Oudtshoorn, 22 February 2022 – The Executive Mayor of the Greater Oudtshoorn, Cllr Chad Louw, has been in the service of the town since 04 November 2021 and has taken steps in addressing issues the community cares about during his 100-Day plan to bring much needed long-term relief for the residents of the Greater Oudtshoorn.
Mayor Louw wants the community to know that his first hundred days in office have been an immersion in the intelligence, creativity, and goodwill of the staff and elected officials at the municipality. “In its essence, the 100-Day Plan is an act of good faith by the Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality’s Administration and council to the community, with the below-mentioned objectives.”
Infrastructure: Boost of an additional grant of R27 million
The municipality is in the final phase of concluding a partnership with the Department of Correctional Services. Out of that transaction, there will be employment opportunities. Oudtshoorn municipality has also received an additional grant for Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) (± R1.1 million) and Roads & Stormwater (±R26 million). These great opportunities will set focus on the current service delivery issues and address the Roads & Stormwater challenges in the Greater Oudtshoorn. This will also form part of the Mayoral Keep Oudtshoorn Clean & Keep Oudtshoorn Safe Campaign.
At the beginning of February 2022, a tender was sent out for local small business contractors to apply as bidders for the removal and/or clearing of illegal dumping on various public open spaces, stormwater channels, and river beds. Louw said that as soon as the proper Supply Chain processes are finalized, work will start so that Oudtshoorn can get back to its former glory and be the beautiful town it is supposed to be.
” Our Technical Department is hard at work to repair and do maintenance on the roads of Oudtshoorn. Some parts have already been completed, and Park Road and Meul Street will be resealed shortly. The patching of Rus-, Aandblom and Boegoe Street, as well as 1st Avenue are also next in line”.
Financial boost of R47 million to kick-start Blossoms Project
The multi-million rand Blossoms Emergency project which was launched in 2018 to alleviate drought and serious water shortages in the Greater Oudtshoorn is revived after several engagements with the Minister of Water and Sanitation. The municipality received the official approval for the R47 150 000 for the completion of the blossoms project.
”Our planning is currently on track and the construction of the next phase will kick-start early in March 2022. This will ensure that we provide water from Blossoms to Oudtshoorn, Dysselsdorp, and all the surrounding rural areas”, Louw said.
After many years, the Bridgton Mall is finally in construction
“We have a busy year ahead of us with all the planned and new projects. I am excited about all of this as with the hard work of officials, stakeholders, investors, and the feedback from the public, we can turn the Greater Oudtshoorn back to its former glory,” said the Louw.
The building plans of the Bridgton Mall have been approved in January 2022. The investor will start the construction phase in March/April 2022 and also create employment opportunities for local Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and workers in the construction industry.
Oudtshoorn continues to be the Sports Mecca and Events town in the Western Cape and district
The municipality funded and secured the following events as part of the strategy to position the town as a Sports Mecca of the Western Cape. In addition, the municipality is also focussing on hosting major events and conferences within the municipal area.
- Bowl’s National Tournament (November 2021)
- Biathlon (February 2022)
- SA National Youth Cycling Championship (March 2022)
Oudtshoorn Municipality also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) in December 2021 on promoting sport and utilizing the municipal facility for the sports academy. The annual Sports Festival is currently in the planning phase for Oudtshoorn to host the Sports Festival. “We experienced challenges with the quality of our sports infrastructure specifically the swimming pool, and a team comprising top management and councillors met with the role players to resolve matters of concern. This will hopefully lay the foundation to start rebuilding our relationship with aquatics and repositioning our pool to host galas and events” said Louw. “We are also excited to announce that KKNK will be hosted again this year and we also secured the hosting of the SALGA National Small Towns Conference in May 2022”.
“There are still a few planned projects and programmes that I am working on as not all of my objectives were going to be realized in their entirety in a hundred days,” Mayor Louw said. He also stated that it is the councillors’ constitutional responsibility as a municipality to deliver services to our people. “I’m dedicated to fulfilling my duties and functions to ensure real, concrete, and meaningful steps towards addressing the issues in our communities and ensuring new possibilities and opportunities”.