My reff = IDP PRF / mtuba / June 2013
email sent to
peens@dwa.gov.za as requested by members. / also
published to blog
http://4x4ban.blogspot.com/
Attention / action : Minister of Environmental Affairs : Me. Edna Molewa
all others FYI - (please forward to those concerned in your contacts lists)
Fishing issues, the 4x4 ban and lake St. Lucia as breeding ground for
many fish species.
The ARBU or Association of recreational users has been requested to
take action and help the residents of St. Lucia in the Mtubatuba local
municipality, of the Umkhanyakude district municipality in KZN in
their efforts to bring the mismanagement of the lake St. Lucia to the
attention of the minister, and request that the minister address their
concerns through personal attendance of the Mtubatuba Local
Municipality's IDP PRF (Integrated Development Plan Public
Representatives Forum) process, where an explanation of a few
different items would be required to be discussed.
These items are all directly connected to the tourism potential of the
Elephant Coast as a whole, and the Mtubatuba Municipality in
particular.
Part 1 the 4x4 ban (
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
)
1) the serious economic losses associated with the drop in domestic
tourism numbers caused by the 4x4 ban has never been addressed at the
Mtubatuba Local municipality Integrated Development plan, where all
zoning matters are supposed to be addressed as is mandated in the
1) Municipal systems act
2) the NEMA (national environmental management act)
3) the ICMA (Integrated Coastal Management Act)
4) other related legislation
This implies that the zoning of the coastal recreational use areas as
practiced and implemented by the IWPA (iSimanagliso wetland park
Authority) are in practice illegal.
The minister is mandated by the ICMA (Integrated Coastal Management
Act) to bring the changes made by the minister (or his appointed
agents) in terms of the NEMA (National Environmental Management Act)
and associated 4x4 ban legislation to the attention of the local
municipality and have these changes introduced to the local
Municipalities LUMS (land use management system ) and the appropriate
zones to be reflected in the local municipalities maps once these
changes have been accepted and processed as per the appropriate
legislation. It must be noted that when a zoning issue is brought
before the court, the only zoning that is valid is the current zoning
as reflected in the specified local Municipality's zoning maps at the
time of the contravention or alleged contravention.
If these zones have not been not accepted by the identified local
municipality's IDP PRF as per the mandated procedures in the relevant
acts they are not valid and may be contested in court, and the
ministers point of view will thus be moot and thrown out of evidence.
The IWPA ( iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) has never participated
in these procedures to have their zones included in any municipal maps
at the Mtubatuba local municipality IDP PRF level, and the minister
has not sent a Representative to the Mtubatuba local Municipality IDP
PRF to have these issues addressed.
This introduction of the ministers changes to the Mtubatuba local
municipality's zoning maps has thus not been done, and we request that
this be addressed in the current IDP review process. This request does
not come lightly, and we are currently evaluating the possibility of
taking legal action against the minister, and her appointees, for
failure to perform oversight in regards to these issues.
Part 2 fish stocks
It has come to the attention of the Association of Recreational Reach
Users that our membership base has been accused of over fishing the
Elephant Coast during many different discussions with a wide variety
of the public and their different associations, around the 4x4 ban
issue. This is an insult and very far from the truth.
The fact that the breeding grounds of many fish species is mismanaged
by the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) is never brought up
and we as the ARBU (Association of Recreational Beach Users) feel that
it is time that the minister came to the Mtubatuba Local Municipality
IDP PRF (Integrated Development plan Public Representatives Forum) and
discuss these issues in detail so that the Mtubatuba Municipality may
make the appropriate requests for government assistance, as well as
assistance from the United Nations and other international sources to
address these ultra important issues in the correct forums, as the
IWPA has blatantly refused to do so after many direct requests at the
Mtubatuba Local municipality Integrated development plan public
representatives forum by my self personally as CEO of Info4u and a
founding member of the Association of Recreational Beach Users, as
well as numerous others who have tourism issues along the Elephant
Coast of KZN South Africa as a concern.
The records of the Mtubatuba Local Municipality Integrated Development
Plan Public Representatives forum will reflect the many times that I
have personally requested the IWPA to take up the issues of the 4x4
ban and related economic impacts of low tourism numbers as well as the
poor ecological management of lake St. Lucia and this impact on
tourism numbers to the Elephant Coast.
Issues that need to be addressed with urgency are listed here. There
are many other issues that need to be addressed, but they are in our
opinion not as urgent as these matters listed below
1) the levels of DDT in Lake St. Lucia with associated toxicology
reports as a direct result of the Anti malaria campaign introduced by
the past minister Mr. Vali Musa
2) Water flow issues as a result of the restrictions imposed by man
made structures, and the IWPA dredging spoil dumps as well as other
related actions including filling of the back channels with building
rubble by the IWPA along and within the St. Lucia Estuary delta ,
with a focus on the bridge as one enters the town of St. Lucia
3) the silting up of Lake St. Lucia following the 1963 floods and the
subsequent actions taken by all authorities since then to address the
problems of declining fish stocks as a result of the massive damage to
the ecosystem
4) the current custodians of lake St. Lucia (the iSimangaliso Wetland
Park) and their refusal to follow instructions as mandated in the many
laws and associated legislation which mandate them to hold Public
Participation meetings and give feed back to the public through the
appropriate channels such as the local municipality Integrated
Development Plan Public Representatives Forums.
The Ministers input and attendance of the Mtubatuba Local
Municipality's IDP PRF would be highly appreciated, and have a very
large impact on the ability of the Mtubatuba Local Municipality to
solve some of the problems or at least mitigate against the issues
relating to the 4x4 ban and the mismanagement of lake St. Lucia by the
iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority with the related impacts of these
actions on the domestic and foreign tourism trade flow patterns, and
the job losses associated with this poor management practices of the
IWPA.
Regards Frank
Frank Gainsford
http://social.me/info4u2use
phone - office hours 039 315 1555
Founding Member of the association of recreational Beach users.
www.arbu.info4u.co.za
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