GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - DA provincial minister of economic development, tourism and agriculture Alan Winde visited Sedgefield this week to host a public meeting, six weeks after promising to return to address concerns by the community.

He addressed about 70 people at the Sedgefield town hall on Monday night (20 August) and reported back on issues relating to youth development, housing, tourism and answered questions from members of the public. The meeting was a follow-up to a previous visit to the community at the beginning of July.

Winde spoke of the billions of rands invested by the Western Cape Province for education, feeding schemes, transport and other programmes.

When asked to elaborate on when a high school will be built in Sedgefield, Winde said that this is being looked at by provincial government as a priority matter.

“There's no specific timeline yet, but we want the community to keep the pressure so that this may be a reality soon,” he advised.

Learners' transport issues
Winde also mentioned that 743 learners in the Sedgefield region are transported on 12 routes between Knysna and George schools, at a cost of R8-million – a statement that was met with surprise by some members in the audience.

“Where are they? This can't be true. As far as we know, many families struggle with finding school transport,” one audience member said.

Winde replied, “I'll get all the names and give them to you.” He then continued to say that bursaries are available for the youth to further their studies, with a focus on apprenticeships, and he predicted that the future of jobs lies in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).

He then moved on to housing, and reported that up to 1 000 families are on a waiting list in Sedgefield, to benefit from a housing programme expected to start in November this year.

“We've identified four areas, one of these is privately owned but we are in negotiations with the owner,” he said. When asked how many houses will be built, a figure of 207 houses was given. Winde said that budget constraints is the biggest problem affecting the construction of housing, to meet the demand.

Tips for tourism
He then moved on to tourism, and commended the office in Sedgefield but cautioned against limiting the function of tourism to just an office.

He also shared ideas on how to effectively market the town, and gave examples.

“The Sedgefield Saturday Market is probably the best in the country. It can still be grown and expanded, and this can attract many tourists,” he said, adding that collaboration between all stakeholders is key.

Winde mentioned that the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe is on track for a revival, and will initially run between Sedgefield and Knysna. “This is work in progress by a private concessionaire and is getting closer,” he said, without giving an expected date of completion.

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