Cape Town - The Western Cape government is drafting by-laws that would empower local municipalities to manage the harbours that are the livelihoods of generations of fishermen.
Premier Helen Zille on Tuesday announced that an inter-governmental dispute was being initiated over the management of the 12 fishing harbours in the province.
Local government could not agree with the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries over the management of the harbours.
Zille told the Kalk Bay fishing community gathered at Kalky’s that her office was doing “all it could” under the guidance of the constitution and the Inter-governmental Relations Framework Act, to help restore the potential for job creation.
While the provincial government is in the process of drafting the by-laws, the intergovernmental dispute would be running in tandem.
“We are doing this because harbours play a critical role in creating jobs and attracting investment.
Pedro Garcia, from the South African United Fishing Fronts (Sauff), said he would be holding Zille accountable to the promises she made to the Kalk Bay fishing community.
He, however, warned that if any action was to be taken to halt the Fishing Rights Allocation Process instituted by national government, it had to be taken swiftly as the draft policies were being finalised.
“If this process goes ahead, it is going to cause more harm than good.
“If she (Zille) commits to follow through with halting of the process, the people will support her.
“At the same time we are not naïve because it all eventually boils down to next year’s elections.
“The bottom line is, we want to suspend the process until it becomes participatory,” he said.
Basil Harris, 53, had spent 35 years teaching future generations of trek fishermen and offering his skills to the local tourism industry. He said the current laws curbed his ability to put food on the table.
He said the more than 80 trek fishermen across Cape Town had been forced to “bend the rules” to make ends meet.
“We are local people, we cannot stand up against government when they bring their lawyers to us.
“They just take away our livelihood and we can do nothing about it.
“This industry is in shambles, it has nothing to offer our next generation,” he said.
Cape Argus