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According to TCTA spokesperson, George van der Merwe, it marks the beginning of 'the most exciting part of the BWP for the
community' that should result in 'vigorous debate and active participation by all the relevant role players'.
The plan is intended to maximise the benefits derived from the BWP and to ensure the sustainable development thereof in Franschhoek
and the surrounding communities. Arup SA has been appointed as social consultant by TCTA.
The main tasks of the social consultant are development of the Sustainable Utilisation Plan (SUP), social monitoring and
development of an Exit Strategy when the project ends.
The SUP will start with a series of bilateral consultations between the consultants and interest groups that have already been
identified.
It will also include broader public participation (through public meetings), to ensure that no stakeholder groups are overlooked
and also to provide feedback on progress.
Once all stakeholder groups have been consulted, the first draft plan will be produced for comment. The final plan should be ready
for implementation by the beginning of 2006.
The aim of the planning process will be to develop strategic objectives, implementation policies and strategies, as well as
socio-economic opportunities around the water resource.
During the process a number of issues need to be considered. These include the protection of the water resource (the Berg River and
the Berg River Dam), cultural (graves, artefacts and archaeological remains) and other natural resources (Assegaaibos Nature Reserve), as well as compliance with all the relevant legislation (National Environmental
Management Act, Protected Areas Act, Biodiversity Act and SA Heritage Resources Act).
When the plan is implemented, it will have to be integrated with relevant spatial planning frameworks and comply with the
regulations relating to the use of water and access to government waterworks in the National Water Act.
Overall, the SUP must promote opportunities for women, disabled persons and promote Black economic empowerment, while contributing
to the expansion of sustainable and equitable local socio-economic development in an open and transparent manner.
Obviously, the SUP must harmonise the different uses of the resource, while supporting dam and public safety.
The objective of the social monitoring aspect of the consultant's task is to ensure that the project intervention process is
monitored with the aim of implementing corrective measures if and when required and to ensure that the mitigation strategies are working as intended.
The monitoring team is currently in the planning and initiation phase and the intent is to start with the baseline monitoring
survey early January.
The aim of the exit strategy is to ensure that the disengagement of TCTA and the contractors from the Franschhoek Valley is
adequately planned and managed. Further the intent is to ensure that all post-construction impacts are adequately planned for and addressed.
The social consultants will keep the local communities informed and updated on the processes on a regular basis.
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