LOUIS TRICHARDT – The Makhado Municipality is about to destroy one of the major natural assets of the town.

In a proposed major alteration of the existing Town Planning Scheme of Louis Trichardt, unique public assets are to be sold off to private individuals and the town's characteristic natural environment is to be permanently altered, maimed and partially destroyed, if plans by the Makhado Municipality go through.

If council succeeds in pushing these plans through, it will mean the end of at least one major natural asset, paraded by mayor Tlakula during the ENGEN Town of the Year competition. The town's prominent Indigenous Tree Sanctuary is to be cut up into privately owned business stands.

This will mean the final, permanent and total destruction of a prominent part of the town's coveted Green Belt Area, over which responsible residents guarded jealously for the past quarter of a century and which, from a tourism point of view is a major ingredient in the natural attraction of the town.

The proposed transformation of these important natural assets into business stands follows in the wake of the controversial Chinese business adventures of Council, a highly controversial municipal twinning agreement, the planned Tlakusani Sweet Industrial Park development and the proposed establishment of a major industrial complex comprising more than twenty factories in a part of the industrial area closest to the existing and planned southern residential areas of the town.

In the meantime it has been established that a close relative to mayor Tlakula has a major stake in the Chinese dominated industrial development project and also in at least one of the latest residential development projects in town.

When first officially questioned by the media about the identity of the Tlakula who seems to be the major beneficiary in Council's multi million rand Chinese connection, a municipal spokesperson dodged the question and almost hysterically and verbally attacked the journalist.

The municipality last week almost unobtrusively publicised its intention to permanently close the town's Indigenous Tree Park and to cut it up into business sites, which will be put up for sale.

It also plans to infringe on the already scarce available space on the existing sports grounds along the N1, to accommodate the wishes of a national retailer. Such a "spoil sports" decision will bring an early end to the dream of a centrally situated comprehensive sport complex and stadium on the western side of the existing sports grounds, which could have afforded local sports enthusiast the future possibility of hosting international stars.

The planned alteration of the status of these public assets constitutes a major intervention in the existing town-planning scheme and has drastic long-term implications for the entire community. This major intervention which could drastically impact on the well-being of each individual and can have disastrous consequences for the business fraternity, was made known in an isolated and relatively unobtrusive advertisement in the local media, at a time that it is well known that most people are away on holiday. It was not accompanied by a press release or official statement, as is the usual responsible way in which such important issues are supposed to be treated.

According to the official advertisement, anyone who does not agree with council's intentions, have 28 days in which to register official objections. This opportunity to officially resist these far reaching interventions in the taxpayer's assets and in the existing character of the town already started on December 13 and will end on 10 January.

A furore broke loose amongst environmentalists when the previous council intended developing an upmarket residential area in the northernmost part of the Green Belt some years ago. The development was temporary shelved after massive public resistance.

A national hypermarket chain also earlier abandoned plans for the erection of a complex in the Bird Sanctuary, after taking cognisance of the potentially negative market resistance against development projects in environmentally sensitive areas.

The present plans do not only pose a disastrous environmental threat, it also has catastrophic potential for the already strained central business community. It is a known fact that the town has large stretches of undeveloped business sites even in its central business district. There are also empty shops in existing shopping centres in town. Developing an additional business area elsewhere in competition with the existing businesses in town would under such circumstances be extremely risky and could have unpredictable negative socio economic consequences.