GEORGE NEWS - A number of new appointments in the George Municipality's Planning and Building Control division is already making a huge difference.
Five new town planners, one intern town planner, one ISDG GIS (Infrastructure Skills Development Grant Geographic Information System) intern, and three Assistant Building Control Officers are welcome additions to the team.
They are Robert Henk Janse Van Rensburg (town planner), Khuliso Jafter Mukhovha (town planner), Amelia Lombard (town planner), Phillippus Martinus Botha (town planner), Fakazile Vava (town planner), Winsley Leighton Meyer (intern town planner) and Michelle Lee (GIS Intern for Planning and Development).
The three new Assistant Building Control Officers are Eddie Koeberg, Luthando Fatyela and Mkhululi Nyeka.
In previous years the municipal buildings have been closed between Christmas and New Year with only minimal staff on standby. This year the buildings were only closed on public holidays and work continued at the usual pace.
Plans
In terms of plans, 158 were processed in the season with 86 approved - 80 residential, 6 non-residential. A total of 16 applications (14 residential and 2 non-residential) remain in circulation.
The remaining 56 (52 residential and 4 non-residential) were not approved due to either not complying and/or additional information required. A total of 55 (54 residential and 1 non-residential) Certificates of Occupancy were issued.
Building control
The building control division was equally busy with building control contraventions and complaints addressed expeditiously over the festive season. A total of 54 residential occupation certificates and 1 non-residential were issued. Nineteen complaints were received and addressed.
The new manager for building control, Mogamat Fickerie Toyer, comes with over 25 years’ experience within the building environment in both the private (10 years) and Local Government environment (over 20 years).
He obtained his qualifications in Architecture and Interior Design from the Port Elizabeth Technikon (NMMU) and has computer programming studies under his belt as well. He is married and has three children aged 15, 12 and 11.
Fickerie spent 20 years at Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, and then moved to Drakenstein as Manager Building Control in 2017 before accepting the post at George Municipality.
At the back (from left) are town planners Martin Botha, Fakazile Vava, Khuliso Mukhovaha and Robert Janse Van Rensburg. In front are Amelia Lombard (town planner), assistant building control officers Eddie Koeberg and Luthando Fatyela, Mogamat Fickerie Toyer (manager building control), Mkhululi Nyeka (assistant building control officer) and Winsley Meyer (intern town planner).
Newcomers to the team
Robert Henk Janse Van Rensburg is married and moved to George from Durban where he worked as town planner at K2m Environmental (Pty) Ltd. He achieved his Bachelors in Urban and Regional Planning and Masters in Environmental Sciences from North-West University, Potchefstroom.
His hobbies of hiking and running, fit right into the lifestyle offered by working and living in George. He is looking forward to experiencing all of the activities the Garden Route has to offer.
Khuliso Jafter Mukhovha is a registered planner with over ten years experience at both local and provincial government level. He achieved his Bachelors in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Venda as well as a certificate in GIS and Public Management. He is originally from Ha-Mashua in Limpopo Province and is looking forward to enjoying his hobbies of travelling, hiking and soccer to name a few in George.
Amelia Lombard obtained her MSc in Urban and Regional Planning at the North-West University Potchefstroom Campus. She has a passion for sustainability and hopes to make a positive change in the world. She is excited to be a part of the team at George.
Phillippus Martinus Botha, known as Martin, obtained his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning and his Bachelors in Spatial Planning Honours at the University of the Free State. He also has a Bachelors in Development and Environment from Stellenbosch University. He worked as a Town Planner at Urban Dynamics, Cape Town for seven years and is professionally registered with the SA Council for Planners (SACPLAN): Pr. Pln. A/2518/2017. He is married to Talitha and a great sports fan, in particular of Manchester United. He hopes to make a positive contribution to George Municipality.
Fakazile Vava was appointed Town Planner in November 2021 after completing his two year internship at George Municipality.
Winsley Leighton Meyer was born and raised in George. He has been appointed as an Intern town planner and obtained his B-Tech Town and Regional Planning at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He started his internship way back in 2014 with George, has interned at Oudtshoorn Municipality and most recently worked as a Candidate Planner at Delplan Urban Consulting. He joins the sporty group with his love of rugby and golf.
Michelle Lee joins the municipality as GIS Intern for Planning and Development. She has a Bachelor of Science Geoscience (Geology & Geography) and Bachelor of Science Honours Geographical Information Systems from Nelson Mandela University.
Eddie Koeberg has been appointed as Assistant Building Control Officer. He studied Building and Civil Construction at Northlink College in Cape Town and has worked as a building inspector at Bitou Municipality. He is a local to Plettenberg Bay and married to Gillian. He is a rugby, football and soccer fan (Arsenal) and reached the top 30 in Idols SA in 2013 and 2014. He is a passionate musician, vocalist and performing artist skilled in the acoustic guitar.
Luthando Fatyela, appointed as Assistant Building Control Officer, obtained his National Diploma in Building and Btech in Construction Management at the Cape Peninsula University in Cape Town. He has worked as a Building Inspector for the Drakenstein Municipality and worked as a Construction Supervisor for several companies around Cape Town.
He was born and raised in a small township called Zwelethemba in Worcester and is another soccer fan, Kaizer Chiefs being his team of choice. He is also an avid chess player.
The third Assistant Building Control Officer is Mkhululi Nyeka, known as MK. He obtained his National Diploma in Building and BTech in Construction Management at Cape Peninsula University of Technology CPUT and previously worked at Mossel Bay Municipality as an Assistant Building Inspector with an assignment of 28 areas of the town.
He was born and raised in Cape Town and enjoys working outside and spending his free time exploring.
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