George Municipality clamps down on electricity illegal connection
The fight against illegal connections is yielding positive results as the George Municipality’s Electro-Technical Department removed 1085 illegal power connections at informal settlements in George in February 2022.This was confirmed in a report tabled at the Electrotechnical Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, 05 April 2022. The number of informal settlements in George is estimated at 8000, of which 5981 informal settlements shared between Thembalethu and Moeggeploeg have illegal and unsafe electricity connections.Mr Bongani Mandla, director for Electrotechnical Services emphasized that illegal power connections, no matter how small or innocent-looking, are dangerous and are certainly a death trap.Mandla assured that his department will continue with the campaign of removing the illegal connections and educating the public about the dangers of illegal power connections. “We are working with the George Municipality’s communications department to assist us with sharing educational information about the dangers of illegal connections,” Mandla said.“In the next month, we are distributing 15 000 flyers in Afrikaans, English and Isi-Xhosa to the areas most affected by illegal connections, as part of our awareness campaign on illegal connections,” he said. “These flyers comprise information about the nature of the illegal connection, the dangers associated with illegal connections, financial implications, and useful information when one wants to report illegal connections as well as information on a reward attached to reporting illegal connection upon successful prosecution.”Members of the public may report illegal connections to the George Municipality on 044 801 9222/044 803 9222 or 044 801 6300 (a/h). Report people who make illegal connections to 0860 044 044, SAPS 10111 or the South African Police Service (SAPS) to 10111. The George Municipality offers R 2500 reward for information that leads to the successful conviction of electrical theft and/or vandalism in a court of law. The witness will have to go on record to the authorities, giving his/her name and contact details to testify, but his/her identity will be protected. Report to 0860 044 044 to be eligible for the reward.Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe (CPRP)
Office of the Municipal Manager
Senior Communication & IGR OfficerOffice: 044 801 9512
Be fire safe in cold weather
The approaching colder weather has highlighted the need for fire safety at home again, in particular following a fire that broke out last week in Zone 6, Asazani informal settlement that destroyed 4 shacks and damaged another badly leaving 8 adults and 2 children homeless.George Fire Chief Neels Barnard said winter months were traditionally the busiest time for residential fires as people try to stay warm in cold weather. “George Municipality Fire and Rescue appeals to everyone to take extra care when working with fire, gas and electricity, to be responsible and fire-conscious at all times – your life and property are at stake,” said Mr Barnard.Barnard said, while the causes of house fires are not always straight-forward to determine, they generally have in common unsafe practices including overloading electrical plugs, falling asleep with burning cigarettes or using a drum or tin fire indoors. Fires in formal residences are often associated with newly installed fireplaces that had not been sufficiently insulated and new or neglected gas installations,” said Mr Barnard.Vegetation fires in winter are often associated with homeless people making open fires to keep warm when sleeping outside. When rain and snow accompany the cold, motor vehicle accidents increase, which are also attended to by the fire department. The above factors are often worsened by alcohol abuse and there is a correlation between the number of callouts on Fridays and at the end of the month when people have been paid wages and salaries.WINTER FIRE SAFETY TIPS
USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERSFire emergencies only: 044 801 6311
All after-hours emergencies: 044 801 6300
General enquiries fire department (office hours): 044 801 6300
Uniondale (office hours): 044 752 1225
- Do not overload electrical connections and plugs, use the plug for what it was made for.
- Do not override the safety switch on your electrical board to avoid the electricity kicking out when you overload plugs.
- Monitor plugs and check that they do not become hot.
- Pull out cellphone and other chargers when you are not using them.
- Do not use drum and tin fires indoors.
- Do not get into bed with a cigarette.
- Put the electrical heater off before you fall asleep.
- If you install a fireplace, use a reputable builder or installer and monitor new installations when in use. Have your fireplace and chimney serviced regularly.
- Stay low and under the smoke.
- Make alarm and get everyone out of the house.
- Close doors of rooms behind you as you move through and out of the house.
- Phone the fire department when you are outside. (Save the fire department’s number on your phone – see below)
- Phone the fire department. (Save the fire department’s number on your phone – see below).
- Move cars and other obstacles out of the way so fire trucks can pass.
- Do not carry furniture into the road where it can be in the way of fire trucks and firefighters.
- Do not go into the burning house for any reason.
- Do not open the doors or break windows – it fuels the fire.
USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERSFire emergencies only: 044 801 6311
All after-hours emergencies: 044 801 6300
General enquiries fire department (office hours): 044 801 6300
Uniondale (office hours): 044 752 1225President ends State of Disaster
For 2 years and twenty days South Africa was in a State of Disaster brought on by the Covid 19 pandemic. This morning South Africans are waking up to the fact that the State of Disaster is no more. There are however a few regulations that are kept in place for 30 days after which that will fall away.220404 C19 President’s Message
Free Internet Marketing Methods that can Save your Business
I recently had a conversation with a client who said that they paid more than R 60 000 over a period of six months for paid advertisements on a well known search platform and did not receive 1 (yes one) lead. So zero return on investment. Sure it depends on what you sell, but to me as an entrepreneur it is always a huge waste of a very scarce commodity – cash. Imagine they used that R 60 000 and employed someone for 4 or 6 months whose job was to attend network meetings, search for and contact new clients and focus on free marketing?
Best things in life are free, as many would say. This especially holds true with efforts in advertising one’s products or services. With free Internet marketing services, one can save a lot. Instead of shelling out for the marketing aspect of your product or services, that chunk of money could be put to other important elements of your business since many information websites now offer knowledge regarding Internet marketing services that comes with no price tag at all. Many of the paid sites also have a free although limited, section where you can advertise for free.
This is not to tell you that better focus on plain Internet marketing. It still will do your business a lot good if you mix traditional advertisement efforts such as network marketing and knocking on doors with free internet marketing.Here are but few of the free methods that you could employ to make your products and services be in their most visible, thus saleable, form.1. Promote your business through free search engine submission and optimization.Submit your website to various search engines monthly. This will make many more people know that your website actually exists. Aiming for the top search engines will help a lot in this endeavor.2. Improve your articles.Remember that information on articles with good content as traffic-bringer of websites? This time it’s about making these articles serve your website better by using keyword suggestion tools that are offered for free. Update your web site’s content by regularly checking the standing of your keywords with the current market.3. Acquire free content.If you have no time to increase the SEO or search engine optimization-friendliness of your articles, you can look for free content from article directories. All you need to do is retain the resource box of those write-ups.4. Use free comprehensive web traffic analyzers.
These are tools that you can make use of without costing you a cent. Your website’s hits statistics will be produced by this kind of Internet marketing tool for your own analysis.5. Learn to manipulate web design templates.
You don’t have to be too techie-geeky to be able to design your web site. Oftentimes, web design templates or custom-made layouts are available for the Internet marketer to use.6. Monitor your website’s visibility.
Tools such as search engine position trackers may be used to see your website’s standing.7. Join LinkedIN
Invite at least 3 new connections to your LinkedIN profile on a daily basis. Create LinkedIN and Facebook Pages and weekly add posts to your pages.8. Social Media
Monitor and search Facebook Groups where people ask for help in your field. Someone might ask for a quotation for paving and you are a Paving Company. Contact that person directly.These processes are very convenient to use as long as you keep in mind that you use and try to master their use for your own benefit. 
Elevator Speech
Deliver An Elevator Speech That Grabs Attention and Has Them Begging For More!When someone asks you what you do, do you stammer and stutter, then spurt out a label or winded explanation that meets you with a glazed-over look? Discover how a powerful elevator speech can generate energetic dialogues that will increase your recognition and attract more clients.An elevator speech is a short verbal snippet that clearly and memorably introduces you. It highlights your uniqueness and focuses on the benefits you provide.Imagine … you step onto an elevator and there is a lone occupant waiting to travel with you to another floor. You are together for less than a minute, but long enough to make polite conversation. What you don’t know is this person is your ideal client. She has a problem you can solve.She cuts through the awkward silence and says, “I see you’re attending the networking event as well. What do you do?”Here it is! Your chance to make an impression and secure a new client.After a short stammer, you answer with, “I’m a coach and a copywriter. I hold a Masters in Business Administration and have been running my own home-based business for ten years.”With only a few seconds left, the elevator doors open. She politely responds with a smile, then steps off the elevator, gone … forever.After you finish banging your head against the button panel, you realize you not only blew it, but you now have an indentation of the twenty-first floor button on your forehead.What if instead you had answered with: “I help women entrepreneurs get more clients than they know what to do with and triple their profits in six months.”If she were your target client, do you think the second response would have sparked her interest and kept her on that elevator a little bit longer?We all ask ourselves, “What’s in it for me?” when engaged in any type of communication, whether written or spoken. You want to take something of value from a conversation, learn something new, create a certain feeling, or receive information that will help you solve a problem or meet a need.If you spend the first 30 seconds labeling yourself and listing your credentials, or going into a technical spiel of your product or service, you will be met with nothing more than a big fat yawn, a glazed-over look or even worse, “Excuse me, I have to make a call” and a quick exit.Take the time to develop a benefit-rich, passionate elevator speech that will engage your listeners to want to hear more. Write down a list of benefits your clients/customers receive from working with you or buying from you, and use those words and phrases in your benefit statement.There’s no need to label yourself. Labels don’t provide the benefits the listener is looking for.Once you have your elevator speech developed, practice it over and over until it’s as natural as stating your name. You’ll be able to use it at networking events, in telephone conversation, when leaving voice mail messages, in any type of written communication, and yes, especially in the elevator!So, ____________, what do you do? 2006 © Laurie Hayes – The HBB Source
Embrace Change
I listen to people talk around me, some are going back to the office, some will continue working the new “hybrid” way for a while. Others will work from home now permanently. Businesses have changed, office space have changed, management styles had to adopt, COVID 19 has forced all of us to change. So many more people have lost loved ones, friends, colleagues, acquaintances than the years before.How has your organisation introduced changed management during this time? No, I do not want to know what has changed, I want to know how much support are they providing in various aspects of your work environment, and you as executives, how much support are you giving your employees? Do you have a program that assists employees with grief counseling, not just the psycologist visits they can choose on their medical aid? Have you had a new team building excercise that accommodated the hybrid work environment? What about a difference in the way you do strategic planning for this year and the next five.. have you incorporated what a big impact this last 2 years and possibly the next three will have in the history of your business? Have you employed an independent person to provide an independent, objective, non emotional opinion on the current corporate culture, what your employees are really struggling with, the risk management practices and whether you should change the performance management indicators for the next few years?Change is inevitable, embrace it, get your own thinking partner to ask these questions and hold you and your organisation responsible to ensure a positive corporate culture, increased participation and a growth in these difficult times. #planning #covid19 #environment #management #employeewellnessprogramsFollow me: LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-adele-potgieter-15b2862a/
5 Questions to Help You Get to Know Your Customer
Know Your Customer – 5 Questions You Must be Able to Answer About Your Target Customer
Every business owner should know their target customer like they know their best friend. Best friends know more than just passing information about each other; they know their friend’s wants, needs, interests, habits, financial status, what makes them laugh, what makes them happy and what gets them excited. The same should be true for the small business owner in knowing her customer.
1. Does your target customer need your product or service, or just want it?
Some products or services fall under the category of need, some are only wanted (but not needed), and some can be both depending on the customer. Where does your product or service fall when considering your target customer? Unless you know their motivation for buying, you won’t know how to market your product or service to them.
2. Does your target customer feel comfortable paying for products or services in your price range, or do they need some convincing?
Pricing above your target customer’s comfort zone is fine, but you must know you are doing it to understand how much convincing they will require before agreeing to buy. If your target customer is used to paying R5000 for a laptop, and your laptop is priced at R12,000, your customer will need to be convinced to buy yours over a competitor’s that is priced in their comfort zone. Your marketing campaign should emphasize the reasons why your customer will not regret their purchase even though it was not within their comfort zone.
3. Is your target customer a “One-and-Done” or a Repeat Buyer?
Many consumers approach purchases with the mindset that once the product or service is purchased that want or need is filled and future purchases will only occur when the need or want arises again. Other consumers approach purchases as one in an endless cycle of collecting goods and maintaining a lifestyle. Small business owners must know who they are targeting as their preferred customer. A carpet cleaning service is likely to prefer the repeat buyer type who will regularly engage their services on a monthly maintenance basis over the “one-and-done” buyer who only seeks out their services when the grape juice gets spilled. Knowing whether your target customer approaches a shoe purchase believing that once completed they will not have to look for another pair of shoes until those wear out, as opposed to the customer who is buying to add to a collection of shoes that compliment a stylish wardrobe, is essential for not only marketing purposes, but for product creation as well.
4. Is your customer brand loyal or budget conscience, or both?
A brand loyal customer will make decisions to purchase based on their connection to a brand’s image and not on price, and will continue to purchase a particular brand as long as that brand lives up to its reputation and the customer’s expectations. A budget conscience customer will look to price first and will be driven to buy based upon their perception of value within their budgetary constraints. A customer that is both budget conscience and brand loyal will first shop based upon budget, but once a brand has been found that fits within that budget, that customer will become brand loyal. Small business owners must know who their customer is and how their decision to buy will be made in order to market their goods or services to them.
5. Where will your customer first look for your product or service? Where will they actually buy it?
Knowing where your customers will first look for your product or service will help you position your brand to be noticed. Knowing where they will actually buy is crucial so that you can position your product or service in a way that assures when the customer’s decision to buy is made they choose you over your competitors. If your product is one that is researched online, but most often bought in a brick and mortar retail location, your marketing and product placement strategies will need to reflect that pattern.
If you are serious about selling your product or service to consumers, first get to know your best friend (i.e., your target customer) by answering these five questions.
Earth’s Population Statistics in Perspective
The population of Earth is around 7.8 Billion.If you condensed 7.8 billion into 100 persons, and then into various percentage statistics the resulting analysis is relatively much easier to comprehend.Out of 100 :
11 are in Europe
5 are in North America
9 are in South America
15 are in Africa
60 are in Asia49 live in the countryside
51 live in cities75 have mobile phones
25 do not.30 have internet access
70 do not have the availability to go online7 received university education
93 did not attend college.83 can read
17 are illiterate.33 are Christians
22 are Muslims
14 are Hindus
7 are Buddhists
12 are other religions
12 have no religious beliefs.26 live less than 14 years
66 died between 15 – 64 years of age
8 are over 65 years old.If you have your own home,
Eat full meals & drink clean water,
Have a mobile phone,
Can surf the internet, and
have gone to college,
You are in the minuscule privileged lot.
(in the less than 7% category)Amongst 100 persons in the world, only 8 live or exceed the age of 65.If you are over 65 years old, be content & grateful. Cherish life, grasp the moment.If you did not leave this world before the age of 64 like the 92 persons who have gone before you, you are already the blessed amongst mankind.Take good care of your own health. Cherish every remaining moment.If you think you are suffering memory loss…….Anosognosia, very interesting…In the following analysis the French Professor Bruno Dubois, Director of the Institute of Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease (IMMA) at La Pitié-Salpêtrière – Paris Hospitals, addresses the subject in a rather reassuring way:“If anyone is aware of their memory problems, they do not have Alzheimer’s.”1. forget the names of families.
2. do not remember where I put some things .It often happens in people 60 years and older that they complain that they lack memory. “The information is always in the brain, it is the “processor” that is lacking.”This is “Anosognosia” or temporary forgetfulness.Half of people 60 and older have some symptoms that are due to age rather than disease. The most common cases are:
– forgetting the name of a person,
– going to a room in the house and not remembering why we were going there,
– a blank memory for a movie title or actor, an actress,
– a waste of time searching where we left our glasses or keys ..
After 60 years most people have such a difficulty, which indicates that it is not a disease but rather a characteristic due to the passage of years ..Many people are concerned about these oversights hence the importance of the following statements:
1.”Those who are conscious of being forgetful have no serious problem of memory.”
2. “Those who suffer from a memory illness or Alzheimer’s, are not aware of what is happening.”Professor Bruno Dubois, Director of IMMA, reassures the majority of people concerned about their oversights:“The more we complain about memory loss, the less likely we are to suffer from memory sickness.”We are truly blessed, So, share this with your over-55 friends, it can reassure them.Time is like a river, you can only touch the water once.Because the flow that has passed, will never pass again.Enjoy each moment of life!
Exploring smart City opportunities for City of George
George Municipality recently partnered with the Africa Business Network of the Finland Chamber of Commerce, the German-South African Chamber of Commerce, the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce and the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership to host a webinar on 15 March to explore aspects of smart energy, smart building, smart infrastructure and smart mobility.A smart city uses information and communication technology (ICT) to ensure operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide a better quality of government service and citizen welfare. The main goal of a smart city is to optimise city functions and promote economic growth while also improving the quality of life for citizens by using smart technologies and data analysis. The value lies in how this technology is used rather than simply how much technology is available.Executive Mayor Alderman Leon Van Wyk formally opened the Webinar hosted on 15 March and the event attended by 80 persons, was moderated by Mr Jens Hauser HOD Competence Centre Sustainable Energy, German -South African Chambers of Commerce and Mr Paul Hoffman, Project Manager, Garden Route Development Partnership.In his opening comments, the Executive Mayor provided a scene-set of George as an intermediary and magnet city in South Africa utilising its natural attractions and relaxed lifestyle in the Garden Route to position itself as a growing business centre. He sketched the key economic sectors and George’s 40% share of the Garden Route’s economy. Some examples of how George already embraces elements of smart city concepts: it aims to secure 20-30% of its electricity from renewable sources within 3-5 years, the city is already fibre optic cable connected, utilises CCTV cameras for safety and security monitoring for public transport bus service, and a mobile app for service delivery complaints and communication. A significant national insurer operates a large online contact centre, thousands of milk-producing cows have SIM cards monitoring their health, the fire services utilise drone technology and increasing use is being made of smart meters and telemetry in the electricity and water networks. It is hoped that these examples will help in facilitating interest and investment from the Germany and Finland.Ms Lauren Waring, Director Planning and Development noted that the webinar intended to explore the aspects of smart energy, smart building, smart infrastructure, and smart mobility; and to establish meaningful international learning networks which will be key for the economic development of George and which are aligned to the strategic goals of the George Municipality.International, national as well as local speakers covered topics which included: An overview on Smart Cities – the cities of the 21st century; Mobility as a Service – The End of Car Ownership? (MaaS Global); Technologies for a smarter built environment (Siemens); Creating value out of municipal solid waste (Anaergia Africa) as well as case studies on Kone and the City of George.The George Municipal Spatial Development Framework, 2019 (MSDF)is the spatial representation of the Integrated Development Plan and coordinates and directs growth in the short, medium and long term. (https://www.george.gov.za/george-documents/spatial-development-framework/municipal/ and fully embraces the Smart City concept.Smart City Growth is one of the strategies supporting the spatial planning approach in George and various policies and development guidelines are set to facilitate a compact, legible urban form, including a mix of land uses, a range of housing- and transportation opportunities and walkable neighbourhoods, whilst preserving open space, farmland, natural beauty- and critical environmental areas. The MSDF policies and guidelines are further intent on strengthening and directing development towards existing communities and fostering distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place. Processes relating to land development are designed to involve the community in decision-making and to support integrated and considered development.The process to review the current George MSDF (2019) commenced in 2021 and the use of smart technologies is crucial in collating inputs received from various involved government departments and agencies and interested and affected parties. Data layers, such as the environmental zones (per example the Coastal Management Line, Critical Biodiversity areas, climate change indicators and many others), Transportation Routes and Planning, Human Settlement development, commercial and industrial development, social- and community facility planning, engineering services planning are coordinated via a Geographic Information system(GIS) to aid spatial planning and to advise land use planning decisions. The George Municipal GIS Public viewer contains some of the information and can be accessed on the Municipal Website. https://gis.george.gov.za/portal/home/Dr Kosie Haarhoff, Deputy Director Economic Development noted that the direct beneficiaries of the webinar were public service officials, local government officials and private sector individuals responsible for digital transformation and SMART cities. Four private sector companies presented SMART city solutions to participants:MaaS Global:
MaaS Global is the world’s first mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) company with a vision and mission to offer a more attractive alternative to a privately owned car. Its Whim mobility app allows for the consumer to plan, book, and pay for their trips in one mobile app.
KONE
KONE is a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, and their focus is to make the world’s cities better and more sustainable places to live.Anaergia
Anaergia is a global leader in the production of clean energy, fertilizer, and recycled water from virtually any waste stream, offering the widest range of maximizing resource recovery solutions for the municipal, industrial, commercial, and agricultural markets. Anaergia’s integrated solutions create value for its customers in the forms of renewable energy, quality fertilizers, and clean water, while dramatically reducing the cost of waste management.Siemens
Siemens is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, they create technology with purpose adding real value for customers.Chantèl Edwards
Manager Communications & IGR
Email cedwards@george.gov.za
Landline 044 801 9160
Cellphone 082 3502420
City of George, proud hosts of hundreds of swimmers from the province
One of the highlights in the sports and tourism this past long weekend, of which the City of George is proud, was the successful hosting of the SA Regional Level 3 Swimming Gala at the Conville Swimming Pool from 17 – 20 March 2022, with 350 participants from all over the Western Cape. The City of George embraces the honour to be the host of several great sporting events, of which the Swimming Gala has recently joined in. The executive mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk, officially opened the Swimming Gala, welcoming hundreds of participants, and visitors to George. Mayor van Wyk was accompanied by the members of the executive mayoral committee and the acting municipal manager, Dr Michelle Gratz to the Swimming Gala.“At present, George is fortunate in attracting many visitors who are participating in numerous sporting and other events, such as this major provincial swimming gala,” said Ald van Wyk. “We are looking forward to hosting many more events of this calibre, and we are committed to ensuring that our sports facilities are of a high standard.” “We would like to congratulate our staff for having risen to the occasion when George had to jump in to be the host of the swimming gala’s, especially considering that the Municipality had a very short time to prepare for the events,” mayor Wyk added.“Over the next few weeks, we will be welcoming thousands of school learners who will be participating in different events that have attracted entries from across the country who will be utilising our various facilities,” he said.“Following the successful Cape Town Cycle event, a comment was made that we should be hosting a similar event here in George. This comment echoes our philosophy to regularly hold events in George that will generate tourism spending for our local economy and add to employment levels.”In his conclusion, mayor van Wyk encouraged sports federations to make George a place of choice for events, every weekend to attract visitors to help build tourism occupancy rates. “George is already hosting many cycling and running events. Nothing stops us from turning some of these events into iconic annual events of national significance through some tweaking. Many of our citizens are passionately involved in diverse activities or hobbies that could be developed into regular events or learning experiences, such as crafts, artists, bridge, winter schools.”Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe (CPRP)
Office of the Municipal Manager
Senior Communication & IGR Officer
Office: 044 801 9512
Cell: 063 869 7373
Email: nmangqwengqwe@george.gov.za