BR&RA Archive of Committee Meetings

Minutes of BR&RA Committee meeting held 17th September 2025

Thea raised her concerns about the Pineapple fest and her inability to have time to organize this festival again in 2026. It was decided to wait until after the AGM in October to discuss this event with the newly elected committee members. Then a discussion with Summer Pine Ranch can be had and decisions can be made accordingly.

Monty reported the problems with getting hold of the municipality concerning the lease for the commonage. He also mentioned that the dump as well as the small quarry are actually not part of the commonage, but are on municipal land. A meeting with the Department of Agriculture revealed the fact that the fencing materials held by them had been allocated to different stake holders and a new application for fencing for the rubbish dump needs to be lodged with the Department. He also mentioned the successful fix on Southwell Road just outside of gate 2.

Stephen Forder offered to help with the plan of the commonage. Monti reported on his talk on Probis, and the slow progress with the Municipality. Still waiting for news regarding the mining application and the Nolukhanyo informal housing settlement.

Stan feels that all our water problems are still not getting the proper attention  from the municipality and the proper relationship with the municipality is not yet established. He is aware of 3 water sources, the Sarel Haywood, Golden Ridge dams and Lushington river. He feels that it is vital to gain a investigation into the water plans for Bathurst. 

Steve Venter was suggested as a possible champion to take over the roads in our committee and Stan said he would try to set up a meeting with the Municipality regarding plans for roads and water for Bathurst.

Warwick reported on the bank balances for BR&RA including funds for Danie’s CPF Program and mentioned that Subs are due now and that the members need to be nagged.

Maya to post the note for the AGM again as well as memberships including BR&RA’s bank account.

Danie sent his feedback regarding CPF S2:
1. Recent Hotspot Areas
   * Hill Street
   * Orange Road area
   * Pedi / Hilditch area
2. Block Watch Signage:
   * Orders have been placed for new signage in Orange, Hill, and Block 10 (Toposcope) following a spike in trespassing, thefts, break-ins, and attempted break-ins.
3. Meetings with SAPS
   * Danie met with W/O Abrahams on two occasions:
   * Onboarding of the new CPF S2 Exco
   * Check-in regarding known repeat offenders and their whereabouts
   * Today: accompanied a complainant to SAPS, which resulted in a very informative and  much needed conversation bridging the gap between “the public” and SAPS.

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Minutes of BR&RA Committee meeting held 13th August 2025

Maya informed the committee member of Elizabeth’s resignation as chairperson due to ill health and asked who could be acting chair until the AGM. However, none of the committee members were in a position to take over the position in the absence of a vice chairperson. It was decided that the committee as a whole would field any queries of members.

Furthermore, it was felt that the AGM should be brought forward by at least one month. Warwick will come up with a suitable date after speaking to Neil. We need to recruit suitable candidates for Chair and Vice-chair for the AGM. It needs to be a person who is patient, can control his/her temper in dealing with the Municipality and can cope with the endless see-saw. Maya will write a whatsapp inviting candidates to come forward.

Maya to invite Stan to join our committee, who’s focus is on water. Chris suggested Steve as liaison for our roads and Maya will organize a meeting once he is back in Bathurst. Warwick volunteered to attend the meeting with Maya. Hopefully Steve will be back before Maya’s departure.

Monty gave a report on a meeting between the Bathurst Commonage Management Committee and the Municipal Manager to discuss the official status of the Commonage Committee. He further reported that the BCMC had met with Ndlambe Municipality and the rubbish dump management company Mphele Engineers. It was agreed that, if the BCMC could get the fencing presently lying at the Research Station released, Mphele Engineers would fence the rubbish dump. Monty has written a letter to the Dept. of Agriculture to expedite the release of the fencing material.

The dump management which has improved greatly has now a WhatsApp group that includes BCMC Executive, Mphele Engineers and Ndlambe Municipality. As a Result of the meeting, the big puddle in Southwell Road was filled by Mphele Engineers with gravel from the dump.

There is no valid lease for the commonage at all at present and an appeal to the Environmental Affairs will be done by the commonage committee. The ultimate goal is to close the dump altogether and have skips instead.

Clare reported that she met with Sunshine NGO. She has no special project at present except the up-cycle training in Port Alfred. She is collecting colored plastic bottles.

Danie reported on the strange stance of SAPS regarding the stabbing case. He will go and see the prosecutor on Monday. He also reported on the ambassadors and the new posters. Furthermore, he is interested in a tennis club proposal.

Warwick mentioned the money received for the CPF ambassador cause being R 7000.00. Furthermore R 3500.00 were sponsored for the Trappes road repair.

Thea proposed that instead of a pineapple fest, BR&RA should rather try and make some money with having stands at the various functions like the BCA, etc. selling things like boere rolls and other donated goods. Maybe even make use of Kew gardens as a venue for funding. She also suggested an advert in the new Bathurst Chronical.

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BR&RA Minutes of Committee meeting held 11 June 2025

  • Michele reported that the Sunshine Coast Tourism will allocate funds before end June to the following: – Lonely mans grave signs                                   – Kew gardens sign – a couple of slow down signs and                     – a sign to monkey town – some teardrops with Bathurst Venue              – painting ‘Village green’ on the roofs
  • Monty was congratulated upon the submission of the commonage mining application. He said that the meeting about the mining application was successful with not one person in favour.. He sent reports to the departments of Mineral & petroleum resources and environmental affairs and was told that the department of mineral affairs has to first approve the application after which then appeals can be lodged. He has met with Ndlambe Municipality officials who seem to be in favour of the application. Elizabeth mentioned that the whole process of the mining application was all in English, thus excluding 90% of the affected people. This resulted in a loud-hailer in Nolukhanyo inviting everyone to a meeting. The councillor mentioned that the opposition is great. Gavin seems to think that this matter will die the same as the previous 3 applications by the same people. SANParks’s addo-amathola bio-diversity economic node asked for input in the master plan which will be discussed on the next meeting and Monty is busy drawing up a response. He had lunch with the a senior official of ECPTA, who is in favour of waters meeting 2 up and running – Hiking trails, upgrade facilities, etc. The intention is for the commonage management committee to draw up a plan for hiking trails picnic spots, cattle grazing space, etc. He is in close contact with Friends of Bathurst Nature in this regard. Nila would be also a good contact for hiking trails in the commonage together with the hiking people. Monty will also look at the application for funding for 1000 jobs from the municipality, which is a complicated process. Meeting next Wednesday, 18th June 2025 to elect a new Chairperson for the Commonage Management Committee.
  • Thea is keen to know what is happening in Summerhill and rumour has it that Cindy, a new resident, will take over Summerhill in August, Jason is moving to the Stables and Michele Cristoferi has taken over the Lucky bean coffee shop. Elizabeth mentioned that this could be a good place to attract families with children with a play-ground, etc. She will speak to the businesses and Craig to discuss how to liven up the Stables. A close neighbour, new to the community, is opposed to virtually everything suggested for the premises.+
  •  Clare wants to sell the pineapple costume she and Abi Williams created to BR&RA. It was agreed that BR&RA would purchase the costume if Sunshine Coast tourism can provide the funds. Clare is to provide a photograph and a quotation. A request for funding by the Sarah Baartman African Games group was denied.
  • Maya would like to update progress on the Kew gardens onto the BR&RA website, but still needs photos and the trail layout for the project.
  • Warwick ordered the rechargeable loud hailer from Takealot. Bank balances at 31 May 2025: FNB R25643.30, Bank Zero R4500.00 of which the following has been collected for: CPF R9720, Trappes Street R3250, Verge R1550.
  • Danie reported on the car guard problem. This situation is still somewhat confused, but Danie and Elizabeth are meeting on Wednesday 18th to finalize plans.
  • Elizabeth and Monty are to meet with the Municipal Manager to discuss various issues. Among them the state of our roads, our messy water situation, management of the commonage including the dump, and the hopeless inadequacy of essential service equipment as well as poor turnaround times from the repair workshop. Date is to be determined by availability of key municipal officials.

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BR&RA Minutes of Committee Meeting dated 14th May 2025 Monty reported on the Quarrying and Sandmining proposal as follows: The projects had seemingly been approved by the Municipality without consultation of the Commonage Management or BR&RA.  There are a number of other irregularities. The public participation meeting is set for 20th May 2025 and Monty is asking as many people as possible to attend. He is also trying to meet with cattle owners before that date, but has not had a reply as yet. The discussion about the delete problems were discussed, i.e. pollution of air and Lushington river (water resource of Bathurst), job creation (10) minimal, Mining Co. not registered under Poppi and FICA, Mining ceased due to the last company going bankrupt. Warwick reported R24 200. in the BRRA Account of which R8 220.00 had been received for the CPF project. Thea was disturbed that Summerhill had been closed down and have employed yet another new couple to manage the place. She will contact Summerpride to find out more. Michele mentioned that Sunshine coast funds for Bathurst are only available until end of June and that they will probably create a Bathurst map at the Toposcope, etc. in order not to lose the money. Danie said that a person for the Car guard replacement project had been found and that this project is progressing nicely. He also told us about CPF April stats (can be found under CPF). Elizabeth mentioned that there will be a BR&RA poster with QR code for the Info Kiosk and a number of other sites. She also wants to ask for a beautification grant, if there is such a thing, for Kew Gardens project. Elizabeth is concerned that we need to embark on a membership drive, and the committee still needs the support of someone to get involved in municipal liaison.

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Minutes of BR&RA Committee meeting dated 10th April 2025

  1. Warwick reported that the new bank account is now fully operational and there is R 24000.00 in the account which includes the money raised for the CPF car guard initiative.
  2. Monty reported that a commonage management meeting was held on 9 April and the following Exco was elected: Chair Khayalethu Sweli Deputy Chair   Monty Roodt Secretary         Pam Elliot Treasurer         Lucy Gradwell

The executive committee is mandated to draw up a program of action. Friends of Bathurst Nature are working on creating trails in the commonage. Also interested in the commonage are SANParks, who are looking at creating a biodiversity econony node from Addo to Amathole. The most pressing issue of the commonage committee is the cattle on the R 67 and fencing of the commonage.  A register of cattle owners needs to be established. The Dump is again in disarray at the present time and is on the CMC agenda.

  1. Stan Esterhuizen told us about his intention to create a database of water problems. We also need water monitoring in Nolukhanyo. A proposal is being put together advising Ndlambe how to address the issues at the water purification plant, at Golden Ridge dam and the Lushington pumping point, and requesting action.
  2. Elizabeth explained that during yesterday’s meeting of the Ndlambe Ratepayers’ Forum it became apparent that the whole district has the same problems with the infrastructure of water and roads, which are an absolute priority, also as the maintenance budget is totally inadequate. Elizabeth is looking forward to work with the NRF.
  3. Thea emphasised the need of a hands-on person to head up the team for the next Pineapple Festival, particularly for fundraising which should start asap. Summerpride and farmers are shareholders in Summerhill. The pineapple fest needs a key sponsor – Summerpride?
  4. There was brief discussion of the need for a comprehensive calendar of events in Bathurst. It was agreed that Elizabeth and Michele would meet after the forthcoming Farm Fair to develop this idea further.
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BR&RA Minutes of Committee Meeting held 10thMarch 2025 Apologies were received from Monty.

  1. Warwick has opened a new bank account for BRRA for better operation with less charges. He has given the banking details to Maya for the website.
  2. Maya is busy updating the website with the latest information about the Pineapple Music Festival.
  3. Thea reported on the Bathurst Pineapple Music Fest and suggested the following changes for next year
    • Summer Pride East London should be contacted regarding possible sponsorship
    • She recommended that the Pineapple Fest should possibly only span 1 day, not 2, as the talks on Sunday were not attended by anyone other than the organisers
    • Games should be dropped other than possibly a Pineapple toss and Clare’s Pineapple Board
    • The fest should be held after payday and next year this will be 28th February – 1st March
    • Possible sponsors must be contacted much earlier and need personal contacts and meetings.
    • The festival ran at a loss of approx. R 500.00 and Thea thought that smaller events more often would possibly be better suited for fund raining, i.e. Easter egg hunt, etc.
    • BR&RA should have a stall at all local events, even if just getting exposure.
  4. Danie reported that the CPF stand did very well at the Music Fest especially on Sunday when it was moved to the entrance. He also reported that CPF is planning a reaction team for emergencies where someone has intruders in their property. Such a team visiting a property under “attack” would be a deterrent. He also has ideas for signage regarding the beggars / parking attendants and mentioned that Sunshine Coast Tourism will have money towards this.
  5. Elizabeth reported that Stan Esterhuizen is liaising with the Ndlambe water and sanitation manager, as the water problems are puzzling and not adding up to anything sensible. He is trying to get a group of monitors together to gather data on the dirty water in order to find out why some people have problems, while others seem not to.
  6. Michele reported that the verge clearing before the Pineapple Fest was not satisfactory and carried out poorly. Ways to ensure better performance next time were discussed. ********************
BR&RA Minutes of Committee Meeting held 13th February 2025

Apologies were received from Clare, Monty, Michele and Danie.

  1. Warwick is in the process of opening a new bank account for BRRA for better operation with less charges. He will give the banking details for the website as soon as possible.
  2. Maya has updated the website and is busy organising the verge clearing this weekend in preparation of the Pineapple Music Festival. She has also been busy organising the vendors for the Fest.
  1. Thea reported on the progress of the Pineapple Music Fest.
    • Friday evening meet and greet has been cancelled
    • Saturday programme will consist of music – live bands and DJ’s, entertainment and games
    • Sunday programme will consist of 2 speakers and background music
    • Town Criers are available to announce where ever they are needed
  1. Elizabeth reported the following: a) Raymond Shaw has volunteered to help with municipality relationship with the view that he will take over this portfolio (or part of it) in due course b) Environmental portfolio with Kew Gardens project might be led by by Donna Dennis but this will depend on the outcome of a meeting on the subject yet to be hele. c) the paving of York Road to Gillander is now official, but no timelines are available as yet. d) Elizabeth is going to write to the municipality regarding the lack of equipment which is hampering the effectiveness of the municipal workers.
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BR&RA Minutes of Committee Meeting held 13th January 2025

Apologies were received from Clare.

  1. Warwick said that Neil Pike had completed the audit for 2022/23. He can now get busy with the next year.
  2. Monty reported that there was not much progress on the Commonage management as meetings did not happen due to the absence of Ndlambe representative. But he will ensure that a meeting will be held as soon as possible. The following will need to be discussed and actioned:
      • Lock on gate to the commonage
      • Mining on the commonage – need to find out who is doing this unlawfully
      • Veggie patch
      • Quarry
      • Priority will be to formally establish the committee, constitution, policy and guide lines etc.
    1. CPF: Danie confirmed that a workshop will be held on Saturday morning 18 January at St. John’s Lodge regarding the car guard problems. Danie will discuss one solution to get a paid car guard which will cost roughly R 5000.00 per month. This money needs to be raised with community subscriptions and can be paid into the BR&RA bank account. Danie needs a proper CPF committee to help him implement any solution.
    2. Michele reported that the Sunshine Coast Tourism allocated funds of R 100’000.00 to Bathurst for the upliftment of the village. Michele and Robyn are on the Tourism Board and Lizz, Tanya and Megan are helping. Signs have already been erected.
      • Repairs to Bradshaw Mill
      • Upgrade Info Kiosk
      • Map of Bathurst
      • Repairs to Museum roof
      • Elizabeth had requested that road verges need to be cleared
      • Historic Bathurst needs QR codes for their sites
      • What was Kew gardens needs to be made into a picnic area.
    1. Elizabeth is looking for someone to take over the liaison to the municipality and has been speaking to Lynn Ravat about this.
    2. Town Hall: The Building Control officer mentioned that the derelict building cannot be left as is. Elizabeth has enlisted the help of Mr. Mthimkulu Mashiya to drive this initiative to build a new town hall housing learning facilities and other as discussed in 2024.
    3. The water problems will be discussed with the Bathurst community at the Community Meeting on 20th January 2025.
    1. Pineapple Music Festival in February 2025 to be held at Summerhill: Thea discussed various issues like gate opening times, competitions, entertainment, demos, etc. A program needs to be set up, with time slots, mainly for Saturday, as Friday is primarily for Dignitaries and hopefully sponsors / networking and Sunday for Speakers. Entrance fees need to be finalised and all Nolukhanyo’s involvement to be discussed at the Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday, 15th January 2025.
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    BR&RA Committee Meeting dated 16th October 2024
    1. Monty reported on the progress of the Commonage management as follows:
      • The commonage committee met last week with the council, which Monti chaired and Danie took minutes. At a meeting tomorrow this committee will be launched properly to elect a chair and other officials as well as 2 representatives of horse owners, cattle owners. traditional healers, etc. This will become a model for municipalities with the official status a sub-committee to the municipality.
      • Cattle owners are fencing the commonage along the R 67 for which project they need some materials, like poles, wire etc. Warwick reported that we had received donations for this project and will hand over the money to Monty to purchase materials. The department of Agriculture had promised a lot of poles, but then retracted their promise again, when progress was too slow.
      • David Gradwell is opening old roads in the commonage for grazing cattle. It was suggested that clearing thorn trees would get more grazing for the cattle.
      • The application to re-open the quarry for sandmining is a concern and an application for a shooting range was discussed.
    1. Clare reported that a film company had approached Sue from Sunshine coast tourism.
      • We will only know if the money applied for regarding waste pickers and fencing will only be decided upon by the end of the year.
      • She also mentioned that Abbi’s sister who has a certificate from Lego should maybe be approached for funding.
    1. Warwick reported that the last year finance report was awaiting approval.Thea reported that the Pineapple Festival in February to be held at Summerhill was sorted with regard to music and vendors. She will engage with the Museum and Selena at the Stage for local talents. She will put out an appeal for volunteers to help with the Festival organisation closer to the time. Caitlyn needs to be contacted regarding the pineapple costume to ensure that this will be done in time.
    1. Elizabeth said
      • that she met the chair of the PA Rotary Club and spoke about the possibility of Bathurst becoming a subgroup of this rotary club.
      • Met with the new roads manager for the eastern side of Ndlambe, as well as
      • The new water manager from Ndlambe.
      • AGM to be held at 5.30 for 6.00 pm on Wednesday 13 November in the Memorial Hall at Bathurst Showgrounds. There will be the chairs report, the financials report and then the election of the new committee.

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      BR&RA Committee Meeting dated 11th September 2024
      1. Elizabeth reported that she is in the process of trying to finish: a) The traffic calming petition to go to Traffic office and b) The outline of what people think might be possible in a redevelopment of the Town Hall site.
      2. Thea reported on progress and stumbling blocks regarding the Pineapple Festival on 24-25 February 2025 at Summerhill. She also reminded BRRA about the wish-list from Bathurst to Sunshine Coast Tourism for possible funding.
      3. Warrick reported that the Financial Records from the previous had finally been signed off.
      4. Maya reported that she is updating the events calendar on the website regularly. She also mentioned that the annual Art Affair Bathurst is being held on 2nd – 3rd November 2024.
      5. Clare reported on the waste pickers on the dump in the commonage. She had some quotes for clothing and will try to get the funding for this from Cacadu Development Agency foundation.
      6. Monty had the first Commonage meeting, which was a success and there is now a Commonage Committee. They will meet regularly in future and start projects regarding the Commonage. Stock theft is a big problem in and around Bathurst.
      7. Danie reported on the success of the CPF and the crime database which is now pretty complete. He also said that communication is key especially regarding the security blocks, some of which are very organised and other not as yet. There is definitely an organised crime syndicate in Bathurst. SAPS biggest problem is that their vehicles are forever broken down and not available. ************************************
      Minutes of BR&RA Committee Meeting held on 13th August 2024

      Apologies were received from Elizabeth (hospital), Danie (CPF meting) and Monty (sick).

      1. Danie had been elected Chairman of the CPF 2 for Bathurst village and reported that the CPF committee had been organised and sent communication from the Community Police Forum (CPF) regarding the allocation of executive portfolios and our initial actions in line with our safety and security objectives. He gave thanks to Chris Boyd and Georg Kukulies for taking the first (of many) steps to get the CPF off the ground. 1st CPF communication available here.
      2. Thea reported about meeting with Sue from Sunshine Coast Tourism and the ideas / wishlist to a) Beautify Kowie Road b) erecting Gym sites at certain stations throughout our village c) Signage to our River walk d) extending the side walk from the 4-way stop to the Co-op e) promoting film crews to operate in and around BathurstPineapple Festival date was finalized to be the last week-end in February to be held at Summerhill. She will engage with Sue regarding the necessary permits and with Eugene from Summerhill about more details. Caitlyn needs to be contacted regarding the pineapple costume. Thea and Clare proposed pineapple candles and pineapple bags. Maya suggested to speak to Lee about bags for the fest.
      3. Clare reported about the difficulties she has to engage with businesses regarding the Eastern Cape Website from Hogsback. She will consider to carry on with this project after the meeting with Sue on 14th August 2024Clare also reported regarding the recycling project and that she made contact again with the East London company, Cliff Freeman from DNF recycling contacted her last week, and hopes that we can engage them especially after the PA recycling site has closed down.
      4. Warwick reported that the financials from the previous year had been finalized and that he is awaiting the report.
      5. Maya reported that she had updated the website with various sports available in Bathurst / Nolukhanyo and has made use of sharing the Bathurst Country affair on Facebook to add to the BR&RA visibility. She also updated the website with the fact that the Municipality had cleaned water reservoir and consequently the water in Bathurst is now clear. She also mentioned that the website should be reporting the fact that the Kowie Museum has / is being relocated to the Bathurst Museum, which is looking good.
      6. Monty’s report: Following conversations with Director Booysens of the Ndlambe Muni Community Protection Services , Lucy Gradwell and Khayalethu Sweli of the Cattle Owners, we had a meeting with Director Booysens, Deputy Director Fanie Fouche, Mr Mbolekwa LED officer, Sipho Velezanizi By-Laws Officer, Andile Marazi, the council Speaker and former Bathurst Ward Councilor to discuss the fencing of the rubbish dump, and the commonage generally – especially keeping cattle off the main road. It was decided to hold a meeting next Thursday in the Nolukhanyo Community Hall to establish a committee with broad representation. The Committee will try to be inclusive and create a common understanding of commonage matters. One of the issues the council is keen to do is to establish a cooperative for those who rely on the commonage for economic sustenance, i.e. cattle owners, agricultural project, traditional healers, etc.

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      Minutes of BR&RA Committee Meeting held 16th July 2024

      Elizabeth introduced Danie Boneschans, who has joined the BR&RA committee – security portfolio. Michelle Oosthouzen confirmed that she is happy to continue doing background research for BR&RA, but that she wishes to resign from membership of the committee. Thea was telling us that the Pineapple Festival should ideally happen when pineapples are ripe in February / March of the year. It was decided that the weekend after 25th February would be the best date, being far away enough from Christmas as well as from the Bathurst Show at end of March/ beginning of April, i.e 1st March 2025. The pineapple festival will be an ideal opportunity where villagers can talk to the surrounding farmers. Thea also suggested a Fete to generate some income where members struggling with paying the fees could take part with home-made goods to be sold instead. However, it was felt that R 150.00 per person is not too much to pay, but a fete could be adopted to generate some income at some stage. Warrick confirmed the number of paid-up members we have at present. It was also noted that the BR&RA Municipal Services whatsapp group has more than double the amount of members, and it was agreed that these people should be encouraged to become BR&RA members. Elizabeth said that she would address them individually. Warwick confirmed R 9400.00 in the bank account. Maya to add new activities like table tennis, etc. to the website and needs to speak to Russel regarding events on the facebook page to be spread to add to the visibility. Michelle needs to speak to the Municipality regarding the storage of tools for plumbing, etc. Elizabeth reported that the Municipality had cleaned water reservoir and consequently the water in Bathurst is now clear. She will do the following as soon as she is able to after her operation:

      1. Write a covering letter and send petition regarding the request for speed bumps to the provincial office via our municipality
      2. Type up a proposal to the municipality regarding our burnt-out hall, in order to enable them to address this via a public participation process.
      Minutes of BR&RA Committee Meeting held 25 June 2024
      1. Commonage:

      Monty met with Director Booysen and the cattle owners where it was decided to put together a committee to address all issues re the Commonage.

      1. NRF

      A NRF meeting was attended by Monty where various topics were discussed, including the resignation of the Kenton Rates Association, successful Municipal Rate reductions on appeal and the inclusion of all Rate Payers’ Associations when Municipal debt is to be written off. There was also a request that all Municipal levies be ring fenced for that particular use

      1. Records and special projects:

      Clare led a discussion around looking into the economic use of recycled material. She also suggested the involvement of Rotary to acquire machines.

      1. Festival calendar and co-ordination:

      Eugene Ceronio is keen to proceed with discussions around the proposed Pineapple Festival with Summerhill being the primary venue (due to the location of the Big Pineapple).  All Bathurst business will be involved and role players advised/contacted once a date has been set.

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      Minutes of BR&RA Committee Meeting held 9 May 2024 

      Elizabeth introduced Brad Clements who has joined the committee for Community Development.

      1. Chair’s report: a) Met with Thea and Eugene at Summerhill to explore the possibility of staging a Pineapple Festival (and other events) there. b) With Chris Boyd, Ahmed Ravat and Vivien Challis sorted out a process for getting municipal support for an appeal to Province for installation for traffic calming measures on the R67 through the village.  Petition and supporting affidavits to be delivered to Traffic by the end of May. c) Attended a very badly supported CPF meeting in Nolukhanyo, and a follow-up the next day at SAPS, which resulted in a special CPF meeting the next week in Nolukhanyo.  This reinforced progress made with CPF and SAPS over the past months.  Const Harry Gobizembe is the bright young CPO in charge of community liaison. d) Attended the Farmers’ Association meeting in Shaw Park.  Discovered that Bathurst and Port Alfred SAPS are not running the mandatory monthly Rural Safety meetings – an issue for the CPF. e) Ran a “6 Thinking Hats” workshop with BR&RA Exco to collect creative ideas about the potential re-purposing of the site of the burnt-out Town Hall.  Another workshop is scheduled for 11 May with members of various village groups.  It is hoped that we can run similar workshops with people from Nolukhanyo, specifically with the help of Cllr Sweli, Vuyo Sontsonga, Funeka Xhanti and the CPF chair.  BR&RA and the Councillor have been trying for months to get the municipality to establish a date for a Public Participation meeting, but without success.  Followed up with Jacques de Wit of Bushmans’ regarding how they have arranged the community “takeover” of their town hall. f) Participated in a Teams meeting of the Ndlambe Ratepayers Forum, regarding Ndlambe’s dismal debt collection record.  This is being pursued by NRF in the coming weeks. g) Also attended the Ward 10 Mayoral Imbizo in Port Alfred and the follow-up NRF meeting to understand aspects of the proposed 2024/25 budget.  Ward 5 Mayoral Imbizo are scheduled for 13 May – village am, township pm. h) Met with Robyn Cloete regarding the state of the R67 verges, and the possibility of getting a group together to tidy them up.  I have been promised feedback on any necessary safety precautions by both Theresa Jacobs (Traffic) and Fanie Fouche (Community Protection Services).  This is imminent. i) In response to community indignation about the behaviour of the “car guards” in the CBD and the general rise increase in incidents of crime in the village, Chris Boyd called a community meeting to try to plan a way forward.  As a result of this, I met with two relatively new arrivals in Bathurst, Danie Boneschans (currently out of town) and Brad Clements.  Chris arranged a follow-up meeting which is likely to spin off the revival of the CPF in the village.
      2. Warwick reported that there is approx. R 9000.00 in the kitty and it was suggested that BR&RA should not make any donations, but instead rather lend out things like toolkits, etc. to good causes. This way we keep the assets under BR&RA’s control.
      3. Clare reported on progress on waste disposal with a company from East London and Phinneas from the waste pickers at the dump. Discussions are still ongoing.
      4. Maya confirmed that the website is up-to-date, but had very little to report other than to update the events calendar since the last committee meeting. A website called Bathurst Gems has been developed, with a listing of most of Bathurst businesses and their details.
      5. Thea suggested to use the old IPC Notice Board for a new Road map that Kane is developing. Printed Road maps should be available at various points / shops to enable to grow any events into more.

      MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 9 APRIL 2024

      1. Welcome and apologies Mauneen resigned from the BR&RA committee due to work pressures. Michelle was delayed on a trip from Port Elizabeth
      2. Finances: Warwick reported R 9457 in the account and .49. currently paid-up members.
      3. Records and special projects: Clare mentioned that the rocket stove project is still running, but continuation has been postponed due to non-availability of venue as well as the participants. She also mentioned that she is looking into the possibility to resurrect recycling at the dump and suggested that BR&RA will ask the Municipality for a roof at the dump for the pickers and the goods to be recycled.
      4. Website: Maya reported on updates and is waiting for various presentations regarding Snakes and the Commonage to be posted on the website.
      5. Commonage: Monty reported that he has had meetings but has not yet been able to create a Management committee. Buffalo Kloof have acquired the lease of Waters meeting 1 and 2 as well as have bought a nearby farm. They are serious about taking over and incorporating part of the commonage. Main obstacle for this are the cattle owners, and they may be looking at buying a farm for the cattle owners for grazing. There is the need to involve San Parks as well as Biosphere to avoid losing access to the commonage for Bathurstians.
      6. Membership development: Mauneen reported in absentia that no new members had been recruited.
      7. Festival calendar and co-ordination: Thea is struggling to get hold of business owners, but was advised that the Pineapple Festival should ideally be held at Summerhill. A meeting with Summerhill is scheduled for Friday 12th.
      8. Other issues: a)  Things to raise with municipality on Thursday morning meeting: Roads, water, dump b). Bathurst Stream walkway: a proposal will be given to Fanie Fouche & Willem Nel for preliminary consideration next week. c) Burnt out Town Hall: Elizabeth reported that we are still waiting for a date for the required public participation process. d) Village crime, including recent spike: A wide-ranging discussion took place, and it was resolved that steps should be taken to facilitate the revival of the Sector 2 CPF, and generally improve service from SAPS.  BR&RA still needs to find the right person for the Safety and Security portfolio. e)  Traffic calming proposal for Kowie Rd and Trappes St: Elizabeth had created a sheet for signatures to be collected for a petition for speed humps. These will be given to the Municipality in due course together with affidavits from directly affected parties.

      MINUTES OF BR&RA COMMITTEE MEETING 5 MARCH 2024 Elizabeth welcomed and introduced Michele Rowley (guest & representation of Bathurst on Sunshine Coast Tourism) and Thea Venter (co-ordinator of Pineapple and other Festivals) Elizabeth reported on the following:

      1. Looking into complaints about dogs and number of dogs per property
      2. Created a new whatsapp Forum BR&RA MUNICIPAL SERVICES for any complaints about roads and water, etc.
      3. Several people have expressed concern about the need for traffic calming measures along Kowie Rd and the Trappes St hill. Chris Boyd to co-ordinate an effort to organise a petition and the delivery to the relevant authority.
      4. Friends of Waters Meeting Thicket Festival is to be on 7 September, and BR&RA would like to turn it and any other festival inti a 2-day event to attract overnight visitors. Elizabeth suggested that Mauneen ask Village businesses what they’d like to organise around the theme for Sunday, 8 September. She also asked Monty Roodt if he would lead a commonage hike. Ideas regarding other events were also discussed, i.e. activities in Bathurst during the Grahamstown Festival, Music Festival, Art and the possibility of corporate team building, etc.
      5. Filling in for the missing committee members – S&S and Ward Liaison. The Community Conversation on 13 March will be about Safety & Security and all security companies, SAPS, CPF and neighbourhood watch have been invited to speak.
      6. Elizabeth has been attending CPF meetings in Nolukhanyo and is gradually developing the relationship. She and Warwick plan to meet the CF chair and treasurer on Thursday 7 March to discuss the possibility of using the BR&RA banking facility for CPF fundraising, as they say they are not allowed to have a bank account. Also to get an understanding why CPF is used for fund raising.
      7. She has also attended Ward Committee Meetings for Wards 5 and 6. Liaison with them could become important, especially in regard to getting things put on their agenda, because quite senior municipal officials have to attend them.
      8. Liaison with the local municipal officials has been reasonably successful regarding roads and water.
      9. Burnt out Hall: Elizabeth and Mzwandile Sweli will again ask the Municipality about a date for the public Participation process.
      10. Information on our PAIA applications: Michelle to follow up.
      11. No news as yet from Fanie Fouche regarding the walkway along the Bathurst stream. Maybe Friends of Waters Meeting will get involved with this project.

      Monty reported that he is making headway with the creation of a working commonage management team. Maya will post Monty’s presentation on the Commonage on the website soonest. Warwick reported that BR&RA have now 43 paid-up members. Mauneen had been concentrating on recruiting Company members and will then start with residents thereafter. Initially, she and Thea will approach organizations together. .                                              ********************************

      Minutes of BR&RA Committee Meeting held on 15 February 2024
      1. Elizabeth welcomed all and received apologies from Monty Roodt
      2. Committee Membership (a) Ward 5 Committee representative is still needed on our committee, any suggestions are welcome. (b)          Safety and Security champion is also still needed. This has not yet been resolved. (c)           Membership and Events: Welcome back Mauneen (d)          Siphokazi Mkrakra’s membership was terminated due to non-attendance
      3. Portfolio Reports: (a)          Treasury – Warwick reported that CIPC have still not changed committee members, therefore Bank Account is also not yet changed.  Cash available R 7994.00 (b)          Website Updates:  GV Roll posted under Home / Stats & Info including the objection form, write-up of SRA under last General Meeting on About page and Road & Water article under Community Initiative with its own page. Events are also updated regularly. (c)           Commonage – Monty to meet with Mzwandile Sweli, FoWM talk on 2/3. So far both our PAIA Applications – iro dump and commonage – have been ignored by the Municipality. (d)          Research – Michelle had been investigating about Citizen’s arrest, SRA, Water Act & Reality.   When he’s better Monty, Michelle and Elizabeth need to meet to plan further. (e)          Membership and Events – Mauneen requested pricelist from TotT for ads and suggested to make the TotT and Tourism Board honorary members of BRRA. Mauneen suggested a Newsletter to members, for example of water and rates, which Elizabeth will write. (f)           Special projects: Clare reported on her workshop with Stoves, as well as on her meeting with Abi and Caitlyn regarding plans for making a walking pineapple and their ideas for the Pineapple festival.
      4. Chairs report about what’s been happening: (a)          Special Rating Area and 2024 Valuation Roll have been dealt with and the write up is on the website. (b)         Water affairs: Chris asked to test water of Golden Ridge and Lushington, treatment Plant and at homes. Michelle will ask Rhodes University as well as the Research Station to assist with this.  Elizabeth to meet with various experts. (c)           Road verges, village aesthetics and alien clearance. After Cheryl complained about the grading, Elizabeth asked her or Nick to be champion to Municipality for verges and bush clearing. (d)          By-law enforcement – dogs, horses, cows, goats and various other livestock. Elizabeth reported on her meeting with Anel Slabbert.  We’re going to start publishing educational articles. (e)          Relationships – township (Ward 5) and farmers (Ward 6): Meeting scheduled 7/5/24 in Nolukhanyo. Ward 6 meeting scheduled 8/5/24 in Port Alfred. BRRA committee meeting will be held 9/5/24 (f)           Tourism board appointment: Michelle Rowley has agreed to be Bathurst’s liaison to the PA tourism Board. On 22nd February there is a meet and greet of the Tourism Board at The Stage in Bathurst 6 pm. Everybody is welcome to attend.
      Minutes of Committee meeting 10th January 2024
      Topic Decision
      1. BR&RA Exco members: Elizabeth Milne introduced the new BR&RA Exco member Michelle Oosthuizen who is acting as our researcher. Richard is taking over the Safety and Security portfolio and met with SAPS and Multi this week in regard with this. Therefore, Monty Roodt will be lumped with the dump as part of the commonage. Clare Rothwell will be focusing on NGO responsibilities and will be handling Special Projects.
      2. Target dates: We all need to work with target dates for our projects for 2024 in order to get results, especially when working with the municipality.
      3. Security: Information shared at monthly CPF meetings in Nolukhanyo needs to be disseminated to our members, partly because they need to be informed of their rights.
      4. Commonage: Monty informed the meeting of his intention to create a committee to engage with the problems in the commonage regarding a) the dump c) recycling on the dump d) economic benefits for the community e) creating livestock camps on the commonage
      5. Roads: We need a plan as to what needs to be done by when. We also need someone to co-ordinate the photos regarding the state of the roads.
      6. Membership Elizabeth is hoping to get Mauneen Charter back to the committee with the view of making her Membership Secretary, as we need to increase our membership numbers.
      7. Burnt-out hall: PAIA applications need to be followed up, as there has been no response to these from Ndlambe Municipality. 
      8. Bathurst Walkway We also need to follow up with Fanie, regarding the requirements of our proposed walkway along the stream.

       

      Minutes of Committee meeting 15th November 2023Committee meeting 15-11-23
      Minutes of Committee meeting 11th October 2023
      Topic Decision/Agreed Action
      1. Secretary’s report It was decided that people who request to be added to the BR&RA Members’ WhatsApp group but do not provide names and surnames, will not be added. Dissemination of information to the community is to be shared between M. Stricker, C. Rothwell and M. Charter.
      2. Treasurer’s report Financials will be prepared for the AGM. Amendment of constitution: The amended version has been filed with CIPC by WL.
      3. Chair’s report The Ward 5 councillor and EM will write to the Municipal Manager and request detailed information about the proper public participation process in relation to the Memorial Hall.
      Minutes of Committee meeting 13th September 2023
      Topic Decision/Agreed Action
      1. Website and social media C. Rothwell, M. Stricker and L. Venter to meet before the next committee meeting, to discuss social media strategies.  
      2. Chair’s Report A. Two environmental projects are contemplated, and will probably be handed over to Friends of Waters Meeting to implement. One is the establishment of a Thicket Botanical Garden – the only one in the world – at the revived Summerhill Guest Farm. This is dependent on getting agreement on an adequate water supply – from PGA and/or the municipality. The second is the transformation of the dam at the Boundary/Kowie Road junction into an exhibition wetland. This awaits formal approval from the site owners and the availability of a scientific advisor, currently completing a PhD. B. The Bathurst Striders hiking club has started a roads survey of the Village. This has been temporarily halted, pending the establishment of a regular monthly meeting with the relevant municipal officials. The intention is to establish a record of all discussions with the municipality, and to follow up on progress each month. Once the meeting has been set up, we will be able to raise any issues we have about service delivery on a regular basis – buildings, roads, sewerage, water, street lights, dump management, commonage, etc. C. Commonage (including rubbish dump) management is coming to the fore. Tentative initial steps are being taken to establish the statutorily required Commonage Management Committee. This needs to include all users of the Bathurst commonage – walkers, birders, riders, 4x4ers, cattle farmers, vegetable growers, herbalists, amagqirha, municipality etc. Establishing a relationship with credible representatives of each group is likely to take some time. As is developing a working relationship with the Local Enterprise Development department of the municipality, which  oversees commonages throughout Ndlambe.
      Minutes of Committee meeting 17th August 2023
      Topic Decision/Agreed Action
      2. Membership fee R150 per natural or juristic person per annum
      2. Financial year end date BR&RA year end is 31 August.  Warwick to see the revised constitution accords with this.
      3. Social media BR&RA should expand its reach beyond the “Facebook Generation”, starting with an Instagram account.
      4. Website Create a website backup and discuss other security measures
      5. Calendar / year planner Decide on a calendar plugin so that members can check and arrange events on the BR&RA website
      6. Roads Make a list of roads that need attention, with reasons and possible solutions – first steep roads that wash out, and later, more or less level roads where mud puddles develop.
      7. GM 20/9/23 Arrange hall with Alan Pike

      Minutes of Committee meeting 24th July 2023

      Topic Decision/Agreed Action
      1. Accounting Officer Elizabeth asked if we have confirmation on an Accounting Officer appointment?  Warwick said that Neill Pike has accepted the appointment.
      2. Review of SGM minutes Minutes of SGM were forwarded to Elizabeth and Warwick and posted on the Website as agreed.
      3. Revised constitution Elizabeth reported on her meeting with Chris Boyd and that it was agreed that amendments, as indicated at the SGM, will be made to the constitution to ensure that there is no abuse of voting by the juristic persons.
      4. BR&RA Website & Social media We also need to add the registration no. to the website. BR&RA Posters for the website need to be put up in strategic places. Maya to ask Chris Johnson for help with the other social media like Facebook, Instagram, etc. The same icon should be used everywhere.
      5. Sustainability of projects 1.       Road survey is now underway by the Bathurst striders, which will be used to hopefully get the Municipality to do the necessary repairs. 2.       The big pineapple is in need of some repair – Elizabeth reported that Summerhill has agreed to allow BR&RA to hold a pineapple festival in early December in order to raise some funds towards the restoration of our pineapple landmark. 3.       Ensuring sustainability of our commonage (with Fiends of Waters Meeting). Rhodes students are doing a survey of various residents regarding the commonage, as a start. On 5th August Friends of Waters Meeting will have a panel discussion about the commonage.  Hopefully, a commonage care group will emerge. 4.       Alien vegetation eradication – (the village is drowning in lantana and other invasive aliens) – There is a possibility that there may be DEAT funding available for a start-up business to take this on.  But it’s early days and a long road ahead. 5.       Security / crime prevention: Elizabeth reported that she has asked someone if he would be prepared to take on driving this project, and we await his response.
      6. Community meetings It was suggested that we should hold three or four open community meetings a year, to take the opportunity to present interesting initiatives to the community and to encourage people to air their enthusiasms, opinions and concerns.
      7. Membership Membership recruitment needs to become a priority.  In particular, we need to encourage business membership.
      8. Future Projects Projects for which we are looking for “drivers” – the burnt out hall, clearing invasive alien vegetation, possible wall art initiative, developing employability in Nolukhanyo youth, job creation, security/crime prevention.
      9. Committee meetings Elizabeth suggested that monthly committee meetings should be held and asked for input for suitable date and times.

      Minutes of Committee meeting 12th June 2023

               Topic       Decision / Agreed Action
      		Minutes of AGM held 19/4/2023 Minutes have been agreed and are ready for posting.
      2. Launch of the BRRA website Maya, Grant and Warwick to meet 14/6 to assess readiness
      3. Appointment of an Accounting Officer Neil Pike to be approached by Warwick via email
      4. The new draft Constitution Changes were agreed.
      5. AOB: SGM Work out how to communicate with members re SGM Agree date with Lihani