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We welcome members of the media who have joined us at this iconic historic site the Robben Island, the heritage and pride of our nation.  This is a place that housed many of our famous and beloved citizens, we call it a university of life that nourished and gave birth to the new South Africa we live in.

The purpose of our visit here is to assess and monitor progress that is being made in the work to repair and revitalise this world heritage site.  We are all interested in the preservation of this iconic site.

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has been with the Department of Arts and Culture in implementing the necessary infrastructure upgrade here at Robben Island.

Our work has covered a number of areas from keeping the assets here in good condition.  This work included buildings, infrastructure, cemeteries, gardens, quarries, recreational facilities, maritime safety as well as the natural environment.  These had to be done and be conserved and maintained according to International Best Practice as well as SAHRA (South African Heritage Resources Agency) principles and UNESCO
 
The work done to date.

We have to date performed planned, statutory, preventative, adhoc and emergency maintenance. This work included:

• Technical services
• Plant Operations (Power plant and Desalination plant)
• Waste Management Services
• Transport or Logistics( crane and rigging services)
• Soft Services e.g. Pest Control
• Horticulture and Environmental Services

 
This is the work we have done to conserve and maintain Robben Island in order to maintain the Island’s World Heritage status. The Department has spent R112million to date.
 
Going forward the following projects will be executed through the Department of Arts and Culture.  These will include the:
1. Blue Stone Quarry Wall restoration
2. Harbor precinct upgrade
3. Desalination plant upgrade
4. Effluent plant upgrade
5. New floating jetty
6. Diesel plant reticulation
7. Restoration and Conservation of the Built Environment
8. Upgrade of Bulk Services/New Plants
 
Hout Bay Harbour – Repair and Maintenance Programme
From here we will visit the Hout Bay Harbour, which is one of the 13 Proclaimed Fishing Harbours in which the Department conducted its special intervention Repair and Maintenance Programme which aimed at rendering the harbours as functional for our client Department:
 
We will be engaging with stakeholders.  We wish to highlight that many job opportunities and SMME beneficiation were derived from the projects.  

We completed the following scope of work at Hout Bay Harbour that includes:

1. Removal of sunken vessels:
a. The removal of sunken vessels was awarded as one contract across all 6 harbours where a total of 29 sunken vessels were removed from all the harbours.
b. A total of 15 vessels from the 29 were removed from Hout Bay Harbour alone.
 
2. Refurbishment of the 90 and 50 ton slipways, including:
a. Replacement of slipway rails including repair/replacement of damaged/corroded rails below water level
b. Supply and install new sacrificial anodes on the rails and winch replacements
c. Fabrication and installation of new steel side supporting arms on the 50 ton slipway
d. Removal and refurbishment of all bogie wheels on both cradles
e. Removal and replacement of damaged timber blocks on the cradle and side slips
f. Service the Hydraulic side supporting arms on the 90 ton slipway cradle.
 
3. Replacement of the derrick crane:
a. A new 7,5 ton derrick crane was installed which has been of great benefit to the local fisherfolk in terms of removing their engines for repairs
b. The Department through this programme standardized the derrick crane in all the harbours for the ease of spares and maintenance when required
 
4. Installation of security apparatus as per the SAPS Report:
a. CCTV coverage within harbours
b. Upgrade of boom gates and entrance control
c. Perimeter walls and security fencing
d. Security lighting
 
5. Civil infrastructure upgrades:
a. Revamping of ablution facilities
b. Revamping of harbour master office
c. Extension and upgrades to the fish cleaning shed as requested by the community
  
6. Electrical infrastructure upgrades:
a. Upgrading of bulk infrastructure supply
b. Supply of prepaid power to quays and jetties
c. All inter alia electrical requirements
 
Through the various Work Packages which included Hout Bay Harbour over 100 local jobs were created coupled with over 20 local SMMEs being empowered to the value of R26.4 million. The programme in its entirety created a total of 925 jobs and empowered over 100 local SMMEs to the value of over R137 million.

Hout Bay Harbour has always been considered a ‘hot spot’ harbour, infamous for crime, drugs, poaching and protests. A special security assessment was conducted by the South African Police Services for Hout Bay Harbour to address the aforementioned issues. The Department has implemented the recommendations on the report to prevent further damage being caused to state infrastructure during riots and protests.

The Department is the custodian of the harbour and has to bear the burden of its buildings and infrastructure being vandalised due to conflicts between the communities of Hout Bay and other spheres of government.

We are mindful that Hout Bay Harbour is surrounded historically disadvantaged communities. We are committed to ensuring that they benefit from the economy of the harbours and generally form services.

The Department will be looking into allocating space for local SMMEs as part of the broader implementation of the Small harbours Development initiatives. We hope to unite the communities and use the upgrade of this harbour to effect economic transformation.

Issued by Department of Public Works and Infrastructure