Frustration is mounting regarding the management and maintenance of harbours.
Noise is coming from the Overberg municipality, local business owners, the fishing communities and others.
National, provincial and local government leaders, representatives of business, met at Hermanus, on Friday, to discuss the possibility of a new harbour.
It was identified as a strategic asset to stimulate tourism, investment and local economic development.
The session was attended by Dean Macpherson; the National Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers; Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, Sakkie Franken; Overberg District Municipality Mayor, and Archie Klaas, Overstrand Executive Mayor.
Business was represented by the Hermanus Business Chamber, ratepayers’ organisations and the local fishing community.
Simmers divulged at the meeting that “there is a R9.85 billion infrastructure budget and a R152 billion long-term infrastructure pipeline.”
But he also said that “certainty, disciplined planning and intergovernmental alignment are critical to driving growth.”
Macpherson stressed the urgency of implementation and the cost of delays, confirming support for a collaborative “Right to Repair” approach that would enable municipalities to take a leading role in maintaining and upgrading key harbour infrastructure, while national government remains custodian.
Klaas pledged support for immediate intervention to do slipway repairs and stabilise infrastructure.
A joint technical task team comprising all three spheres of government, is expected to fast-track a lease audit and identify urgent infrastructure interventions.
Picture: Supplied