Two Hats-off to the Overstrand Municipality!

Everyone acknowledges that poverty alleviation and job creation are the two most effective tools in the upliftment of communities and the reduction of social ills. 

I am delighted to report that the Department of Local Economic Development [LED] of our local munici- pality is again being proactive in bettering the lives of the Mooiuitsig community. [On the Edge, the restaurant at the Whaling Station and the first major project of the department and the community, is already up and running.]

This month, a three-day workshop was held in Mooiuitsig by LED and their partner, Productivity SA, a division of the Department of Labour, to teach the basics of Entrepre- neurship to fifteen women from the community. They were taught how to start up and sustain a business and were given assistance in the selection of a suitable business ven- ture. The first project is to be a shop that sells food and clothing and LED will assist in the sourcing of stock, the registration of the business and the securing of funding. There are also plans to start a vegetable-cultivation project, so that the shop can be provided with fresh produce. If all goes according to plan, the shop will open in January, 2016, and will initially be housed in containers. More training will be offered as the project gets underway.

An Additional Hats-off!(From the web thing.)

In late September a rubbish-disposal man, Donovan September, noticed a leak from the water mains on our neighbour's property. He could not find our neighbour, so he made a special effort to find and tell us about it. If he had not, that leak would only have become a flood — with all attendant costs.

I called the municipality to thank Donovan, and I hope they got the message through to him.

Thank you Donovan, you're a quality guy!