New fire levy proposed

Video

GEORGE NEWS & VIDEO - If the mayor of the Garden Route District Municipality, Memory Booysen, has his way, a new levy will be introduced to help cover the costs of fighting fires and damaged property.

He made the proposal at a Fire Services Workshop that was held on Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela University George campus. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the recommendations made by a fire management company based on their investigation into the 2017 Knysna fires.

Booysen said people in the district know about fires, as it is always fire season in the district. Despite this, he believes people didn't learn the lessons that can be learned from the fires in Knysna, George and Hessequa. Each morning he drives through Wilderness on his way to work and he doesn't see any firebreaks. "God forbid that a fire doesn't hit Wilderness."

He emphasised that it costs a lot to fight fires and proposed the introduction of a levy in the Garden Route to help with the cost. He said such a levy could be proportional to the place where people stays, for example a high risk area.

After his speech Booysen expanded on the topic to the George Herald. He suggested residents, farmers and people who stay in the area must be levied. The money can be placed in a kitty for use in maintaining machines and fire engines and to replace damaged property. Such a kitty will be a base to start from. "Then we all know we carry the same burden."

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In the present situation, he said, when a fire starts on someone's property, they first try to extinguish it themselves as they fear that, if they report a fire on their property and it gets out of hand, they could be sued. Booysen said a communal kitty that can be used to deal with fires and their consequences would help avoid the blaming game.

Dr Jaap Steenkamp, well-known George resident and CEO of the SA Forestry Contractors Association, said during question time that he does not agree with another form of tax. According to him landowners like CapeNature, SANParks and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries should shoulder their responsibilities.

Dr Jaap Steenkamp, CEO of the SA Forestry Contractors Association. Photo: Eugene Gunning