Objection to Notice 150 of 2013

Copy of message received from Sandy Mcdonald (Department of Environmental Affairs) answering our attempt to to comment on / object to Draft legislation as per notice 150 of 2013 published in the Governement Gazzet

Notice the delays and that the reply to our objection / comment on this notice did not come from the person listed in the notice as the official who should be dealing with these matters.  Also notice the date of transmission (16 April 2013) when the comments closed on 30 March 2013

Your comments will be appreciated... both sides of the fence are welcome..


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sandy McDonald <amdonald@environment.gov.za>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:20:00 +0200
Subject: Re: Fwd: Objection Notice 150 of 3013 legal issues...
To: Frank Gainsford <admin@info4u.co.za>

Dear Sir / Madam

Receipt of your comments on the abovementioned draft regulations is
hereby acknowledged.

Thanking you for your inputs.

Yours sincerely




A J Macdonald
Principal Environmental Officer
Directorate: Coastal Conservation Strategies
Branch: Oceans and Coasts
Department of Environmental Affairs
Telephone: 021 – 819 2493
Fax: 021 – 819 2445
E-mail: amdonald@environment.gov.za
Address: 2nd Floor, East Pier Building, East Pier Road, V & A
Waterfront, Cape Town, 8000;
P O Box 52126, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town, 8002
Web Site: www.environment.gov.za ( http://www.environment.gov.za/
)

This message and any attachments transmitted with it are intended
solely for the Addressee(s) and may be legally privileged and/or
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>>> Frank Gainsford <admin@info4u.co.za> 04/04/13 8:33 PM >>>
Attention : 1) amdonald@environment.gov.za 2)
fangwenyi@environment.gov.za
all others FYI (for your Information)

Hi

I never received a confirmation of receipt for this mail as below.

on follow up I discovered that others had also not received a notice
of receipt for their submissions.

Your email addresses as listed below came up as an alternative.

1) amdonald@environment.gov.za
2) fangwenyi@environment.gov.za

If you are not in a position to help, please advise soonest.

If you are the right person please advise course of action now.

Regards Frank

Frank Gainsford
072 505 5111
frankie2sox@vodamail.co.za

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Frank Gainsford <admin@info4u.co.za>
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:04:52 +0200
Subject: Objection Notice 150 of 3013 -
To: Jpeter <Jpeter@environment.gov.za>, Frans van der Walt
<frans@qs2000plus.co.za>
Cc: Petrus Viviers <petrus@forafrica.co.za>, pretpeppie
<pretpeppie@vodamail.co.za>, coastwatch@ceasy.co.za

Attention Mr. Ryan Peters

All other recipients FYI (also please forward to whom ever you think
may have an interest in these matters, especially if you feel they may
support the |ARBU in our attempts to gain reasonable recreational
access to the Elephant Coast beaches)

Please reply soonest with acknowledgement of Receipt.

If you are not the person appointed to deal with objections to Notice
150 of 2013 in terms of the proposed legislation to close all beaches
to reasonable motor vehicle access please advise who is, as your email
address was listed as the official point of complaint - objection.

Your Notice No 150 of 2013 as published in the Government gazette No.
36183 dated 1 MARCH 2013 is a direct attempt at government to destroy
the local tourism associated with recreational beach use, and we as
the Association of Recreational Beach Users (ARBU) hereby object to
this legislation in the strongest terms possible.

The ARBU (Association of recreational Beach Users) will be doing all
within our power to gather the support of the people on the ground and
use all the tools at our disposal to enure that this legislation is
re-written and that it makes provision for recreational beach access
as the original document way back in 2001 had. You may visit our
social media promotional page at http://social.me/arbu where you will
links to our various social media profiles and web site
http://arbu.info4u.co.za

We will also enure that the gross economic losses associated with this
legislation are dealt with according to the ICMA (Integrated Coastal
Management Act) , the NEMA (National Environmental Management Act),
The WHCA (World Heritage convention Act) and the MSA (Municipal
Systems act) as well as other relevant legislation which is in place
to ensure that the environment is used to create sustainable
Eco-friendly jobs along our coast line.

We will also do all in our power to ensure that those who pursued this
legislation which violates our collective economic rights in terms of
section 24 of the South African constitution are prosecuted for their
part in this very corrupt legislation which in our view is in place to
ensure that the mining of the Elephant Coast sand dunes takes place.
Proof of this is that the legislation makes provision for mining
vehicles to access our beaches, but makes ZERO provision for
recreational beach use in any shape manner or form.

Attached bellow find some correspondence from our supporters. There
are many more people who feel the same way, and the ARBU (Association
of Recreational Beach Users) will be gathering their support, and
channeling their collective anger and frustrations to enure a larger
support base, which will be used to tackle this legislation at local
political level.

The people on the ground are also frustrated and upset that their
situation is not addressed, and that the issue (Read 4x4 ban) which
caused so many job losses, within the Elephant Coast local tourism
industry, is treated so lightly and flippantly by government. In 2004
KZN tourism issued an objection to similar legislation which was also
just shrugged off by government. Read that objection here
http://www.zulu.org.za/userfiles/1/file/ForIvestorandResearcher/Research/Occ%20Papers%20PDFs/Occ%20paper%2020%20Legislation%20on%20the%20Use%20of%204X4%27s%20on%20Beaches%20.pdf


The ARBU (Association Of Recreational Users) will be guided by public
opinion and the current trend is that this legislation needs to be
re-written to include recreational vehicle access to our beaches, or
else we must go for broke and ensure that this legislation is
completely over-turned.

This is how ever not the first choice, as we realise that the
environment needs protection, and that a sustainable plan must be in
place to ensure that our remote coast line does not become like Cape
Town and Durban with hard surface development right into the ocean.

It thus follows that the legislation needs some serious work, and that
the government needs to take the people on the ground into account.
The economic impacts of this legislation for the Elephant Coast is
huge. in the -- BILLIONS OF RANDS

The minister has in the past claimed to have done economic studies,
and we advise you to verify that these studies were legitimate and
took into account the huge number of job losses as mentioned in KZN
Tourism Occasional paper 20 as well as the true economic value of the
coastal zones of the Elephant coast as a tourism draw card.

It would further be appreciated if your could arrange for the
minister, or a delegate of the minister, to come to Mtubatuba and
discuss these losses at the Mtubatuba local municipality Integrated
Development Plan Public Representatives Forum (IDP PRF) so that the
Mtubatuba local municipality could make suitable plans as part of
their IDP (Integrated Development Plan) to assist those made indigent
by the related legislation which this new draft desires to perpetuate.

Looking forward to working with you to have this legislation amended
so as to include provisions for recreational use areas with reasonable
motor vehicle access, so that the local economy of the Elephant Coast
may prosper as it once did.


Regards Frank


Frank Gainsford
072 505 5111
arbu@info4u.co.za
www.arbu.info4u.co.za

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "pretpeppie@vodamail.co.za" <pretpeppie@vodamail.co.za>
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:24:33 +0200
Subject: Fw: Re: Emailing: St. Lucia 4x4-on-beach
To: frank@info4u.co.za



From: Louis Fourie
Date: 3/15/2013 11:47:38 PM
To: pretpeppie@vodamail.co.za
Cc: Nelius.Smith
Subject: Re: Emailing: St. Lucia 4x4-on-beach

WHO CAN HELP LOCAL TOURISM AND THE LOCAL POPULATION IN AND AROUND THE
iSIMANGALISO WETLAND PARK?

St Lucia, Sodwana, Kosi bay South Africa are fishing villages. Most
residents live there because they could make a living from fishing or
the
more wealthy live there because they could drive on the beach to fish
or
relax. That is the main recreational activity for locals.

Without consultation vehicles were banned from the beach eleven years
ago.
The poor locals since suffer tremendously. Many of the more wealthy
locals
relocated. We were promised many hotels and thousands of job
oppertunities
but eleven years later nothing has happened and the mayority of locals
are
poorer than ever and are suffering more than ever before. They are not
allowed to hunt or catch prawns and are shot dead when caught. They
have to
rob tourists to survive. It is dangerous for any tourist to visit Kosi
bay
or Sodwana bay because you will be robbed. Crime is increasing in St
Lucia
quickly. The poor locals have no other income or jobs. They are forced
to
steal to survive.

The authority is backed and sponsored by the government and Unesco.
Under
the name of conservation we are all made to suffer.

Eleven years ago there used to be twenty charter boats and everyone
made a
living. Today there are three and they are hardly make a living. The
town
has'nt grown at all in size. Not one street has been added! There was
about
fifty small boats for hire by the public........TODAY THERE IS
NONE!!!!!!

Total filling station closed. Standard bank closed. Restaurants open
and
close regularly. I can go on and on.

Only a handfull of individuals enjoy the money the few overseas
tourists
bring in. Hundred thousands of poor locals are exploited, promised a
piece
of the cake but nothing. So called illegal houses of local
entreprenieurs
were bulldozed and wrecked in the park by officials with fat, fat
cheques in
their pockets. No wonder there is so much crime in the park.

And somewhere UNESCO said us locals should'nt be worse off after they
declared an area WORLD HERITAGE

We can see that the authority try to promote overseas Eco tourism but
at the
cost of us locals and local tourism. A few days ago on national TV it
was
said " The authority does'nt want the brandy brigade in their park and
the
overseas tourists' footprint is not so big" I've seen some senior
park
officials as drunk as can be in public.

We asked the minister of conservation as well as the public protector
for
help but to no avail. The organs of government are just too strong.



----- Original Message -----
From: pretpeppie@vodamail.co.za
To: Louis Fourie
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 7:39 PM
Subject: Fw: Emailing: St. Lucia 4x4-on-beach




St Lucia.
Picture 1. The old days with the Estuary open to the sea and 4 x 4"s
allow
to drive on the beach.
Photos 2 - 3 - 4 is with a person in the 4 x 4"s with a disable
permit. Feb
2013

Will it be possible to investigate matters regarding rules and laws
applied to the the banning of driving and parking vehicles on the beach
at
St Lucia.

------Original Message-------


Help !!!!



The country belongs to the people of South Africa and not to
individual
people making rules and laws to suit them selves !!
It is our right as South African citizens to drive and park our 4 x 4"s
on
the beach. We stay in a democratic country, vote for a Government and
pay
Taxes to keep the country going and on the world map.
We must be given a piece of beach for recreational purposes. Northern
KZN,
St. Lucia.
The rest of the world are driving on their beaches ( world heritage
we
asked for in KZN ) except us in South Africa with 3000 km of beaches.
What
is the reason for the 4 x 4 beach ban that was implemented by the
government
( Mr. Moosa )
This law remind the RSA citizens of the apartheid regime !!
We want the president Mr. Zuma to do away with this unacceptable 4 x 4
beach
ban law.


M. Pretorius
RSA Citizen

Cc.UNESCO










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072 - 505 - 5111



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Contact Info4u <http://www.info4u.co.za> for your internet based
information Technology queries!
We help small businesses get their information in the cloud.
cloud-computing made
simple<https://sites.google.com/a/info4u.co.za/cloud-computing/>
admin@info4u.co.za
072 - 505 - 5111



--
Contact Info4u <http://www.info4u.co.za> for your internet based
information Technology queries!
We help small businesses get their information in the cloud.
cloud-computing made
simple<https://sites.google.com/a/info4u.co.za/cloud-computing/>
admin@info4u.co.za
072 - 505 - 5111

This message and any attachments transmitted with it are intended
solely for the addressee(s) and may be legally privileged and/or
confidential.

If you have received this message in error please destroy it and
notify the sender. Any unauthorized usage, disclosure, alteration or
dissemination is prohibited. The Department of Environmental Affairs
accepts no responsibility for any loss whether it be direct, indirect
or consequential, arising from information made available and actions
resulting there from.

The views and opinions expressed in this e-mail message may not
necessarily be those of Management.