Mayor promises action over stray livestock
Makana Mayor Nomhle Gaga accepted a petition from the Grahamstown Residents Association in her office at the City Hall on Tuesday 15 November, requesting that bylaws pertaining to stray animals be enforced by Makana Municipality.
In a cordial discussion, GRA secretary Tim Bull told the Mayor that during the three months he and a team of EPWP workers had been intensively involved in cleaning up in the City centre and targeted areas in Joza, it had become apparent the extent to which stray livestock hindered efforts across the town to create and maintain tidy neighbourhoods.
“For example, we would clean up an area and then on rubbish day, the donkeys would come and mess up the rubbish bags,” he said.
Philip Machanick of the GRA said he hoped there was a way to persuade livestock owners that controlling their animals was to their benefit.
Bull said it was primarily owners who let their animals loose around town and do not look after them that this proposed action is aimed at.
“I don’t see livestock being accompanied by a herder as the problem because the herder can stop them causing damage and getting into gardens,” he said.
“There are open spaces [within the town’s boundaries] where it may be acceptable for escorted livestock to graze.”
Bull also said in order to ensure owners accounted for their animals, all livestock grazing within the municpality should be branded.
The Mayor said plans were well under way to control stray livestock in Grahamstown.
“Because owners sometimes become aggressive when their animals are impounded, we have now involved the police in the process,” she said.
“The pound is being sorted out as we speak,” she added, “and animals will be branded if they are not already.”
Gaga said the fines owners paid to retrieve their animals from the pound would in future cover the cost of feeding the animals.
“There is a lot of commonage around Grahamstown where people should graze their animals,” Gaga said.
“I know people like to keep animals, but they can’t have it both ways. The owners of the animals might like to let them roam freely, but the community have said that’s not acceptable.”
The petition was signed by 1 062 people.
The Mayor said the matter of stray livestock was on her agenda for the imbizos currently under way − community consultation meetings ahead of finalising the integrated development plan (IDP) for Makana Municipality for the next five years.
These meetings are reportedly being rescheduled for next week.