is probably the area with the highest influx of people from elsewhere. Even so, this community is small, the scale of in migration is limited, and there is no room for further expansion. Most communities have an exceptionally high degree of homogeneity and internal social cohesion. Residents know each other by name. This is so particularly in the case of Bergplaas. Any influx of workers from elsewhere into this community could lead to the disintegration of the community.

The presence of construction workers from elsewhere could aggravate existing social problems, particularly alcohol and drug abuse. An example of this phenomenon happened in Touwranten, where campongs (“kampies”) were set up to house construction workers. The availability of money and entertainment in the construction workers’ quarters lured young people from Touwsranten looking for excitement. These young people became involved in alcohol and drug abuse. Communities are currently managing to keep some degree of social stability despite the fact that many residents are prone to alcohol abuse. Their experience is that the presence of “outsiders” who further these habits results in social collapse. For this reason women from Touwsranten recently forced a shebeen owner who came in from outside, to leave, under threat to burn down his enterprize.

An influx of construction workers often leads to the development of relationships between local women and workers from elsewhere. Often these men stay behind, or leave the women with children. Although men who enter local communities in this way, are tolerated, this phenomenon is regarded as problematic for the maintenance of community ethos. An amusing example was raised by residents of Karatara, who pointed to the fact that many local Coloured residents had Italian facial features. They ascribed this to the presence of Italian war prisoners who constructed roads in the area in years past.

d) Burden on local economy

An influx of workers increases the burden on the local economy, and especially on ratepayers. The Sedgefield Ratepayers’ Association is concerned that settlement in their area would place a financial burden on their town, whereas rates and taxes earned from the Development would accrue to the George Municipality.

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e) Crime

The homogeneity of communities keeps crime levels down. An influx of outsiders to the area may result in greater security concerns for neighbouring landowners and Hoekwil residents. The Hoekwil community stated that they were “happy with Touwsranten as it is”. They regard Touwsranten as stable because there are relatively few newcomers (inkommers) moving into the area.

Mitigation measures

The potential of in-migration must be managed. The following strategies are suggested:

Local employment Identify in the environmental management plan and the tender documents the

percentage of local labour that should be employed. Identify which areas are considered to be “local”. In the case of this project, the

closest rural communities are suggested as priority groups for employment (that is, Touwsranten, Wilderness Heights, Smutsville and Sizamile, Kleinkrantz, local forestry stations and farms, and Karatara).

The following systems were used by Hilland Associates to ensure local employment on the Oubaai and Kraaibosch golf estate developments: Local councilors were asked to do a skills audit in their areas. A local labour broker was appointed to assist contractors in finding appropriately

skilled local labour. Contractors were not obliged to make use of the broker, but their contracts state the percentage of local labour (90%) that is required.

An environmental monitor (Hilland Associates) was appointed to ensure that only local labour is used. Local labour brokers and councilors act as additional watchdogs to inform the monitor of breach of contract.

If the contractor does not adhere to the local labour agreement, the monitor reports the contractor to the Local Authority, which then terminates all building action until the situation has been rectified.

Hilland Associates have thus far employed this strategy with great success on these two projects. In addition, the environmental management plan for Kraaibosch indicated that only

members of the George district MBA should be employed as contractors. The fact that contractors were locally based, further ensured local employment.

Housing No workers’ quarters should be allowed for the Development. During further phases of study, the potential of housing provision for employees, and

possibly also for low income groups in general, should be investigated.

Apart from employment creation, the following impacts of the proposed Development have been identified:

3.2.4. Change in rural lifestyle

The Development as proposed will include 845 residential homes, 58 homes on the gentleman’s estate, 132 lock-up-and-go units, two exclusive bush camps and a hotel

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with 290 condominiums. A conservative estimate is that the Development could house an average of 3 000 people. This figure drastically increases the density of human occupation in this rural environment. The Development would have a human population approximately the size of Sedgefield.

All the communities in the area have a rural or semi-rural lifestyle, which would be significantly affected by a development of this size. A number of communities (particularly Colored communities) are characterized by a high degree of homogeneity, live lives in response to the natural environment that surrounds them, and have limited contact with the outside world (including the nearest towns). The incision of high-density development in this area would in all likelihood permanently alter the existence of uninterrupted conservation and agricultural land in this area, and thus in the alteration of the rural lifestyle of communities in the area.

Low-density development contributes to the tourism value of the area. International tourists traveling past the Property were asked how they would feel about a development of the scale proposed. They expressed concern and disappointment about the possible development of this outstretched area of natural and agricultural land, and said that the low density of habitation gives them a sense of spaciousness, which they lack, in their countries of origin. The lifestyle, which accompanies rural habitation, forms part of the attraction, which the Garden Route has for tourists.

During a group interview with neighbouring land owners (most of whom are small scale farmers), participants were asked to draw maps of how they currently see their environment, and how they think this environment would be altered if the Development was approved as proposed. Maps had mainly two types of images, intermingled but carrying the message of two sharply contrasting metaphors.

The one set of images reflected the natural environment, and mainly depicted people’s current experience of their environment. There were drawings of animals which residents see on their properties, including rooikat, porcupine, buck, leopards, tortoises, frogs, rabbits, bush buck, the honeybadger and monkeys. Also included were drawings of birds – fish eagles and king fishers in the forest, waterfowl, a jackall buzzard nesting – and fish in the rivers. Aspects of the fauna environment were drawn – natural forests and “smiling” indigenous bush and flowers. In the background were drawn mountains and clean rivers. Valuable features of the natural environment were indicated as “clean unpolluted water”, “peace, silence, clean rain”, “peace and quiet” and “tranquility”.

Also included in the set of images depicting people’s current experience of their environment are images of rural farm life, with fowls, dogs and organic herb and vegetable farms.

The images that depicted the potential impact of the development had an aggressive, unnatural feeling to them. There were rows of racing cars, jeeps, motor boats, empty houses (of property owners on the development who use it only as a holiday destination), closed and locked doors, guns and dogs (“BARK BARK x 800”). All these images were drawn in monocolour, in contrast to the multicoloured natural images, and were all crossed out in red.

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Residents experience their current lifestyle as being in sharp contrast to what is being proposed by the Developer. Here is a summary of some of the polarities that were evident in the drawings:

Current experience of environment Projected experience of environment with development

Natural – animals and birds moving freely, clean air and rivers, uninhibited mountain vistas

Unnatural – technology, security systems, heavy and fast traffic

Quiet Noisy (traffic and aerodrome)Tranquility Security systems needed due to crimeLow density rural living High density urban livingPeaceful Violent

Management measures

A development of this size would significantly alter the nature of the social environment within which the Property is set. The following alternatives are proposed: Lower the density of the potential population by decreasing the number of residential

units. Phase the development over a longer (e.g. 10 year) period to prevent a sudden and

drastic change in density and the social constitution of the area. Consider current or alternative land use options that do not increase population

density to such a high degree.

3.2.5. Division of Coloured/African and White communities

Of concern is the fact that this project could aggravate the division of interests between White and Coloured/ African communities in the area. This would happen if the interests which African and Coloured communities are showing in the project (due to the potential for employment creation) are used to negate the concerns of the White communities (who are advocating for the maintenance of rural lifestyle), or vice versa. The complexity of social interests should be honoured and not simplified into polarized thinking.

Mitigation

If the changing of Structure Plan is approved, the next phase of assessment should include collaborative meetings and discussions between the various communities. Hoekwil residents in particular have asked to meet with Touwsranten to discuss shared interests.

3.2.6. Marginalisation of poor communities

The broader social environment in which this development would take place has a history of the marginalisation of residents of colour. Both Smutsville and Touwsranten townships consist largely of people whose lands were disowned under the Group Areas Act for the development of holiday accommodation for incoming middle and higher income White populations. The areas to the north and the south of the Property were

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also owned by Coloured families who were resettled. The nature of the Development as proposed provides employment opportunities, but furthers the separation between rich and poor in the area.

Although residents from lower income communities are grateful for the potential of job creation on this project, they feel marginalised by elitist nature of this exclusive, high-income development. A community leader from the forestry settlements around Karatara said: “Hoeveel golfbane is daar al klaar in Knysna alleen? Wat se nut het ons klein mensies hier daarvoor? Ons mense wil eerder grond gebruik om kos te kweek”. (“How many golf estates do we have already in the Knysna area? What benefit do these have for us small people? We would rather use land to grow vegetables”).

Karatara residents said that that amount of “wealthy people” would be welcome if they ploughed their skills and resources back into the local communities. They expressed a need for a creche and a clinic, and mentioned the example of the Port Elizabeth Casino, where the developer sponsored the fencing on a local school.

Residents of Coloured and African areas have expressed their disappointment that yet another housing development may be approved for higher income residents while the need for housing in their areas is critical. Touwsranten alone has a waiting list with 779 applicants for housing (only 450 houses will be built). Other areas (particularly Kleinkrantz, with its 84 squatter families, and Sizamile, which also has a large informal settlement) also have significant housing needs that are not addressed.

A community leader from Smutsville said that the support of his community is being used to get developments approved. (“Mense maak deesdae gebruik van ons om ontwikkeling deur te bring”). He questioned what his community stands to gain at the end of the day (“Wat kry ons daaruit?”), particularly since “development is not coming to us. It is happening somewhere else”. He suggested that a) the Developer come and see them in person and b) the workers should have a small share in the development. This money could be used for a community chest. These suggestions are attempts to mitigate a fundamental schism between the worlds of rich and poor, which is accentuated by the proposed development.

Coloured and African residents furthermore felt that they were marginalised in the public consultation processes around developments such as the one proposed. An example that one community leader from Sizamile gave is that the White communities have facilities (such as transport and telecommunication systems) that enable them to participate. He said that he did not have the means to make contact with the Minister about this development, whereas White residents did.

I asked children from Touwsranten Primary School whether they knew what golf was. They confirmed, and I asked them to draw people playing golf. They drew a few tiny stick figures with loose standing cricket poles and bats. The drawings were all done in one colour and looked bare compared to the colourful drawings they had made of Touwsranten. This reflects on the fact that the type of environment created in a golf estate is foreign (and potentially intimidating) to them.

Colleen Simons, the councillor for the Touwsranten, Rondevlei and Kleinkrantz communities advocated for “partnerships (between Developers and communities) that move away from development aid”. She argued that spacial development should look at

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the integration of communities that would result in sustainable livelihoods. The following extract from an article, which she wrote for the Wild News, illustrates her sentiments about the Development:

“Private developers are building golf courses and the municipality is doing nothing about it. A classic case of a council with eyesight who tragically have no vision. Until we achieve political and economic power we still will not prosper, nor will we be in a position to protect our interests effectively. Economic power will only come when we stop spending billions supporting Banks, Fast-Food Chains, Stores, Bottle Stores and other businesses belonging to those who give very little or nothing back to our local communities. Wilderness must not become a haven for the rich at the expense of the indigenous people. Developers buy out poor families so they can build on it their vanity fair with its resorts”.

Following the initial presentation of this report to the Developer, the project manager arranged meetings in Touwsranten, Karatara and Smutsville. He presented the Development proposal to the meetings and asked them to present ways in which the benefits which this Development could have for their communities, at a further meeting. Follow up public participation meetings have been arranged in these three communities.

Community leaders expressed their appreciation for this gesture. However, the format and style of the meetings did not facilitate empowered participation. Suggestions are made under Mitigation to facilitate empowered participation by Coloured and African residents.

Mitigation

One way of addressing the potential for the marginalisation of poor communities by the Development is to have participative planning meetings with local poor communities. Guidelines need to be defined to ensure that such meetings are effective in moving towards addressing inequality and exclusivity. The following methodological guidelines are suggested: Whereas the Developer or his official representatives could facilitate meetings

with empowered leaders of poor communities, a professional and neutral facilitator that participants are more likely to feel on an equal footing with should facilitate meetings with the general population. It is an unfortunate legacy of our country that disempowered people respond to white men in power from a place of inequality and subservience.

The starting point for discussion should be that the community members are the experts. The majority of meeting time should be given for the presentation and discussion of their experiences. Some examples of questions that may lead to empowered discussion are: Do you know the area to be developed? Do you know people in the area? What has been your experience of employment opportunities offered on big

developments? Any suggestions for improvements? What skills are there in your area? Who do people work for?

Present the project and the process followed for approval in an informal way. Look for the reference points and understandings that will enable participants to comprehend what is presented. Avoid complex maps, documents and presentations, but have easy to read handouts in the language of the audience ready. Check the accessibility of the documents with community leaders before

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copying them. Ask community leaders what support could help their communities to participate in an empowered way.

Use non-hierarchical methods of discussion, such as mapping, drawing and sharing of experiences by members of the audience. Positions participants in a circle rather than in rows facing the presenter. Give participants an opportunity to introduce themselves. Use local venues where participants are used to meeting. Many small meetings are less intimidating than one large meeting in a hall.

Facilitators of meetings in poor communities carry a great ethical responsibility. Poor communities often do not have the experience, the knowledge or the social capital that wealthier communities have, and thus they have less opportunity to verify the truth of what is presented to them. This combined with a feeling of inferiority could lead to an uncritical acceptance of what is presented to them. Under no circumstances should meetings in poor communities be used to market the Development as socially beneficial. Communities should be given maximum opportunity to form their own opinions.

The developer could contribute to the provision of housing for disadvantaged communities, either by assisting with the process of municipal housing provision, or by considering a low cost housing development in the study area. However, this mitigation measure would have to be considered in the current planning context and policy of the region. Any proposals would have to be conceptualized with local residents. Note: Coloured residents have stated that they would not be interested in housing provisional conditional to employment by the developer.

The developer can identify ways of significantly contributing to the livelihood security and living conditions of disadvantaged communities in the area. Some suggestions that have been raised by residents are: Support local enterprise. An example is the furthering of tourism enterprise in

Colored and African areas. Kleinkrantz community runs an indigenous herb garden from which they could earn an income if capital was invested to establish a tea garden. The community also desires to run the Kleinkrantz holiday resort, and has put in a tender in partnership with Parks Board.

Provide facilities. Most communities are in need of crèches, playgrounds and sport fields.

Assist with educational development. Fund an auxiliary program to assist school going youth in accessing training opportunities and furthering their skills for the wider (skilled) job market.

3.2.7. Lack of shared vision

Despite the public participation process facilitated by the Development, there are significant discrepancies between the vision of the Developer and that of surrounding communities. This is partly due to a lack of shared understanding, and also indicates the need for a professionally mediated process to come to shared vision.

During the public participation process, the Developer and the Project Manager expressed their willingness to debate the project with I&APs and to amend the planning if the debate the necessity for such amendment. However, the experience of local residents was that the Developer was only open to slight alterations of his existing proposal.

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The development of a shared vision for an area requires trust between the parties involved. Trust is based on how participants interpret a situation and the information given.

Lack of trust in the consultation process by at least a section of the local community was expressed in article placed in a local newspaper (the Wild News) in which a local I&AP referred to the Lakes public participation process as “the Golf War”. The article implies that golf estate developments such as the one proposed, are seen as a modern form of warfare against public interests. The following quotation reflects on the concern of some local residents that their contribution to the Public Participation process will be used to justify the aims of the Developer, and will leave them more disempowered:

“Modern warfare, motivated in private by financial gain, always need public support and for this reason (…) This public motivation is a pre-requisite to any invasion, and must cover the spectrum from the major stakeholders and financiers to the local leaders and the man in the street. The invaders must convince the masses that their brand of demographics is beneficial to all and that Developments of Mass Destruction (DMD’s) are necessary, but only if they are in the right hands”.

The phrase “their brand of demographics” indicates public concern that studies commissioned to assess the project, will be altered to motivate for the development.

During more recent phases of public participation, community members have become much less emotive in their response, and have participated with great commitment to find shared solutions. However, a general feeling of despair is still prevalent in the community. People do not feel that they have a forum within which to embark on a truly participative and co-creative process that would result in the Development meeting both the needs of the Developer, the broader social environment and local residents.

It is important to understand that the lack of trust which local residents feel towards the Developer is an interpretation of the intentions of the Developer, and not necessarily based on “facts”. However, this does not preclude from the fact that lack of trust is an existing phenomenon that needs to be addressed if this Development were to proceed in shared vision with local inhabitants.

Management measure

Appoint a professional mediator to assist in the formulation of a common understanding between surrounding communities and the Developer. This meditation process would have the following functions:

A clarification of the factual information regarding the Development, and a discussion of this information.

An expression of the sources of distrust, including information stored in the emotional body of the collective

Opportunity focal residents to feel truly heard and empowered to participate as equals

The finding of development solutions that meet both the desires and needs of the Developer, the broader social environment, and local residents

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3.2.8. Noise pollution

Local landowners are concerned that the Development will rob them of the peace and quiet which motivated them to buy property in this rural area. The following are noise pollution concerns expressed by local residents:

The increase in traffic on the Hoekwil – Seven Passes road will significantly increase noise levels in Hoekwil.

The proposed airstrip will be a significant source of noise pollution for neighbouring landowners and residents in villages in the area. Feelings run high about his matter. An example was raised where a Sedgefield resident “nearly got himself shot” when attempting to fly a microlight plain over the town.

The increased population density will result in increased domestic (including domestic animal) and traffic noise in the area.

Mitigation

During the EIA phase, a noise pollution study should be undertaken to identify levels and sources of noise pollution and mitigation measures. Possible mitigation measures are: The creation of sound barriers on the road through Hoekwil should be

investigated. If the building of the airstrip remains part of the proposal, the size of aeroplanes

and the functions for which the airstrip are used, should be designed to minimize noise pollution.

Domestic animals should not be allowed on the Property.

3.2.9. Change in social composition

The Development as proposed would result in the establishment on the Property of a new population. One way of predicting what the future population of the Property might look like, is to postulate scenarios from similar developments in the area. The lifestyle of property owners on golf estates in the Garden Route varies in accordance to the specific niche markets presented by the estate.

Fancourt Estate has a high percentage (50%) of owners who play golf. Most owners are family oriented – family requirements are well catered for at the estate. Fancourt is mostly used as a second home for holidays. The large number of entertainment facilities (which include four golf fields and four restaurants) as well as the large hotel (with 155 beds) cater also for visitors who are not owners.

Oubaai golf estate, which is currently being developed, has also been sold to high-income buyers attracted by the exclusivity of the estate. Buyers are mostly professional, such as auditors, doctors, veterinary surgeons and members. Many buyers are managers at financial institutions such as Investek, Deloitte and Touche, Jensek, and Imperial Bank.

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The estate agent responsible for property sales said that the largest majority of buyers are South African – 50% from Gauteng, 15% from the Free State, 10% from Mpumalanga, 5% from Natal and 10% from the Cape Peninsula. Of the buyers, 60% are Afrikaans speaking. An estimated 40% of owners will live at the estate permanently. The rest are using their properties as an investment, a source of income (through rentals) and a second home. There is a great demand for properties to rent from overseas golfing groups from October to May. So quite some percentage of the occupants of Oubaai will be overseas visitors.

These examples from similar developments suggest that the nature of the future population of the property is likely to stand in contrast to that of local communities, in the following ways: The cost of properties indicates that property owners will be of the upper income

levels. Property owners or users are likely to have an interest in living in a natural

environment (since the nature conservation component is a significant part of the development strategy). However, the investment required for residency, also indicates that residents are likely to have a high degree of urban sophistication (as is the case with Oubaai residents). In this regard, the texture of the Lakes social community is likely to stand in contrast with the rural, “back to nature” lifestyle of local communities and neighbouring land owners.

Property owners are likely to require levels of security and service provision that are divergent from the current lifestyle in the area.

The Development is designed to meet a desire for exclusivity. Entry to the Property will be controlled, and features such as the aerodrome are designed as confirmation of wealth status. Local communities have some degree of exclusivity, in that they do not easily absorb large numbers of newcomers into the area. However, their ethos of social support is a response to a shared experience of having limited means. Residents of Hoekwil, the closest community which has more affluent members, expressed their desire at a meeting “not to be associated with the wealthy”, since this is not the reason why they moved to the area.

Although the Property may had a fairly high percentage of Afrikaans speaking owners, there will most likely also be a large percentage of overseas visitors (especially in the hotel and condominiums) This would require of employees to be well versed in English. Most of the residents of surrounding communities interested in employment are Afrikaans speaking have very little or no command of English.

3.2.10. Services offered

The development as proposed includes a small commercial area. Initially the thinking of the Developer was that this commercial area could benefit local communities who have to travel far to do their shopping. However, an investigation of local purchasing patterns indicates otherwise. Residents of poorer communities prefer to do their shopping at supermarkets in town, where they can shop most economically. Karatara residents do their shopping at the main supermarket in Sedgefield, and Touwsranten and Woodville/Bosdorp residents do their shopping in George. Residents with very low and sporadic income, buy on credit at the local cash stores in their villages. Residents of the Welfare village at Karatara buy at the local store “on the books” (a system instituted by the Department of Welfare). Knysna is the closest port of call for doctors and hospitals.

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Hoekwil and Wilderness residents travel to George and Knysna to do their shopping. The local cafes and superettes are well supported. Residents from both middle and low-income villages said that the exclusive nature of the Development would discourage them from making use of shopping facilities there.

3.2.11. Security

Images of A concern of people from all the surrounding local communities is that the increase in population density, the nature of the development and the possibility of in-migration of work seekers to the area would increase security risk in the area considerably. Residents find that their current ability to sleep with open doors and live without gates and fences contributes significantly to the quality of life, which they have. One of the reasons for the low levels of crime in the area is that people (of all races) tend to know each other due to the fact that communities are small and established. The Development would also bring in wealth and urban lifestyles, which often catalyze theft and crime. Armed guards already guard the Property, and access to the Property will be controlled. In the participatory appraisal mapping exercises, residents drew in big guns to indicate how they saw the Development affecting their lives.

Mitigation

In-migration of work seekers into the area should be prevented at all cost (see earlier discussion for proposed methodology).

A lower density development would create less incentive for crime. Ideally, the Development should be integrated into the existing community so that the

current trend of safeguarding through familiarity can be continued. Exclusivity works against this possibility.

Alternatives to the armed guarding of the Property should be investigated. Alternatively, the rationale for armed presence should be discussed with neighbouring communities.

3.2.12. Road through Hoekwil and Touwsranten

The access road proposed for the development runs through the Hoekwil and Touwsranten communities. This is of grave concern, particularly to the Hoekwil community. Currently, there is a low usage of the road, with traffic studies indicating a traffic flow of 200 vehicles per day out of season and double the amount during season (Hoekwil Structure Plan). The use of the road would increase radically, particularly during construction phase. One estimate made by a community member is that 95 000 truckloads of building material would be needed for the construction of a development of the size proposed. This amounts to one truck passing through any given spot on the road every 3.6 minutes for three years (see Appendix a for a detailed description).

This would result in a change of the rural atmosphere and village texture of Hoekwil. People bought in Hoekwil because it is “off the beaten track”, away from any major developments or major roads, and because of its agricultural feel. One resident said that he could tolerate the passing by of milk and wood carrying lorries because they belong to the agricultural setting, but caterpillars would introduce a disagreeable urban construction metaphor to the area.

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Concerns were also raised by Hoekwil residents that the road would be a cause of danger. When asked to draw a map of how they would see Hoekwil if the development were to take place as planned, residents drew roads with dead bodies and horses. The construction trucks were drawn much larger than the Hoekwil houses, indicating a sense of feeling overwhelmed.

The town of Hoekwil has been built around the main road, with many smaller roads forking out of and leading into the road running through. Village life in Hoekwil is therefore structurally integrated with the presence of the road, and frequent crossings of pedestrians, cyclists and cars take place.

Once the low cost housing development across the road from Touwsranten has been completed, Touwsranten will be divided in two by the road. This, together with the current high level of pedestrian road usage in the area, indicates that an increased usage of the road would cause additional danger for pedestrians.

The following is a quotation received from an I&AP (see attachment 2) in this regard:

“The people of Touwsranten often use this road as a conduit and are often seen walking home from work. The road is also a meeting place on weekends (presumably due to lack of adequate facilities and open space. The area to the east of Touwsranten is also used and safe access across this road needs to be investigated. The road has no pavements and it is therefore likely that they will be at far greater risk with the increased volume of vehicles proposed, as is currently the case. Pets and livestock should be contained on private property, but often the underprivileged do not have the resources to keep the animals off the road. Currently, because the road is not busy vehicles often avoid these animals. This will not be the case with the proposed development. This matter will need to be addressed, both from the point of view of the owner of such animals, and from the point of view of motorized road users. The junction at the N2 is already dangerous and urgently needs a set of traffic lights”.

MitigationInvestigate measures to ensure safe crossing of roads through Touwsranten and Hoekwil.

3.2.13. Water

Water is a scarce resource, which is crucial to the sustainability of all the communities surrounding the proposed development. The following sources of water should not be compromised: The Hoogekraal River supplies water to Karatara and surrounding farms. There is an

existing concern that the additional 272 houses to be built in Karatara would over extend the water supply of the Hoogekraal River.

The water supply for Sedgefield is the Karatara River. Investigations are under way regarding the use of the Hoogekraal River.

Both the Wolwerivier and the Dieprivier (the two rivers traversing through the Property) are used extensively by local farmers. Any further use of those two rivers would jeopardize both the farming enterprises and the Swartvlei.

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Mitigation Water provision for the Development should in no ways compromise the domestic or

commercial water use or neighbouring communities.

3.2.14. Potential impact: Closure of Club Timbers

The manager of Club Timbers suspects that there will be pressure from the Developer for The relocation of the informal settlement and The cessation of the sawmill operation.

The reason for the latter is that the sawmill is a significant source of noise pollution in the area and is by virtue of its function an untidy enterprise. The District Council visits the sawmill on average twice a month to report noise and other pollution complaints. The latest sound tests show that sound pollution is 20 decibels under the permissible standards for rural (non-residential) areas.

The manager of the sawmill said that he has no intentions to close his enterprise, but he would be open to selling the land or changing their land use to residential if zoning were to be approved.

The informal settlement is one of the only areas close to the property where there is a regular influx of migrant work seekers from the Eastern Cape. The manager of Club Timbers estimates that 3 – 4 migrants come looking for work at the sawmill every day from January to October. Whether they are employed at Club Timbers or not, migrants are often given temporary or longer-term housing.

Mitigation

If the sawmill were to be sold, all employees should be given alternative employment. Employee leaders that were interviewed expressed interest in employment at the Development, with the assumption that payment would be more and work less strenuous.

If the informal settlers had to leave their current homes, alternative housing should be provided at a venue agreed upon by residents to be relocated. Community leaders said that they would be willing to be relocated to Touwsranten, since this would lessen the cost of taxi transport to George, where they do their shopping (Currently a round trip costs them R30). Their condition was that they wanted to be provided with formal housing if they were relocated to Touwsranten.

The option of relocation to Touwsranten seems unrealistic at this stage, given the existing housing pressure on this area.

3.2.15. Cumulative impacts: Development of the Garden Route

The proposed Development contributes to the current development the Garden Route. Development results in cumulative social impacts. The social impact of this development should be assessed within the context of the social impact of the development of the Garden Route.

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Mitigation

If change of land use is approved, the social impact of the proposed Development should be assessed in the context of current development trends in the area during the EIA phase. This assessment should be done in consultation with relevant authorities.An assessment of the cumulative impacts of project such as the proposed Development would benefit greatly from a regional (Garden Route) Strategic Environmental Assessment.

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Bibliography

Chambers, R. 1996. Whose reality counts? Putting the first last. London: Intermediate Technology Publications

CMA Partners. 2002. Knysna Local Economic Development Strategy. Knysna Municipality, Knysna.

Eden District Municipality. 2003. Draft Revised Eden District Integrated Development Plan. Eden Municipality, George

George Development Consortium 2000. George Municipality WC044: Development Profile. Prepared for the George Transitional Local Council by George Development Consortium. July. Contact Firm: Strategy Partners, Durbanville.

HilLand Associates. 2003. Final scoping report for the Karatara Land Reform & Resettlement Project and upgrading of bulk services. Hilland Associates, George.

Knysna Municipality. 2002. Knysna Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2002 – 2005. Knysna Municipality, Knysna.

Knysna Municipality. 2002. Socio-economic survey of the Knysna Municipal Area. Knysna Municipality: Knysna.

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Attachment aJohn Sharples

Date: 19/11/2003

CELL: 083 587 5829P O BOX 9087

GEORGE6530

Dear Dr. Shakti Malan

LAKES ECO GOLF RESORT

I was pleased to make your acquaintance at the information session on the 18 th

November 2003 with regard to the above development. I have concerns or issues with regard to the above development. These concerns relate to the following;

visual impact; water availability and sustainability; impact of sense of place on the development; and, the president this development will set for developers and development along this

area of coastline.

However, my greatest concern is the access road starting from the N2 junction at the Hoekwil Road turn off, across the Wilderness National Park, through Hoekwil, through Touwsranten to the development. I was amazed when this road was given as one of the plus factors for choosing the proposed site. Namely, ease of access to the site. I can only imagine that the developer never actually inspected this route before purchasing the property. If he had he would have seen, as any layman can, that this road has not been designed to take the amount of traffic the development will generate in the construction and operation phases. This route will be used for the development of the Resort and for the servicing of the resort as well as by the residents of the Resort.

To give you an indication of the amount of traffic I envisage I have made a few simple calculations. I must point out that this is not a comprehensive study and is in fact a guess. The reason it is a guess is because despite numerous studies having been completed on site and over millions of Rands having been spent on these studies, to my knowledge, no studies have been completed on the impact of the development on the road or the volume of traffic which this development will generate.

With regard to the amount of traffic generated, the following is a list of the proposed units and facilities to be constructed:

There will be 845 residential units, 58 small holdings, 120 units in the retirement village, 260 condominiums, a hotel which basically consist of dining room, lounge, etc, two bush camps of 10 units each, roads,

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2 golf courses, 2 club houses. A small village, A polo field, and An airfield or aerodrome. Associated infrastructure such as sewage and water pipes etc.

If one takes the average house being approximately 150m2 and the proposal indicates that there will be a total of 1300 houses, then one would assume that the square meters that need to be constructed in terms of living space, will be approximately 200 000m2.

Bricks for unitsA layman’s guess is that if a house of 150m2 takes approximately 30 000 bricks then a truck (eighteen wheeler horse and trailer) takes approximately 10 000 bricks. Therefore three trucks with bricks will be needed per house.

Therefore;1300 houses X 3 trucks or 6 truck trips (3 loaded, 3 empty)

Concrete for units (foundations)If one looks at the foundations with regard to concrete, then it can be estimated that at least three trucks of ready mix concrete will be needed per house. If one uses batch concrete, the material still needs to be transported there and one can then assume that the number of trucks will be similar.

Therefore;1300 houses X 3 trucks or 6 truck trips (3 loaded, 3 empty)

Building sand for unitsIf one then looks at sand, the average house of this size, in terms of building sand, uses approximately 5 ten-ton trucks worth of sand.

Therefore;1300 X 5 trucks or 10 truck trips (5 loaded, 5 empty)

Roofing trussesWith regard to the roofing, the trusses used are approximately one truckload per house.

Therefore;1300 X 1 truck or 2 truck trips (1 loaded, 1 empty)

Tiles for the roofThe roofing material is probably also one truckload per house, irrespective of whether tiles or some kind of roofing sheets will be used.

Therefore;1300 X 1 truck or 2 truck trips (1 loaded, 1 empty)

Cement for unitsThe cement is also probably one truckload per house, this excludes that which has been mentioned above for foundations.

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Therefore;1300 X 1 truck or 2 truck trips (1 loaded, 1 empty)

Internal finishing The internal finishing and fittings will probably be in the region of three truckloads per house.

Therefore;1300 X 3 trucks or 6 truck trips (3 loaded, 3 empty)

The above amounts to a total of 34 truck trips per house and a total of 44 200 truck trips for the 1300 units.

The above figures may well be flawed and it is for this reason that I then guess the rest of the truck trips with regard to the Hotel, the roads, the golf clubs in the village. It can be assumed that the construction of this infrastructure would use a similar quantity of material, as another 200 houses. This is because to construct the village and the roads etc, would require heavy earth moving equipment, such as road scrapers, trench diggers, bulldozes and excavators etc. However, some of the material such as bricks and asphalt for the construction of roads has not been factored into this above equation.

The above amounts to a total of 34 truck trips per house and therefore a total of 6 800 truck trips.

The construction of the golf courses and polo field would necessitate a certain amount of earth, grass seed, water pipes etc, these water pipes and services. It is unknown at this stage how much material will be needed for the polo field and golf courses in terms of landscaping. Apparently between 20 and 50 million Rand will be spent on landscaping, presumably some of this will be used to haul trees, plants, seeds and topsoil etc, onto site, this has also not been factored into this equation. However, I don’t think I could be accused of stretching the truth if I said that the amount of traffic, in terms of heavy vehicles, would be the same as the number needed to construct the 1300 residential units.

The above amounts to a total of 44 200 truck trips.

Therefore the estimate for the number of truck trips needed to construct all of the above will be 95 200. It will be difficult to argue that his is not significant.

Then if one looks at the number of vehicles which will carry smaller loads, such as light delivery vehicles, and carry specialists as well as engineers etc, it would probably not be unrealistic to say that there would at least be 200 light delivery vehicles (LDV’s) and other vehicles such as cars visiting the site per day.

If this development was constructed over three years and public holidays, weekends and builders holidays were observed and work was done for eight hours a day, the following would apply.

3 years X 48 weeks X 5 days X 8 hours X 60 minutes = 345 600 minutes in three years. If one divides 95 200 trips needed, it would mean that roughly one truck would pass a

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particular spot on the road every 3.6 minutes for three years. Alternatively every 7.2 minutes for 6 years. Obviously there would be gaps between the trucks and 10 trucks may pass in quick succession and then there would be peace and quite for a few minutes. I estimate that there are currently 16 truck trips per day on this road or one every 30 minutes.

If one added the LDV’s and cars (approximately 400 trips per day) on top of the above this would amount to a significant increase in the traffic on the road. If one takes that there are approximately 1 300 units, each may be inhabited by two people in each unit and then some visitors to the golf courses and polo fields, one can assume that there would be approximately 1 000 one way trips to George, per day, or 2 000 round trips per day. This would be ongoing into the foreseeable future. This does not include the daily delivery trucks.

I therefore believe the use of the road by the extra traffic will significantly impact on the communities of Touwsranten, Hoekwil, the farming community, the community at Woodville, the Wilderness National Park as well as the community of Wilderness East and Kingfisher Close.

The impact on these communities will as a minimum, be the following:

Impact on safety. Impact on sense of place. Impact on property values.

Impact on safety.People walkingConcern for the safety of people and livestock / pets on this road. The people of Touwsranten often use this road as a conduit and are often seen walking home from work. The road is also a meeting place on weekends (presumably due to lack of adequate facilities and open space. The area to the east of Touwsranten is also used and safe access across this road needs to be investigated. The road has no pavements and it is therefore likely that they will be at far greater risk with the increased volume of vehicles proposed as is currently the case. Pets and livestock should be contained on private property, but often the underprivileged do not have the resources to keep the animals off the road. Currently, because the road is not busy vehicles often avoid these animals. This will not be the case with the proposed development. This matter will need to be addressed, both from the point of view of the owner of such animals, and from the point of view of motorized road users. The junction at the N2 is already dangerous and urgently needs a set of traffic lights.

Use of the road for sport and recreationThere are a large number of people who use sections of this road for running and cycling. There are at least 4 annual cycle races / rides and 2 running races which use part of this route. The increase in traffic will significantly affect these activities.

Impact on sense of place.Sense of place from residential housesThere will be a significant increase in the duration of noise generation from this road due to the construction vehicles as well as the LDV vehicles to and from the development site. During the week construction vehicles will be the primary users during the

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construction phase of the development, while over weekends residents and visitors can be expected to make up the bulk of the traffic to the site on this road. There are a number of houses which are situated approximately 30-50 meters away from the road and will therefore experience a significant increase in noise pollution which will impact on their sense of place. This is likely to have a negative impact on property values, as property values will decrease due to the extra noise and a reduction in quality of peace and quiet.

Sense of place from the National ParkThere will be a significant increase in noise and visual intrusion on the sense of place on the Wilderness National Park. The National Park is a Wetland of International importance. The road currently runs through the middle of Wilderness National Park. This will affect the sense of place on the Wilderness National Park.

Impact on property values.I believe that the extra traffic may cause further impact on property values to some houses in and near Kingfisher Close (Wilderness Extension 7). On occasion when a heavy truck drives past, vibration can be felt on the first floor of residences. The vibration is probably caused by the fact that Kingfisher Close, or a large part of Kingfisher Close is built on uncompacted sand. The cause of concern is what effect 94 000 truck trips will have on the houses in Kingfisher Close and will they have any effect on the settling of the soil?

Impact of vehicles on condition of road.Another issue that concerns me with regard to the use of this road is that the road does not appear to be able to withstand heavy trucks transporting goods. This observation was made with the clearing of forestry plantations and the SAFCOL trucks, which used the road, appeared to cause the road to crumble on the edges necessitating the resurfacing of small portions of the roads. If one looks at the picture submitted in this report, one can see that vehicles going up the pass to Hoekwil has pulled off, (to the left of the road), to allow lighter traffic to go past, while continuing to drive on the ‘soft’ shoulder of the road. This is because the speed at which the heavy vehicle travels is so slow, that to avoid frustration from the lighter vehicle drivers, the heavy vehicle drivers allow them to go past. One can only imagine what would happen if you had one vehicle once every 3 minutes going either up or down this road. Whether the current road can cope adequately with the additional traffic load will have to be investigated. Internalization of externalities points to the fact that the tax payer should not have to pay for the upkeep of the road which has been damaged by the development.

The above factors serve to highlight my concern that when one looks at the property, it is critical to view the road which will be used to construct this development, as an extension of the property and in fact it is demanded in the legislation that one does this and that the property is not viewed in isolation. The legislation further demands that the affected parties, which live next to the road, must at least be informed of the change on their lifestyle, which this development will have, and be given opportunity to raise concerns / issues.

It is highly likely that this development and subsequent use of this road, will be the single largest impact in the last ten years which has affected the quality of life of the people who live near the road. It is therefore also important that for people in Hoekwil,

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Touwsranten and other areas who may not have had the opportunity to participate in the assessment of the access route, are given that opportunity through capacity building. As you know, bussing in people from other areas to a meeting in Wilderness does not constitute capacity building.

This development if allowed to proceed will probably bring positive and negative impacts to this community and it is imperative that workshops are instituted which will empower these people to partake in this process in a meaningful way as it will have a direct impact on their lives and livelihood. In the interest of co-operative governance, I have submitted a similar letter to other Authorities and interested and affected parties.

Any impacts which may be either gained or lost through this development need to be assessed not only in terms of the impact of the specific property, but of the area as a whole. This is because the National Environmental Management Act demands that a holistic view is taken of the development and that cumulative impacts are measured and assessed. The scope of the SEA should therefore be broadened to include the area between Plettenberg Bay and Mossel Bay because within this area it is likely that there will be areas where this sort of development may be far better suited than the area currently suggested.

There is no question that the construction of the development will have a major, permanent and irreversible impact on the residents who live near the Hoekwil road as well as on the road itself. To not include the Hoekwil road in the assessment of the development is to blatantly disregard Schedule 1(1)(d) of the Environmental Conservation Act.

I trust that the above issues will be given due consideration.

Plate 1. Heavy vehicles giving way on the pass up to Hoekwil

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Yours sincerely

John Sharples

cc Ms. Esme Morley WaLEAF

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