KNYSNA NEWS - The Western Cape Government's tourism organ Wesgro that was chosen to take over the reins of Greater Knysna's (including Sedgefield) tourism industry has now settled in, selected a new general manager, shaken off any excess dust and, by its own account, is raring to go.
Except for one niggling little question: the processes set out by Section 76 and 78 of the Municipal Systems Act which calls for public notice and participation, impact assessment on jobs and employment patterns as well as a feasibility study, among others.
Jurgens van der Walt, a Sedgefield businessman who took it upon himself last year to run the Sedgefield tourism office when Knysna Municipality announced both the Knysna and Sedgefield tourism offices would close, is one concerned tourism stakeholder who wants to know who will be conducting this process and when it will start.
'We don't get feedback'
"We still don't know what is going on with the tender process that was advertised last year and how it could be run parallel to the SLA with the municipality, and so far Wesgro has done nothing to support Sedgefield to my knowledge. We don't get any feedback as members of the local tourism industry," Van der Walt said.
Many Knysna and Sedgefield tourism stakeholders have voiced the same opinion as Van der Walt.
As previously reported by KPH, only a week before the signing of the SLA in October last year the municipality placed a notice in local media, inviting tenders to be submitted for an organisation to conduct required processes on the municipality's behalf. "But this should have been done long before the deal was signed," said Knysna activist Susan Campbell at the time.
'Two tender documents received'
Responding to questions pertaining to Section 76 and 78 at the time, Knysna mayor Mark Willemse said these processes would run parallel with the SLA. When questioned about the legality of thereof, Willemse said all legal input received by the municipality indicated it was indeed legal to continue in this way, adding that a clause had been written into the SLA that would allow the deal to be cancelled if need be.
Visit Knysna new general manager Colleen Durant. Photo: Supplied
On 25 January this year the municipality confirmed that two tender documents had been received by interested parties and that the evaluation process was completed that same week. "Project commencement will be communicated by the municipality in due course," a spokesperson said.
Queries regarding who would facilitate the process and when it would commence were left unanswered at the time of going to print, but the municipality indicated the supply chain process was underway.
Wesgro's chief marketing officer for tourism Judy Lain confirmed that Wesgro has knowledge of the tender process, but she did not elaborate further.
What has Wesgro done so far?
Asked for a progress update as to what Wesgro had done since taking over Greater Knysna'a tourism marketing, Lain offered a list of accomplishments.
Apart from appointing a new general manager and attending the Vakantiebeurs trade show in the Netherlands, the list includes ensuring that the office was up and running for the holiday season with additional staff and maps; ensuring IT, admin, operations, staff contracts etc. were in place; and beginning the drawing up of a request for proposals (RFP) for website and Sedgefield Tourism Office management.
On 28 January, Wesgro announced that the Visit Knysna Tourism Office was pleased to announce that Colleen Durant had been appointed as the new general manager from 11 February, following an extensive search both provincially and nationally according to Lain. Boasting 11 years of industry experience, according to a press release, Durant has spent the last four years as race director for Ironman SA. Her previous industry experience includes acting managing director of tourism in Buffalo City for East London and the surrounds, as well as CEO of Emfuleni Corridor Tourism, a section 21 Company with Sun International.
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