Hi guys,
Here is a link to get directions from Johannesburg to Gariep - close to Colesberg if you are looking to stay-over at Gariep Dam.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HbrhQrQ0vdKywpsm7S5TqHfvgxGi6JCZudqTqGXXrwo/edit
Siloam Village www.siloamvillage.co.za has made the document available since it helps a lot if you maybe forgot the directions at home.
Enjoy
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Major housing project rolled out - Free State, Eastern Cape Gariep Area: comments by Siloam Village
Great to see our communities are uplifted ! Hopefully Oviston at Lake Gariep will also be in the que for a revamp. We hardly have a community hall to use. Siloam Village will keep looking out for updates and let you know accordingly.
Mawande Jack
An accelerated programme to construct houses for the poor, especially in the rural areas, this financial year has been unveiled.
Places earmarked for major housing projects include Mount Ayliff, Dordrecht, Ezibeleni, Cradock, Middelburg, Burgersdorp, Steynsburg, Aliwal North and Motherwell.
Work on many of the projects is expected to start this month. Two of the projects have been designated as national housing projects by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, to be launched in Soweto-on-Sea and Joe Slovo in Port Elizabeth.
Sexwale disclosed that the massive projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay involving 6500 low-cost housing units that would cost the state R617m. About 8700 units were being planned for Dordrecht, Ezibeleni, Cradock, Middelburg and Burgersdorp at a cost of R663m.
The Eastern Cape human settlements departments said the problems in the 700 housing units project in Mount Ayliff that had stalled had been resolved and would cost R61m to complete by December. About R103m has been set aside for the repair of 1262 defective houses in Motherwell.
mawandej@thenewage.co.za
Mawande Jack
An accelerated programme to construct houses for the poor, especially in the rural areas, this financial year has been unveiled.
Places earmarked for major housing projects include Mount Ayliff, Dordrecht, Ezibeleni, Cradock, Middelburg, Burgersdorp, Steynsburg, Aliwal North and Motherwell.
Work on many of the projects is expected to start this month. Two of the projects have been designated as national housing projects by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, to be launched in Soweto-on-Sea and Joe Slovo in Port Elizabeth.
Sexwale disclosed that the massive projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay involving 6500 low-cost housing units that would cost the state R617m. About 8700 units were being planned for Dordrecht, Ezibeleni, Cradock, Middelburg and Burgersdorp at a cost of R663m.
The Eastern Cape human settlements departments said the problems in the 700 housing units project in Mount Ayliff that had stalled had been resolved and would cost R61m to complete by December. About R103m has been set aside for the repair of 1262 defective houses in Motherwell.
mawandej@thenewage.co.za
AfriForum to aid residents of Steynsburg and Burgersdorp
AfriForum to aid residents of Steynsburg and Burgersdorp
Willie Spies
07 March 2012
Organisation in urgent court application to stop Eskom cutting off power supply
AFRIFORUM STEPS IN FOR COMMUNITIES OF STEYNSBURG AND BURGERSDORP
Civil rights organisation AfriForum will assist residents of Burgersdorp and Steynsburg with an urgent court application at the Eastern Cape High Court in Grahamstown tomorrow, in order to prevent Eskom from cutting the towns' power supply.
Residents of the two towns were unexpectedly given notice by Eskom yesterday that their power supply will be cut tomorrow. Eskom claims that the Gariep Local Municipality has defaulted on the towns' electricity bills. According to residents, the Gariep Local Municipality owes Eskom approximately R5 million.
The court application will be heard in the High Court in Grahamstown tomorrow, 8 March 2012, at 10:00.
Statement issued by Willie Spies, Legal representative, AfriForum, March 7 2012
By Siloam Village Gariep: What a relieve, all has worked out well so far. Oviston had its power on all the time.
Willie Spies
07 March 2012
Organisation in urgent court application to stop Eskom cutting off power supply
AFRIFORUM STEPS IN FOR COMMUNITIES OF STEYNSBURG AND BURGERSDORP
Civil rights organisation AfriForum will assist residents of Burgersdorp and Steynsburg with an urgent court application at the Eastern Cape High Court in Grahamstown tomorrow, in order to prevent Eskom from cutting the towns' power supply.
Residents of the two towns were unexpectedly given notice by Eskom yesterday that their power supply will be cut tomorrow. Eskom claims that the Gariep Local Municipality has defaulted on the towns' electricity bills. According to residents, the Gariep Local Municipality owes Eskom approximately R5 million.
The court application will be heard in the High Court in Grahamstown tomorrow, 8 March 2012, at 10:00.
Statement issued by Willie Spies, Legal representative, AfriForum, March 7 2012
By Siloam Village Gariep: What a relieve, all has worked out well so far. Oviston had its power on all the time.
Gauteng's blood flows orange : selected by Siloam Village Gariep
The Orange-Senqu river system is the rippling heart of South Africa's economy. Its waters power the people and industries of Gauteng and about half of South Africa’s population relies on its regular flow.
The San call it the Gariep (mighty river) and the Basotho call it the Senqu. The name Orange comes from the military commander of the old Cape colony, who named it after the ruling House of Orange in the Netherlands.
An insert from Siloam Village:
Siloam village is situated at Lake Gariep. Offering B&B accommodation, over-night accommodation, group accommodation for camps & camping purposes, holiday accommodation, and the perfect mid-way stop between Johannesburg, Cape Town & Port Elizabeth. Very close to Colesberg, making it your ideal over-night stop.
Original Posting continues:
The river starts at an altitude of 3 500m in the mountain ranges of Lesotho. About 2200km later, it flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Oranjemund. Along the way, it picks up the waters of the Vaal River and flows through the deserts of the Northern Cape.
The average runoff of the river is 11600-million cubic metres a year. Of this, 11490-million are already used.
Horst Vogel, head of transboundary water management in the Southern African Development Community at the GIZ, a German non-governmental organisation, said the Orange-Senqu system was of "pivotal importance" to the region.
The transboundary project helps to maintain co-operation between the countries that share the system and has created a commission run by member states to ensure that the water is shared fairly.
The Orange-Senqu river has a unique place internationally, said Vogel. Its waters are shared by four countries: Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
Even at the height of apartheid, these countries had signed treaties to share the water.
Chief among these was the first phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which dammed water in Lesotho and then piped it into the Vaal and Orange. With other transboundary rivers in the region, such as the Limpopo, Vogel said the region was a “miracle” when it came to the politics of sharing water.
Whereas other countries in the world fight over water, many come to Southern Africa to learn how to share water equitably. The lessons learned and shared had helped many other countries, Vogel said. Principal among these is the inclusion of all the people who have contact with the river’s waters in any process that affects them. Only by using their expertise can a fair system of sharing be established.
Experts need to be pushed to the side in this process and a simple message should rather be used to explain to people how important the Orange-Senqu is.
One of the biggest water users is Sasol, which takes its water from the Vaal. As a tributary of the Orange-Senqu, this affects all users downstream. The company uses 3.5% of the Vaal’s water, or 120-million cubic metres a year.
Sasol’s specialist on water and environmental issues, Martin Ginster, said the region had benefited from a few years of above-average rainfall. This had “masked” the growing imbalance between supply and demand, he said.
Realising that water was going to be in short supply soon, the company had started projects in surrounding communities to reduce water loss.
With about 35% of South Africa’s water lost through leaking pipes, Sasol could save more water in this way than it could through its moves to save water internally, Ginster said.
The department of water affairs’ conservation and demand-management strategy anticipates that 15% of all water could be saved by the fixing of simple leaks.
President Jacob Zuma made this an aim for all government departments in his State of the Nation address last year.
Illegal water use is also draining the river's ability to supply the region. The department said water theft was a huge problem. In the Vaal alone, 244-million cubic metres of water are being used illegally -- 15% of the total water use of the river.
Recent revelations in the treasury’s budget about an impending water shortage by 2025 have highlighted the importance of the Orange.
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa recently said her department was pinning its hopes on phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This would bring 151-million litres into the Vaal-Orange system through water transfer schemes, but would start only in 2020. Until then “behavioural changes” would be needed to reduce consumption, Molewa said.
Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://mg.co.za/article/2012-03-20-gautengs-blood-flows-orange
The San call it the Gariep (mighty river) and the Basotho call it the Senqu. The name Orange comes from the military commander of the old Cape colony, who named it after the ruling House of Orange in the Netherlands.
An insert from Siloam Village:
Siloam village is situated at Lake Gariep. Offering B&B accommodation, over-night accommodation, group accommodation for camps & camping purposes, holiday accommodation, and the perfect mid-way stop between Johannesburg, Cape Town & Port Elizabeth. Very close to Colesberg, making it your ideal over-night stop.
Original Posting continues:
The river starts at an altitude of 3 500m in the mountain ranges of Lesotho. About 2200km later, it flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Oranjemund. Along the way, it picks up the waters of the Vaal River and flows through the deserts of the Northern Cape.
The average runoff of the river is 11600-million cubic metres a year. Of this, 11490-million are already used.
Horst Vogel, head of transboundary water management in the Southern African Development Community at the GIZ, a German non-governmental organisation, said the Orange-Senqu system was of "pivotal importance" to the region.
The transboundary project helps to maintain co-operation between the countries that share the system and has created a commission run by member states to ensure that the water is shared fairly.
The Orange-Senqu river has a unique place internationally, said Vogel. Its waters are shared by four countries: Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
Even at the height of apartheid, these countries had signed treaties to share the water.
Chief among these was the first phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which dammed water in Lesotho and then piped it into the Vaal and Orange. With other transboundary rivers in the region, such as the Limpopo, Vogel said the region was a “miracle” when it came to the politics of sharing water.
Whereas other countries in the world fight over water, many come to Southern Africa to learn how to share water equitably. The lessons learned and shared had helped many other countries, Vogel said. Principal among these is the inclusion of all the people who have contact with the river’s waters in any process that affects them. Only by using their expertise can a fair system of sharing be established.
Experts need to be pushed to the side in this process and a simple message should rather be used to explain to people how important the Orange-Senqu is.
One of the biggest water users is Sasol, which takes its water from the Vaal. As a tributary of the Orange-Senqu, this affects all users downstream. The company uses 3.5% of the Vaal’s water, or 120-million cubic metres a year.
Sasol’s specialist on water and environmental issues, Martin Ginster, said the region had benefited from a few years of above-average rainfall. This had “masked” the growing imbalance between supply and demand, he said.
Realising that water was going to be in short supply soon, the company had started projects in surrounding communities to reduce water loss.
With about 35% of South Africa’s water lost through leaking pipes, Sasol could save more water in this way than it could through its moves to save water internally, Ginster said.
The department of water affairs’ conservation and demand-management strategy anticipates that 15% of all water could be saved by the fixing of simple leaks.
President Jacob Zuma made this an aim for all government departments in his State of the Nation address last year.
Illegal water use is also draining the river's ability to supply the region. The department said water theft was a huge problem. In the Vaal alone, 244-million cubic metres of water are being used illegally -- 15% of the total water use of the river.
Recent revelations in the treasury’s budget about an impending water shortage by 2025 have highlighted the importance of the Orange.
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa recently said her department was pinning its hopes on phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This would bring 151-million litres into the Vaal-Orange system through water transfer schemes, but would start only in 2020. Until then “behavioural changes” would be needed to reduce consumption, Molewa said.
Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://mg.co.za/article/2012-03-20-gautengs-blood-flows-orange
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