Premier
With regard to Cape Access centres in the Western Cape:
- Whether any centres are closed; if so, what are the relevant details;
- how many clients have been served by each of these centres in the last six months;
- whether all the centres have been sufficiently staffed during the last six months; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- whether all the centres are currently online and operational; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Responses below should be considered in the context of the COVID19 pandemic. Regulations and safety measures during this time had an influence on the operations of e-centres.
- COVID19 Lockdown started on 26 March 2020 – All e-centres were closed till 30 June 2020.
- On 01 July 2020, in compliance with the operational criteria of the respective municipalities relating to their facilities viz. libraries, Thusong centres and municipal buildings, e-centres were opened for 3 days per week.
- On 01 August 2020, all e-centres were fully operational i.e. back to the 5-day per week operation; except for the e-centres where facilities remained closed due to COVID19 protocols or municipal instructions viz. libraries which we were advised would only open at lockdown level 2.
- e-Centres were closed over the festive period from 21 December 2020 to 1 January 2021.
- There are centres which remain closed. The relevant details are below:
No. | e-Centres currently closed | Relevant details |
1 | Cederberg Region - Citrusdal - Clanwilliam - Lamberts Bay | January 2021- The municipality issued an instruction that all facilities in the Cederberg Municipality region should close due to the high COVID-19 infection rate. We are awaiting notice from the municipality when facilities can open again. We view this as a temporary closure under the current COVID19 conditions. |
2 | Bergrivier Region - Noordhoek | This e-centre has been closed since March 2020. The municipality started with extensive construction work at the facility which house both the library and the e-centre. Due to several delays, both COVID19 and construction company delays, completion date is unclear. The municipality will inform us in February 2021 of progress and possible completion dates. |
3 | Winelands Region - Cloetesville Paarl East - Mbekweni - Wellington | The municipality started with renovating the facility in June 2020. Unfortunately, the e-centre was instructed to close during the renovation work. Due to several delays, both COVID19 and construction company delays, indicative completion dates from the municipality were moved frequently. Currently awaiting go-ahead from municipality regarding occupation. January 2021-These 3 e-centres are closed as per communique from the Drakenstein Municipality, indicating all municipal facilities to be closed due to lockdown level 3 and Drakenstein being a Covid19 hotspot. We are awaiting notice from the municipality when facilities can open again. We see this as a temporary closure under the current COVID19 conditions. |
4 | Witzenberg Region - Nduli | This e-centre has been closed since March 2020. The facility that house the library and e-centre suffered extensive damage during service delivery protest in August 2020. During this protest all ICT equipment in the e-centre was stolen. The Witzenberg Municipality indicated they must repair the premises before we can occupy our space. We are therefore dependent on the municipality on the way forward. |
5 | Klein Karoo Region - Saturnus Oudtshoorn | This e-centre is situated on the school premises. The school is closed and will open in February 2021 |
(2) Number of clients served by each of these centres in the last six months;
No. | eCentre per region | User sessions for the last 6 months | |
METRO | |||
1 |
| 737 | |
WEST COAST | |||
2 | Bitterfontein e-Centre | 721 | |
3 | Citrusdal e-Centre | 2 720 | |
4 | Clanwilliam e-Centre | 1 737 | |
5 | Doringbaai e-Centre | 767 | |
6 | Eendekuil e-Centre | 1 070 | |
7 | Goedgedacht e-Centre | 150 | |
8 | Illingelethu e-Centre | 714 | |
9 | Klawer e-Centre | 487 | |
10 | Lambertsbay e-Centre | 1 218 | |
11 | Langebaan e-Centre | 786 | |
12 | Noordhoek e-Centre | 0 | |
13 | Paternoster e-Centre | 1 111 | |
14 | Riebeeck Kasteel e-Centre | 1 491 | |
15 | Riebeeck Wes e-Centre | 1 082 | |
16 | Rietpoort e-Centre | 1 620 | |
17 | Vanrhynsdorp e-Centre | 1 309 | |
18 | Vredenburg e-Centre | 738 | |
19 | Vredendal e-Centre | 2 822 | |
CAPE WINELANDS | |||
20 | Bella Vista e-Centre | 2 289 | |
21 | Ceres e-Centre | 2 438 | |
22 | Cloetesville e-Centre | 0 | |
23 | Kayamandi e-Centre | 741 | |
24 | Klapmuts e-Centre | 731 | |
25 | Mbekweni e-Centre | 654 | |
26 | Nduli e-Centre | 0 | |
27 | Op Die Berg e-Centre | 635 | |
28 | Paarl-East e-Centre | 2 152 | |
29 | Pniel e-Centre | 549 | |
30 | Robertson e-Centre | 1 635 | |
31 | Tulbagh e-Centre | 1 761 | |
32 | Wellington e-Centre | 1 414 | |
33 | Wolseley e-Centre | 1 110 | |
34 | Worcester e-Centre | 1 608 | |
35 | Zolani e-Centre | 386 | |
OVERBERG | |||
36 | Bredasdorp e-Centre | 2 979 | |
37 | Elim e-Centre | 1 285 | |
38 | Genadendal e-Centre | 1 590 | |
39 | Grabouw e-Centre | 3 341 | |
40 | Greyton e-Centre | 1 125 | |
41 | Hawston e-Centre | 1 652 | |
42 | Struisbaai e-Centre | 1 249 | |
43 | Swellendam e-Centre | 1 873 | |
OVERBERG | |||
44 | Bongulethu e-Centre | 1 256 | |
45 | Bridgton e-Centre | 1 796 | |
46 | Conville e-Centre | 637 | |
47 | Dysselsdorp e-Centre | 2 197 | |
48 | Groot Brak Rivier e-Centre | 794 | |
49 | Heidelberg e-Centre | 1 837 | |
50 | Herbertsdale e-Centre | 1 161 | |
51 | Hornlee e-Centre | 1 126 | |
52 | Kranshoek e-Centre | 873 | |
53 | Kwanokuthula e-Centre | 3 030 | |
54 | Ladismith e-Centre | 1 752 | |
55 | Melkhoutfontein e-Centre | 789 | |
56 | Mosselbay Sports e-Centre | 656 | |
57 | Mosselbay Thusong e-Centre | 384 | |
58 | New Horizons e-Centre | 1 341 | |
59 | Riversdale e-Centre | 2 333 | |
60 | Saturnus e-Centre | 298 | |
61 | Slangrivier e-Centre | 2 616 | |
62 | Sonskynvallei e-Centre | 1 510 | |
63 | Thembalethu Library e-Centre | 65 | |
64 | Thembalethu Thusong e-Centre | 3 155 | |
65 | Waboomskraal e-Centre | 1 336 | |
CENTRAL KAROO | |||
66 | Beaufort West e-Centre | 2 619 | |
67 | Bitterwater e-Centre | 1 885 | |
68 | Klaarstroom e-Centre | 1 787 | |
69 | Laingsburg e-Centre | 795 | |
70 | Leeu Gamka e-Centre | 961 | |
71 | Merweville e-Centre | 1 142 | |
72 | Murraysburg e-Centre | 1 255 | |
73 | Prince Albert e-Centre | 2 170 | |
74 | Prince Albert Access 50 e-Centre | 1 784 | |
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- The following should be noted regarding staffing during the past 6 months:
- During these periods all centres were sufficiently staffed, except for the centre in Grootbrakrivier. During the month of August and half of September this e-centre was closed as a result of pending recruitment for a new CM (Centre Manager) and the Covid-19 positive situation of the DM (Development Manager).
- Certain staff contracts that ended during the lockdown but recruitment for appointments of new staff could not be made.
- To enable e-centres to operate optimally, we extended staff contracts by an additional month and thereafter, employed the same staff on a 24-hour per month contract in compliance with Labour Law regulations to enable the recruitment process to proceed and to continue operations and service delivery to the community.
e-Centres affected by these criteria were as follows:
CENTRAL KAROO REGION
Bitterwater | Both Centre Manager (CM) and Development Manager (DM) positions |
Klaarstroom | Both CM and DM positions |
Laingsburg | Both staff members resigned in September and the CM from the Bitterwater e-centre was brought on board to keep the e-centre operational until new staff was appointed. |
WEST COAST
Doringbaai | Both CM and DM positions |
Clanwilliam | Both CM and DM positions |
OVERBERG REGION
Genadendal | Both CM and DM positions |
Elim | Both CM and DM positions |
METRO
Wale Street | Staff was only casually employed for the month of October. This e-centre was closed until then. |
WITZENBERG
Tulbagh | Both CM and DM positions |
WINELANDS
Zolani | Only the DM position was affected |
Paarl East | Only the DM position was affected |
GARDEN ROUTE
Thembalethu Library | Only the DM position was affected. Staff was reassigned - the CM assisted at Conville and the DM assisted at the Thembalethu Thusong e-Centre |
- whether all the centres are currently online and operational; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
- e-Centres indicated in Question 1 above are not operational due to the closure of the facilities.
- All other e-centres are operational
- Only 1 e-Centre is currently not online as indicated below.
Bitterfontein
| No internet connectivity. Being a Broadband-related issue, a call has been logged with Sita. Site visit to be done by a broadband technician. |
NOTE: e-Centres do go offline periodically due to technical issues, load shedding or infrastructure failure. These are of a temporary nature.
