PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Bitou could one day have its own correctional facility as part of a plan to create 800 new permanent jobs and a large number of temporary jobs, Mayor Dave Swart said in a report in a council meeting on Monday 29 May.
In his foreword to the revised Integrated Development Plan, Swart said the council aims to renew engagement with the Department of Correctional Services to "facilitate the construction of a new state-of-the-art correctional facility in Bitou".
The plan, to provide a 3 000-bed facility, was first mooted in 2018 to be situated on a farm belonging to the Department of Agriculture that was used to house small-scale farmers along the MR 395 Avontuur-Wittedrift road.
Steve Pattinson, chairperson of the Plett Ratepayers Association, brought it to the attention of members, along with other comments on the budget.
Pattinson told Knysna-Plett Herald that it was a proposal that would require considerable discussion and debate.
"Fortunately it will involve public participation in order for the project to move forward." If it succeeds, which could be many years down the line, Plett might house one of the biggest prisons in the country.
Swart also highlighted waste management as one of the challenges that deserves the urgent attention of the council.
He said the problems can be mostly ascribed to the age of the fleet of compactor trucks and long-haul bulk waste transport trucks and trailers used to transport bulk waste to Mossel Bay, and more than R17m has been budgeted for this.
"Replacing this fleet as far as possible will be a priority in the upcoming budget. In tandem with upgrading of the waste fleet, a public awareness programme stressing the importance of recycling to sustainably remove economically recyclable waste from biodegradable waste before transport to Mossel Bay, will be launched shortly," said Swart.
Council approved Municipal Manager Mbulelo Memani's recommendation that the "revised approved" 2023/2024 Integrated Development Plan tabled with the budget be sent to Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell, and Provincial Treasury.
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