Uncle Andrew is leaving us, but who will take his place ?

Andrew Zaloumis is apparently leaving the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) and we need to know who will be taking his place? ARBU - profile picA

Uncle Andrew has been the CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority since its inception as the Greater St. Lucia wetlands Park World Heritage site.  Andrew Zaloumis has done many things that please politicians and the elite who have benefited from his tyrannical rule, but the folks on the ground within the St. Lucia / Dukuduku area are not very happy with the IWPA and their attitude to the local tourism market.

The fact that so many folks lost their economic opportunity due to the #4x4ban and its long term negative knock on impact within the local tourism industry of the Elephant Coast is still a very sore point that needs some attention.  The new CEO will need to either fend these folks off some how, or allow some form of vehicle access to the Elephant Coast beaches.  Either which way this new CEO for the IWPA will be stepping into a very hot seat that was vacated due to some pressure of unknown origin.  Why did #UNCLEANDREW decide to leave this lucrative position of power?

The truth will come out soon enough, but in the mean time we do need to prepare for the coming actions.  The ARBU or Association of Recreational Beach Users needs your support in the form of a mandate, and you can read more about that here or go along and sign the petition here  

What will Andrew be doing once he leaves the IWPA after more than 17 years as the undisputed tyrannical boss, who bulldozed folks over and got away with many political issues due to his personal relationship with #UNCLEJACOB the top man in the ring of politics.  Will the former CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park be prosecuted for his part in the wilful and deliberate neglect of the fish breeding grounds that come along with an estuary-system, or will the destruction of our heritage go unpunished ?

ARBU - profile picA

The fact that the central government, the provincial government and the local municipal government have not got their acts together and implemented the St. Lucia Estuary Management Plan is all in the hands of  #UNCLEANDREW , but now that he is stepping aside who will we blame for this ecological disaster ?

The Mtubatuba local Municipality and the Umkhanyakude District Municipality were continually sidelined and pushed out of the picture by the IWPA.

ARBU - profile picA

The KZN legislature gave Uncle Andrew Free reign

The central government just said  “YES SIR… YES SIR   THREE BAGS FULL SIR”

The department of Agriculture has not instituted an estuary management plan within the St. Lucia Estuary catchment zones because there is no such plan…. this is purely because the IWPA   under the direct leadership of Andrew Zaloumis made it difficult to achieve.  Without the direct input of the IWPA and the local residents of ST. Lucia the mandated Estuary management plan for the St. Lucia Estuary is set to fail and cause more harm than good.

The fact that the IWPA has not held meaningful public participation process meetings with the public to discuss the ecological disaster at hand is a very serious concern, and the CEO is leaving as the issue becomes a threat to tourism within the Umkhanyakude district Municipality.

Which way to go and where should this problem be attacked from?

ARBU - profile picA

We need to attend the IWPAPPP or iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority Public Participation Process, and I will soon be writing more about that, along with where and how to register as an IAP or Interested and Affected Party.

Authored by #FRANKIE2SOCKS

 

4X4 Ban and the Elephant Coast economy

The closure of all beaches along the South african Coast line to motor vehicle trafic has had some very nasty side effects, and caused many business along the entire South African Coastline to suffer incredible losses due to the absence of the recreational beach users from the local economies of coastal tourism destinations.

I will be writing about the Elephant Coast region, which is where I live and play, and others will be writing about their areas. I stopped writing about this problem, of lost economic opportunities caused by the 4X4 ban along the Elephant Coast of KZN South Africa  for a while due to political pressure, but have since come to realise that this was a smoke screen, and that these politiicians really had a loud voice, but were unable to really do to much harm to my personal well being.

Since our President, Thabo Mbehki was fired for allegedly not following party policy, I have come to realise that we can make this thing of lost jobs and other economic opportunities into an important political issue, and use it during the electioneering campain that will be coming up to force all political parties to assist in fixing the problem, or loose votes.

This will be a brave step, and require many people to actively participate in highlighting their personal losses, and businesses highlighting their business stats and difficulties that they have had when asking their local municipality and other large role players such as DEAT (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism) IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetand Park Authority) and Umkhanyakude District Municipality for assistance with the substantial economic losses incurred when domestic tourism along the Elephant Coast collapsed due to the knock on effects of the so called 4×4 ban, or the closure of our beaches to motor vehicle traffic in terms of the NEMA (National Environmental Management Plan) and subsequent legislation.

I will be using this platform to launch an association called the Association of Recreational beach users, which will eventually become a NON profit based organistaion looking after the interests of all recreational beach users. I tried this before, but from a different perspective, and due to the lack of financial assistance failed miserably.

Many people know that I am passionate about opposing the 4×4 Ban and that I want this legislation looked at and revised to make it more people friendly and less restrictive on our local tourism industry.  A large number of these people still want access to the Coastal recreational resources along the Elephant Coast, and in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, with many asking me what’s going on, as I talk about this issue excessively, and they feel I am an AUTHORITY on the 4×4 ban.

This Blog will be used as base from which many other activities will be launched, in conjunction with many other online promotional and social networking structures.  I will be linking to previous writings and placing my correspondence with others  online at various locations. I will  be soliciting help from every conceivable corner then a few others as well, to ensure that the 4×4 ban, or the closure of our coastal recreational beach use areas to motor vehicle traffic gets the political attention that it needs to fix our very serious economic crisis caused bt the absence of the domestic tourist to the many Elephant Coast tourism destinations inclusing but not limited to

  • Lake St. Lucia
  • St. Lucia Estuary
  • Cape Vidal
  • Mapelane
  • Sodwana Bay
  • Cape St. Lucia Light house
  • Richards bay Beaches

Please book mark this space and come back within a week mor 2 and see my progress.

If you have any ideas on how to go about this public awareness and political campain please write a comment, and we will try to use your idea in our thinking.

Do not be afraid!!!!!!!

voice your opinion and help us to solve this social problem, that has cost the Elephant Coast BILLIONS OF RANDS IN LOST TOURISM INCOME.

Elephant Coast Domestic tourism and beach access

Continue reading

ARBU seeks PUBLIC mandate!

The Association of Recreational Beach Users  (ARBU) is an informal Group of concerned people who have come together to tackle the issues of lost jobs, lost economic activity and serious decline of domestic tourism within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park world heritage site along the Elephant Coast of KZN south Africa and the surrounding areas of the Umkhanyakude district Municipality due to the knock on impact of the 4×4 ban. Continue reading

ARBU seeks your mandate to tackle 4×4 ban issues

The ARBU requires a mandate from the public to take up the problems and issues associated with the 4×4 ban.

Continue reading

Membership Application

Click the link below to fill out a basic application for membership to the association of recreational beach users. When you click submit,  at the bottom of the form, your application will instantly published to our data base and a staff members will validate your application manually during office hours, Monday to Friday, o9 H 00 to 15 H oo and we are closed during public holidays and week ends.

ARBU?A1 — basic application for membership to the Association of Recreational Beach Users

Once your contact details have been verified you will receive our weekly news letter and info update with links to all our social media projects and other membership incentives such as but not limited to  lucky draws for prizes from our sponsors and specials at resorts that support our cause.

4×4 ban and tourism

The proposed new legislation found here is grounds for us as the ARBU (Association of Recreational Beach Users) to take up the issue afresh.

In the past we failed miserably even with the support of T-KZN which was ignored at central government level due to mining policies.

This time around we will be a little better prepared, but only if we can get your help or at least your moral support.

The ARBU has a few different social media profiles in place which are there to funnel visitors to our web pages at http://arbu.info4u.co.za

When we as the management of ARBU stand up at meetings we would like to say that we have a very large support base. To be able to do this the support base must be active, functional and accessible. The ARBU has a social marketing page at http://social.me/arbu which has links to all our social media profiles.

We thus ask that you visit our social media pages and help us by making use of these platforms and

    1. like
    2. share
    3. tweet
    4. circle
    5. promote
    6. or otherwise interact with our SMP’s (Social Media Profiles)

Your help in informing others of our plight and current lack of public interaction would be appreciated, so please get active and let others know of our situation.

We are busy with a membership drive and would like to include as many members as possible. Membership is free, and you will receive our regular (weekly) info update with links to all our posts and online efforts. You will be able to unsubscribe at any time, by following the instructions at the bottom of every news letter.

our social media profiles

Objection to proposed amendments to the 4×4 ban

forwarded copy of mail sent to Jpeter@environment.gov.za in terms of Notice 150 of 2013 as published in the Government Gazette No. 36183 of 1 MARCH 2013

PLEASE HELP US GET THIS INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

http://social.me/arbu – our social media profiles all in one place, choose the one that suits your needs and communicate with us….

QUOTE  (Sent mail) <<<<<<

MIME-Version: 1.0
Received: by 10.220.156.69 with HTTP; Fri, 22 Mar 2013 02:04:52 -0700 (PDT)
X-Originating-IP: [105.227.157.179]
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:04:52 +0200
Delivered-To: admin@info4u.co.za
Message-ID: <CAKaEUSq6Hy9nu0rr1JepMi6ACJOS=eSbseWe1yEnq6L-HzLHQg@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Objection Notice 150 of 3013 -
From: Frank Gainsford <admin@info4u.co.za>
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
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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

Register for iSimanagliso Wetland Park Authority integrated Management plan public participation process (2012)

I have not written here for some time, as I gave up due to the great difficulty in getting the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) to take part in their mandated attendances at the local municipality IDP (Integrated Development Plan) process with any meaningful results.

Many of those who I have spoken to asked me to see what can be done, as they are now “GATVOL” of the disinformation that the IWPA (iSimangaliso wetland Park Authority) is feeding the public and government officials involved in the economic studies and ecological impact assessments as well as environmental impact assessments and other studies undertaken within the IWPWHS (iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site.

There are many acts, laws and a host of legislation which mandate the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority to hold meaningful public participation process meetings relating to the drafting and implementation of their IMP (Integrated Management Plan) and EMP’s (Environmental Management Plans)

The IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) has side stepped these issues, and this has been covered up at parliamentary level, so we have a big problem. our answer is to collectively force the issue from many angles and make such a big noise that they can not avoid the questions posed by international jounalists and international news publications covering the affairs of the IWPWHS (iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site)

To achieve this we will require your help and moral support. read this blog  http://iwpappp.blogspot.com/ and then decide if you want to register as a concerned citizen of the world and be informed of the public participation process and its results by registering at this site forafrica.co.za/forms/?p=128

many thanx for your time and efforts.

Press Preview – presentation to Mtubatuba Municipality Council

ARBU – Association of Recreational Beach Users is a socio – economic development initiative within the tourism industry of the Elephant Coast for the 4U branded Group and Info4u CC is the prime sponsor of ARBU

The Mayor of Mtubatuba has considered an initial verbal presentation by ARBU (Association of Recreational beach users) of some of the issues around the closure of the coastal zones within Mtubatuba Municipality to reasonable motor vehicle access and the very negative impact on the local economy of Mtubatuba as well as the district wide losses associated with the absence of domestic tourists from the Elephant Coast tourism market caused b the 4×4 ban, and subsequently requested ARBU (Association of recreational Beach Users) to put a presentation together to form a local municipality coastal committee and arrange a meeting of ARBU management committee and the Mtubatuba Municipality council to discuss this further.

Question! : How do we mitigate the considerable losses associated with the 4×4 ban if we are not represented on any committee or forum where these issues are debated and major decisions are taken on behalf of the Mtubatuba rates payers as well as other people living within the Mtubatuba municipal area without our consent or even concern over the potential impact of these decisions on us as a community?

The integrated Coastal Management act makes provision for these issues and puts forward the notion that the economy and people must be considered in all environmental impact assessments especially those associated with coastal management.

In the Intro to the ICMA (Integrated Coastal management act) it states very clearly that “ ensuring that development and the use of natural resources within the coastal zone is socially and economically justifiable and ecologically sustainable “ is one of the many purposes of this act.

The following issues are highlighted in the pre-amble of the ICMA (integrated Coastal Management Act)

  • • Constitutional rights (Section 24 of the South African constitution)
  • • Integrated Coastal Management • sustainable development
  • • Protection of environment
  • • Biophysical, economic, social and institutional considerations
  • • Rich natural heritage
  • • Economic and social benefits
  • • Conservation and sustainable use
  • • A new co-operative approach to coastal management

The last sentence in the pre-amble of the ICMA (integrated Coastal Management Act) states that integrated coastal management should be an evolving process that learns from past experiences, that takes account of the functioning of the coastal zone as a whole and that seeks to co-ordinate and regulate the various human activities that take place in the coastal zone in order to achieve its conservation and sustainable use,

Section 48 in chapter 6 part 3 of the Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA) informs us that a coastal Municipality must, within 4 years of the adoption of the Integrated Coastal management Act (ICMA), adopt a Municipal coastal management plan. This plan must be reviewed every 5 years and may when necessary be changed or amended.

Section 49 of the ICMA (Integrated Coastal Management Act) specifies the content and structure of a coastal management programme.

There are some special requirements that need dedicated and sincere efforts on our part (Mtubatuba Municipality and all residents) to ensure that our many local communities various needs are addressed. These considerations will include but are not limited to ensuring that our various interest groups and local communities social needs and environmental requirements are brought to the attention of

1. the national coastal management committee
2. the provincial coastal management committee
3. the IWPA coastal management committee
4. The Umkhanyakude district Municipality’s Coastal Management Committee
5. The Environmental Management committee established by the NEMA (National Environmental Management Act)
6. The minister of Environmental affairs
7. Other Ministers which have jurisdiction over any part of our local economy and / or social environment
8. Other forums and / or social structures that will assist the ARBU (Association of Recreational Beach Users) to achieve our purpose, aims and objectives.

This is vitally important for us as a municipality because history has shown us that these proposed and mandated structures and their predecessors have ignored our problems in the past, and treated us within the Umkhanyakude district Municipality, and Mtubatuba in particular like a bunch of grade 1 school children, ignoring all our pleadings about the lost economic opportunities and the many jobs shed within the local tourism industry due to the knock on effects of ROD A /25/8/7/3/2/4/ including the impacts of subsequent alterations to this said ROD which mandated the IWPA to enforce the so called 4×4 ban.

If The Mtubatuba Municipality does not have a Coastal Management Committee in place we have no chance of having our voice heard in the correct forums where our issues are discussed.

With no voice we will never be heard.

The following documents all discuss these issues and inform the reader of economic losses associated with ROD A /25/8/7/3/2/4/ and subsequent amendments.
1. Occasional paper 20 issued by KZN Tourism
2. SEED(Social, Environmental , Economic and Development) report
3. Tourism Report

As the Mtubatuba Town council is well aware, we (ARBU) have been trying to get the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) to discuss these issues and related reports which the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) has been mandated to create on an annual basis at the Mtubatuba IDP PRF (Integrated Development Plan Public Representatives Forum).

This has not taken place due to political tactics and poor public participation procedures of the IWPA. The IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) is a state entity established in terms of the world heritage convention act, and their mandate is to look after the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park World Heritage site, which has been renamed as iSimangaliso wetland Park.

The NEMA (National environmental Management Act) states in chapter 1 section 2 (2) that Environmental management must place people and their needs at the forefront of its concern, and serve their physical, psychological, developmental, cultural and social interests equitably.

The NEMA further states in section 2 (3) that development must be socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.

History has shown us that the above 2 mandated points of view have not been put into practice and neither have they been considered by the Minister of environmental Affairs and his subordinates in terms of ROD A / 25 / 7 / 8 / 3 / 2 / 4 and its long term impact on the Mtubatuba local municipality’s economy and the serious economic losses within the Elephant Coast tourism industry.

It is thus imperative that the Mtubatuba Municipality establish a coastal management forum and a coastal management committee which will enable the Mtubatuba Municipality to fulfill it’s mandates in terms of
1 the ICMA (integrated Coastal Management Act),
2 the NEMA (National Environmental management Act)
3 the MSA (Municipal Systems Act)
4 the South African Constitution

This Coastal management committee and related forums will give the Mtubatuba Municipality’s residents a voice in the right forums, where our socio – economic issues can be highlighted and addressed in a manner that best suits all citizens of South Africa.

ARBU institutes procedings to establish a local municipal coastal committee

The Association of Recreational beach users has began the procedings to institute a local municipality coastal management committee as is required by the ICMA (Integrated CoastalManagement Act)

We have written a letter to the mayor of Mtubatuba Municipality requesting a meeting to discuss the setting up of this committee as soon as is practicaly possible so that we may proceed to establish the Mtubatuba local Municipality coastal management Committee.

If the Mtubatuba Municipalty does not have a Coastal management plan in place then one will be provided for us in which we will have no input or influence. If we have a committee in place the Act mandates

    the Minister,
    the MEC
    The IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority)
    The national coastalanagement committee
    the provincial coastal managemenyt committee

to consult with the local municipality coastal committee on any matters effecting their coastal management plan.

This will alow us as the Association of recreational beach users to have some influence in the matters affecting our members and the potential tourism impacts which any changes to the mtubatuba municipal coastal management plan which may be forecd upon us by the higher levels of the coastal management system envisaged by the ICMA