Pac Lentsoe. 3rd Year Student Number 047852. Critical Context, Assignment ONE
The Chapmans peak toll is a toll gate based in Hout Bay in Cape Town. The road that travels through the beautiful mountain of Cape Town lead to the Chapmans Peak Toll. Over 8000 people have signed the petition that calls for all Chapman’s Peak toll plaza construction to be ceased immediately. The operation of the Chapmans Peak Toll is similar to the Gauteng E Toll system. It is already being installed without the motorist conformation.
The provincial government, SanParks and toll road concessionaire, Entilini, were informed by the Hout Bay Resident’s Association that the association was applying for a court order to cease construction of all toll infrastructure. The association believes that building the toll plaza is in contravention of the law, due to the status of Chapman’s Peak as a recognized World Heritage Site and national park- construction should only be able to occur if the land has been deproclaimed.
Members of the public have been actively rallying for signatures within Hout Bay, including Bronwen Lankers-Bryne, the Hout Bay resident who chained herself to a metal pole on the building site until she was evicted by a court order; she also embarked on a 15-day hunger strike.
It’s clearly an issue tha many people are passionate about, and the support is growing. Since the protest, Mr Carlisle has continued taking a lot of heat about the Chapman’s Peak Toll Plaza development. Public disapproval ranges from accusations of corruption. Hunger Strike for Chapman’s Peak – Threatened with arrest Bronwen Lankers-Byrne undertook a 16 Day Hunger Fast to draw attention to the massive luxury Toll Plaza being planned for Chapman’s Peak, Table Mountain National Park, Cape Town. Here she is threatened with arrest, it took a High Court Judge to get her out and they returned in the dark at 20h30 at night to bully her out the building site. Scenes from the peaceful Chapmas Peak march 22/01/2012. The march was organized in protest against a proposed 54 million rand development of a toll plaza on Table Mountain National Park Land.
Handcuffed women in Chapman’s Peak toll plaza protest
CONSTRUCTION on the controversial Chapman’s Peak toll plaza was suspended yesterday, and a “breakthrough” meeting between civil rights groups and other stakeholders was expected to take place today.
The temporary suspension comes in the wake of a groundswell of public opposition – from petitions, protests, hunger strikes and looming legal action – to the construction of a R54 million toll plaza office on Chapman’s Peak Drive.
The Department of Transport and Public Works and the Civil Rights Action Group (Crag) confirmed that construction was halted over safety concerns for two women who chained themselves to scaffolding at the site.
Work on the site has also been put aside while Crag, the department, construction company Murray & Roberts and toll operator Entilini meet to discuss alternative tolling methods to be presented by Crag.
Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle, at the centre of the dispute, on Friday:
“There has always been extensive discussions with some Crag members. They have proposals. We are prepared to listen to them, so is Entilini.”
In a bid to halt construction of the R54m development, Hout Bay resident Charlie Gorton, 31 and Fiona Hinds, 49, from Simon’s Town, handcuffed themselves to steel support structures where two cement pillars were to be made.
They arrived before dawn wearing construction hats, reflective jackets and gloves, and each carrying a colourful flower. “We’re not moving until they listen to us,” Hinds shouted as workers arrived on site.
Gorton said drastic measures were needed for them to be heard.
“I’m Buddhist and very concerned about nature.
GLOBAL THOUGHT
No residential occupation at Hampi world heritage site:HC
PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 10,2012
Bangalore,April 10 (PTI) Karnataka High Court today directed the state government, the Archaeological Survey of India and Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority to ensure that no residential occupation was permitted within the protected area of the World Heritage Site on pleas questioning relocation at the spot. PILs had been filed opposing the relocation at Kaddirampura as per the state government plan. Petitioners had alleged that the land given to them was on a Muslim burial ground. When the petitions came up, a Division bench, comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna sought to know from ASI the steps they had taken in this connection. ASI submitted they the claim by petitioners that they are legal occupants cannot be considered unless they have authorisation of Director General (ASI). Commissioner for Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA) submitted that it had cleared the shops in front of the "mantaps" and was providing alternative sites. The court observed that alternate sites at Kaddirampura providing for 314 families had already been earmarked, and was available. It also said according to authorities, there was a plan to develop an area for development of shopping area. Persons who claim that they are carrying out business in prohibited area can approach authorities in respect of the plan for developing shopping area. Such shops can sell pooja articles, articrafts, trinkets and handicrafts connected to Hampi heritage, the court said. Justice B V Nagarathna observed it was not just a monument that court was concerned about, "it is an archeological site." The bench observed "till now we tried to protect your interest but not a single person has moved. This is a national heritage and within its purview, you (shopping businessmen) cannot be allowed. We will dispose the petition directing authorities to act as per law. Then they will throw you out, overnight". The court also directed authorities concerned to file status as well as action taken report within three weeks. PTI BH MSR BN
PIL TO RESTRAIN PWD FROM UNDERTAKING REPAIR ON HC BUILDING
PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 10,2012
Chennai,Apr 10(PTI) Anguished that a structure over a dome in the Madras High Court had been allegedly brought down by construction workers, an advocate has filed a plea to restrain the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department from carrying out maintenance and repair of the over 100-year-old High Court building. After advocate M T Arunan produced the portion that had fallen to the ground in court today and sought to have the Archaeological Survey of India impleaded in his plea, the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam, sharing his concern, impleaded ASI. They also directed the Additional Solicitor General to file a counter affidavit to the petition within two weeks. Arunan, also a member of the Madras High Court Heritage Committee, said it was essential that the ASI was a 'proper party' to the petition. ASI's guidance was necessary for the preservation of the ancient buildings in the court complex. The advocate said as a result of the alleged 'sub-standard' maintenance by the state PWD "the heritage buildings have been severely damaged and no proper maintenance is being adopted to preserve and protect the heritage structures." If the PWD was allowed to carry out further repair and maintenance irreparable damage would be caused to the structures which could not be rectified, he claimed. The advocate contended that unless an expert body of ASI officials was constituted by the High Court, the damage to the building would continue unabated. He sought the interim injunction to restrain the PWD from carrying out any maintenance or repair of the buildings till the expert body was constituted.
HISTORIC BARBADOS INSCRIPTION CAN BE OF BENEFIT
4/22/2012
Cultural officials are urging entrepreneurs and the business community to get more involved in upcoming consultations and activities being hosted by the Division of Culture and Sports and the Barbados World Heritage Committee, relating to the inscription of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This from Senior Cultural Policy Officer, Sheron Johnson, after just over 70 persons participated in the first panel discussion on the topic, ‘Heritage – Money Pit or Pot of Gold’, held last night in the Queen’s Park Steel Shed in the City.
She noted that the objective of the discussion was to get business persons to understand the potential economic viability that could be derived from the inscription. Ms. Johnson stated that Barbados had a wealth of tangible and intangible heritage that needed to be tapped for future economic gain.
“Take for example, one of our panelists, John Walcott, an entrepreneur and artist. He has documented a number of buildings within the Site in paintings and continues to use that intellectual property in developing souvenir items. This shows a clear link between heritage and the cultural industries and it will call for persons to be creative. As pointed out by the Chairman of the Barbados World Heritage Committee, Mark Cummin last night, the inscription is “what you make of it,” she underlined.
Participants expressed concerned about the number of historic buildings that had fallen into a state of disrepair and the need to reach the youth and persons who live within the boundary of Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison. The Ministry was also commended by those present for the valuable work that had been done to achieve the designation.
Ms. Johnson revealed that the next public awareness campaign would take the form of a walk through Bridgetown to “follow in the footsteps of our national heroes”. The free tour will be held on Sunday, April 29, and will begin at Heroes Square, The City. It will move to the National Heroes Gallery at Parliament Buildings, Queen’s Park Steel Shed, Jubilee Gardens, St. Michael’s Cathedral, St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Heroes Square, James Street Methodist Church and the Charles Duncan O’neal Bridge. It will be led by historian and author, Morris Greenidge.
Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison was inscribed on the World Heritage List on June 25, 2011, for its contribution to the development of the British Empire and the Atlantic World.
AD/MEDIA CAMPAIGN
International Society for Human Rights: Burka
Stop the oppression of women in the Islamic world
Stop the oppression of the motorist and community around the Chapmans peak. The beautiful mountain of Cape Town.
In this ad. The Batelco Directory is invading the space of the city and can be found within the city where people live and work.
In this ad. The Golf has landed to the different field of the sport.
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY AD
Organizations and non-profits that want to help the environment often turn to advertisements to catch the attention of the public.
- Without tolling, Chapman’s Peak Drive will be permanently closed.
- Due process has been followed from the beginning, including an extensive public participation and appeals process spanning eight years.
- The SANParks land involved is in fact 0.022% of 970 hectares sold by Province to SANParks in 2003 for R1200.
- The operations centre and toll plaza is vital to the operations and safety needed to manage Chapman’s Peak Drive as a whole and which replaces unacceptable temporary working conditions.
- Day passes will continue provided permanent tolling facilities are introduce
Sometimes black and gray images speak volumes about an issue. Greenpeace’s “Stop the Catastrophe” campaign shows a black and gray photo of a lonesome ancient tree. The area surrounding the tree is stark, no other trees surround this beautiful giant. A long man with an ax stands at the base of the mighty tree. Many would want to stop the catastrophe by jumping into the photo to stop the man from wielding his deadly ax.
LOCAL CAPE TOWN CASE STUDY
Chapman’s Peak Drive
Operations Centre and Toll Plaza
March 2012
Chapman’s Peak Drive
25 Ton Boulder on Half-Tunnel 2004
Top of Half-Tunnel Showing Various Rockfalls
25 Ton Boulder and Various Rockfalls
Ø 1922 Chapman’s Peak Opened
Ø No records kept of rockfalls, landslides and washaways.
Ø Known serious rockfalls and landslides (one or more fatality or serious injury):
Ø August 1977, July 1987, July 1993, August 1993, June 1994
Ø May 1980, road closed for seven months after portion washed away
Ø Jan 2000, Lara Callige killed and Olga Callige critically injured by rockfall in good weather conditions.
Ø After Callige sisters, road was to stay closed from 2000 – 2003
Ø Decision was taken to toll the road and to appoint a concessionaire to rehabilitate the road and then toll it.
Ø Entilini were appointed via a competitive bidding process.
Ø Entilini obtained R160M loan to rehabilitate the pass.
Ø Used a combination of safety features, including catch-fences, netting, barring down, a half-tunnel at the most dangerous point, and a comprehensive monitoring system involving CCTV, tremor and weather detection systems.
Ø
2002 Objections were made to early toll plaza plans and a full EIA process began
2002 Objections were made to early toll plaza plans and a full EIA process began
Ø
2003 The EIA included a major public participation process
2003 The EIA included a major public participation process
Ø The draft plans for the toll plaza(s) were first made available to the public in 2003 as part of the public participation process.
Ø Ads were placed in the Sunday Times and Rapport (8 June 2003), the Cape Times and Die Burger (5 June 2003), False Bay Echo and Constantiaberg Bulletin (12 June 2003) and Hout Bay Sentinel (13 June 2003) inviting Interested and Affected Parties (IAPs) to register and provide comment.
Ø Public Notices were erected at various locations in the surrounding areas and at either end of Chapman’s Peak Drive, announcing public meetings and inviting IAPs to register.
Ø Public meetings were held at Fish Hoek (18 June, 30 July), Hout Bay (19 June, 31 July) and with Chapman’s Peak Community Forum on 2 August 2003.
Ø A site visit was conducted with the Chapman’s Peak Drive Environmental Monitoring Committee on 10 July 2003.
Ø The EIA was lodged at the affected public libraries and posted online, and IAPs invited to comment further.
1915 – 1999: Early Days
When work began on Chapman’s Peak Drive in 1915, there was no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment. If there had been, the pass would never have been built. It took four years of hacking through pristine fynbos, blasting through Cape Granite and quarrying deep into the Table Mountain Sandstone before the press-ganged convicts completed the 9km road which would become Chapman’s Peak Drive.
pic
1999: Turning Point
In the last year of last century, two events took place that would shape Chappies’s future, and lead directly to the now controversial toll plaza. The High Court found that the road authority had been negligent in the case of a young man who had been injured in a landslip and a huge compensation claim was paid out. Then Lara Callige was killed, and her sister severely injured, in a rock fall which occurred in good weather conditions in the last few days of the millennium.
2000: Decision to Toll
It was very clear that the costs of maintaining the 9km of scenic drive and its picnic and lookout facilities could not and should not be borne by South African taxpayers alone, most of whom would never use the pass in their lifetimes. A concessionaire was identified via a competitive bidding process which would, in turn, produce a public-private-partnership to manage Chapman’s Peak Drive for 30 years, including the tolling, and shift the burden of maintenance from the taxpayer to the road user.
In December 2003, to much fanfare, and despite opposition to tolling from some quarters, Chapman’s Peak Drive opened in its new incarnation as a toll road.
2002: Objection to Early Toll Plaza Plans and Environmental Impact
Assessment
In 2002, as the rehabilitation process was still going on, plans were introduced to build toll plazas at the northern and southern ends of the pass. The larger plaza was to be located near Hout Bay, at the site of the current temporary toll booths. These plans were challenged by civil society organisations like the Hout Bay Residents Association and the Hout Bay Environmental Consortium. As a result, it was determined that a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had to be carried out prior to the plaza being constructed.
2003: Public Participation Process, First Round
The draft plans for the toll plaza(s) were first made available to the public in 2003 as part of the public participation process. Ads were placed in the Sunday Times and Rapport (8 June 2003), the Cape Times and Die Burger (5 June 2003), False Bay Echo and Constantiaberg Bulletin (12 June 2003) and Hout Bay Sentinel (13 June 2003) inviting Interested and Affected Parties (IAPs) to register and provide comment.
Public Notices were erected at various locations in the surrounding areas and at either end of Chapman’s Peak Drive, announcing public meetings and inviting IAPs to register. Public meetings were held at Fish Hoek (18 June, 30 July), Hout Bay (19 June, 31 July) and with Chapman’s Peak Community Forum on 2 August 2003.
A site visit was conducted with the Chapman’s Peak Drive Environmental Monitoring Committee on 10 July 2003. The EIA was lodged at the affected public libraries and posted online, and IAPs invited to comment further.
2005: The First Record of Decision in Favour of Constructing Toll Plazas on Chapman’s Peak Drive
The EIA was done between 2003 and 2005, and extensive public participation took place. From the outset, all proposals considered included a two story control building. A Record of Decision was issued in favour of the construction of the toll plaza at the quarry site at Kooëlbaai, and a second toll plaza at the Noordhoek end of the pass.
2008: The Second Record of Decision in Favour of Constructing Toll Plazas on Chapman’s Peak Drive
The 2005 ROD was challenged by a number of groups and individuals, and following further rounds of public participation, a second ROD was finally issued in 2008 by then Minister of the Environment, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, again approving the two toll plazas.
2008-2009: The Concessionaire Agreement Under Scrutiny
By the end of 2008, however, a comprehensive due diligence was undertaken by a task team of legal and technical experts on the concessionaire agreement. While finding no irregularities in the contract, the task team highlighted two bones of contention. These were the concessionaire’s frustration at the five years of delays getting construction of the plaza going, and the Province’s frustration with repeated (and lengthy) road closures, which the public, under the existing contract, had to pay for.
2009 – 11: New Administration and Conclusion of Amended Concessionaire Agreement
2009 saw the arrival of a new administration. Nine years had passed since the decision to toll and six years of due process had been followed towards the building of the operations centre and toll plaza. A lengthy process of renegotiating certain elements of the contract began. In March 2011, the so-called Third Amendment agreement was signed, which brought an end to unilateral closures of the pass and the burden on the public purse of compensating the concessionaire during closures.
With two successful ROD’s behind it, a new agreement and a successful working relationship established between Province and the concessionaire keeping the pass and its tourism facilities both open and at their best, it appeared that construction of the single remaining planned toll plaza would now proceed without further delay.
World Class Tourist Destination, Third World Working Conditions
In the mean-time, the operator continued to operate out of the temporary facilities constructed in 2003. Intended for use for a matter of months, these consist of six shipping containers stacked two stories high and four fibreglass toll booths. The staff, who man the 24 hour tolling operation, and keep the pass safe and its facilities clean for tourists and visitors, and pick up the mess they leave behind, number 57. This includes management, administration, secretarial support, technicians, supervisors, route patrollers, toll booth operators, maintenance staff and a cleaner. They come primarily from local communities, particularly Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu. Even though poverty and unemployment is rife in these communities, many choose to move on, simply because of the extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous working conditions. Toll booth operators in particular struggle with the eight hour shifts in the fibreglass boxes, where temperatures soar in summer and plunge in winter. Eight years of using port-a-loos while the machinery of due process grinds through the gears has also taken its toll, and the operator estimates as many as 200 employees have departed over the years, about 50% of staff year on year, with working conditions a major factor in many resignations.
Staff remain very vulnerable to crime at the facility, and on 7 June 2010, in one of three robberies which have taken place at the temporary plaza, a female staff member was severely beaten by criminals.
Eight Years, Not Eight Months. The Temporary Facilities.
Toll Plaza Specifications Developed
Toll Plaza Specifications Developed
Dignified and safe working conditions for the staff, including proper toilets, had become a significant element of the design for the new toll plaza long before 2008
Toll Plaza Siting
The toll plaza is located opposite the entrance to the exclusive Tintswalo Atlantic luxury hotel, which is part of the world renowned Tintswalo chain. The hotel is one of many commercial operations located on SANParks land and within national parks.
CHAPMAN’S PEAK TOLL PLAZA AFFECTED SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
In the Chapman’s Peak Drive case the public had some say in the establishment of the toll buildings in the environmental process. It is usually too late to have a second bite at the cherry just when the bulldozers move in. However, the subsequent inclusion of the land in a national park and the extension of the road reserve threw something of a lifeline to the objectors. Whatever public participation process that may have been followed at that juncture appears to have been ineffective. The right to just administrate action is alleged to have been infringed as a result.
Jan 2000, Lara Callige killed and Olga Callige critically injured by a rock fall in good weather conditions. No records kept of rock falls, landslides and washaways.
“Our legal team says this is contrary to South African law. But the government is insistent that they will press ahead, and have started laying the foundations. There have been protest marches and a hunger strike but no one seems to listen," Pugh wrote to Unesco.
CLAIM MAKING AND CONSTRUCTIONISM
Excavation started on 30 january, in preparation for construction of the proposed new Chapman’s Peak toll Plaza. MEC for Transport, Robin Carlisle’s authorization of the construction flies in the face of a number of community initiatives to get the decisions to build the controversial toll plaza reviewed. “What is the rush?” asks Terry Weiner, a spokesperson for CRAG (Civil Rights Action Group).
A WOMAN on a hunger strike since Sunday, in protest at the new Chapman’s Peak toll plaza and office block construction, has vowed to continue her vigil.
Bronwen Lankers-Byrne, who turns 60 next month, has positioned herself on the side of the road, just opposite the construction site. With a folding chair, signs, a petition for signatures and lots of water, she said she would stay “until they put down the tools and talk transparently about alternative options”.
“They’ve used the existing toll plaza for eight years and that’s sufficed,” said Lankers-Byrne. “It’s unnecessary. Why should we waste R25 million of taxpayers’ money?”
She said she felt so strongly about the issue that she had no other choice. “It’s a nutshell of what’s happening in SA at our expense. The government is building what we don’t want with our money.”
People in South Africa are down-grading if not up-grading. Its seems like it is time for the survival of the fittest. Richer getting richer and poor getting poor if not poorer. People’s perceptions about The government people and politicians have now changed from Freedom fighters to Glits and Glam liverish lifestyle. E Tolls and Chapmans peak toll are being supported by the government and bulldozer in projects without informing the people or citizen. They know that they will benefit in these project and its life time. No metter how many strikes and protest there can be. One the toll structures are built. There is no way they can be destroyed by who ever. They know that the poor will be affected but the poor will get used to the systems and become a norm and the way of life and living.
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