Neighbourhood news, taken seriouslyEmail: info@rondeboschlife.co.za 021 811 7654February 2016

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10 more cameras for RCID areaTHE Rondebosch Community Improve-ment District (RCID) is well on its way to blanket camera coverage as ten ad-ditional surveillance cameras will be in-stalled within the next two months.

This brings the number of cameras in the RCID area to 36. The RCID area runs from Park Road in the north to Av-enue De Mist in the south, and between Campground Road in the west and the M5 in the east. Six of these cameras can recognise vehicle number plates.

Shirley Aldum, RCID manager, said they have already identified spots for the additional ten overview cameras.

She said the cameras will be focused on the central part of the RCID area as the LPR cameras are already placed at the entry and exit points. The other 20 overview cameras are scattered along the periphery.

The additional cameras will help trace vehicles and pedestrian move-ments throughout the area, Ms Aldum said.

The RCID is currently assessing the Wi-Fi connectivity at the identi-fied spots because the cameras will link to the control room via Wi-Fi. “We’ve identified the points. Now we’ve got to

get people to go out to check if we’ve got Wi-Fi connectivity because we’re in a very leafy area... Once the Wi-Fi is approved then it is just a matter of weeks,” Ms Aldum said.

The additional cameras will cost about R160 000. She said the RCID has the money, generated through dona-tions, to pay for the cameras.

However, the RCID will still canvass residents to pay a once-off R850 fee to fund additional LPR cameras. These cameras can read the number plates of vehicles and trigger an alert at the RCID

2 www.rondeboschlife.co.za info@rondeboschlife.co.zaFebruary 2016

Problematic zebra crossing could get traffic lightTHE problematic pedestrian crossing in Campground Road near Groote Schuur Primary School and Sunnybrae Road could have a traffic light by the end of the year.

The City’s traffic department found that the volume of traffic in Campground Road and the proximity of schools in the area warrant signalisation at the zebra

crossing. Residents have been expressing

their frustrations about motorists who disregard the yield-to-pedestrian sign on the corner of Sunnybrae Road and speed right over the crossing.

Rondebosch resident Caroline Swanepoel said: “It is scary being a pe-destrian these days,” describing how difficult it was to cross over.

A RondeboschLife reporter waited almost five minutes before being able to cross.

Only three of about 25 cars that drove past stopped to allow the pedes-trian to cross over.

The City media office, responding on behalf of head of transport Brett Herron, said installing a traffic light has been put on a list of “similar safety projects”, which will be considered for implementation this year.

However, the implementation list has not yet been finalised and only if the

City deems the site a priority will the traffic light be installed by December.

Residents are urged to report and log problems or incidents at the pedes-trian crossing to the City’s call centre or on the City’s website.

Jeffery Arendse, principal of Groote Schuur Primary School two streets away from the pedestrian crossing, welcomed the idea of installing a traffic light.

He said apart from the difficulty of crossing the road, entering or exiting the school premises is problematic.

“The City recently initiated a pro-gramme which aims to implement sig-nalised pedestrian crossings outside all schools... [but] the project is budget dependent,” the City’s media office said.

Installing a traffic light at a pedes-trian crossing costs approximately R400 000, the City said.

Six out of the nine pedestrian cross-ings in Rondebosch already have traffic lights.

RCID expands its camera systemcontinued from page 1

control room if the number appears on a list of suspicious vehicles provided by the police – typically stolen cars or those that have been linked to robber-ies and other crime.

The current six LPR cameras, which cost about R260 000, were voluntarily funded by residents who paid R850 per household.

Ms Aldum said the last drive for funding for the cameras garnered a 69% participation. They are hoping to target new residents and those who did not contribute last time. “A lot of people wanted to see if they were successful or not. So we’re going to first target the new people in the area and the people who have not contributed. Then we’ll go for more LPRs because the LPRs are very expensive.”

The RCID camera system is argu-ably the most successful aspect of its security operation. The LPR cameras trigger up to nine alerts per day.

Footage from the cameras was also recently given to the Claremont po-lice to help investigate a recent armed robbery in Keurboom Park. Three vol-unteers at the Vista Nova school were robbed of their wallets and phones at gunpoint in the park.

According to the RCID’s report of the incident, a Rondebosch resident managed to identify the vehicle and its license plate number, and reported it to the RCID control room. The RCID has provided the relevant footage to Clare-mont SAPS detectives,” the report said.

A pedestrian waits to cross Campground Road at the Sunnybrae Road zebra crossing as motorists ignore the yield-to-pe-destrian sign.

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3www.rondeboschlife.co.za info@rondeboschlife.co.zaFebruary 2016

WITH the dominance of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the area, no other par-ty stands much of a chance of winning Wards 58 and 59, which include Ronde-bosch. But rather than accept the bor-ing predictability of the upcoming ward election in August, RondeboschLife de-cided to take a look at what the official ward opposition, the ANC, was planning for the poll.

They have their work cut out for them. In the 2014 provincial govern-ment elections, the ANC got 6.1% of Rondebosch votes compared to the DA’s 88.54% local support.

Disappointingly, local ANC cam-paigners answer with bland clichés when asked what they thought their chances were.

They were “confident”, they said, that the upcoming local elections will show a “significant change” in their fa-vour, even after Nkandlagate, various Guptagates and Nenegate.

But underneath the empty rhetoric there are some interesting differences between how the ANC and the DA se-lect their ward candidates.

The DA keeps the identity of the people who apply to become the party’s ward candidates under wraps.

The ANC in the area, however, has taken a more public approach. Two members from the ANC’s Gaby Shap-iro branch, which operates in Ward 58 and 59, were short-listed by the party as candidates, and were “introduced” to the community at a public meeting which took place as RondeboschLife went to print.

Keith Gottschalk, a member of the Gaby Shapiro branch’s screening com-mittee, said they will factor in the pub-lic’s response to the applicants when choosing the ANC candidate.

Given Sebei, chair of the Gaby Shap-

iro branch and one of the applicants to stand as ward councillor, said the de-cision to get the community involved in the selection process is in the interest of transparency.

Fair enough, but it is more likely to be simply the most practical way for the party to deter-mine which candidate will do the best job of making sure that the ANC does not lose even the little support it used to have in Rondebosch.

It is an almost im-possible task. The idea of the ANC as a rainbow party with the ability to unite races and classes has faded. It increas-ingly seems to rep-resent the rural poor, while the EFF and the DA are in the ascendant in the cities.

But Mr Sebei re-mains optimistic about the ANC’s relevance in Rondebosch. He said residents in such an affluent area are in the perfect position to drive the idea of transforma-tion in the country.

When asked about a campaign by Ron-debosch resident and former councillor Bill Sewell to challenge ward candidates to pledge not to take on any other roles or duties that will distract them from their responsibility as ward councillor, Mr

Sebei said that is a pledge the ANC is willing to adopt.

However, they “respect” current le-gal framework that requires councillors to serve in other council committees.

ANC has work cut out for it in local poll

Given Sebei (right), chair of the local ANC Gaby Shapiro branch, with administrator Cheryl Wareley.

4 www.rondeboschlife.co.za info@rondeboschlife.co.zaFebruary 2016

RUSTENBURG Girls’ High School will start interviewing candidates to become the new principal after the former head of the local school, Laura Bekker, re-signed last year.

And if all goes well, the new princi-pal could be expected to join the staff and learners by the third term in July.

Acting principal and head of academ-ics, Susan Schnetler, has been holding

the fort since Ms Bekker left a month ago to become the new head of Epsworth School in Pietermaritzburg.

During Ms Bekker’s ten-ure, Rustenburg Girls’ has produced the Western Cape’s top learners, and has also been ranked among the top five schools in the province for the past few years. This year, Rustenburg Girls’ matric learner Rebecca Haines took the top spot for Maths in the country.

Ms Schnetler said the candidates who applied for the position have already been short-listed. She could not say how many candidates were in the running.

The advertisement for a new principal was published last year by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), which is facilitating the recruitment as Rusten-

burg Girls’ is a state school.

Ms Schnetler said the adver-tisement was drafted based on focus groups with the learn-ers, teachers and admin staff at the school.

Ms Schnetler said that although she is comforta-ble in the role of principal due of her past experienc-es, she has not applied for the position.

“I enjoy the [deputy principal] role and I en-joy the fact that it’s more day-to-day running of the school and hands-on with the girls. I do a bit of teaching too and I enjoy that.”

Rustenburg Girls’ has about 840 learners, most

of whom live in the area. Some of the staff members who have taught at the school for years are also local resi-dents, said Ms Schnetler.

She said she does not expect Ms Bekker’s resignation to have a big im-pact on the school, because the learn-ers engage with and relate more to the teachers. “I think good schools run be-cause of their staff. It is a team effort. There is a certain ethos and value sys-tem at the school that will endure re-gardless.”

Ms Schnetler said that the school is very involved in the community, and of-ten have outreach projects at a local old age home, Huis Luckhoff, in Rosebank.

The girls are also very involved in sustaining the Liesbeek River, which runs through Rondebosch, and often assist with the clean-up projects facil-itated by the Friends of the Liesbeek.

The school recently celebrated its 122nd anniversary, and hosted some of its alumni at the school during the cel-ebrations.

“I think its important for the girls to have that connection to the past and re-alise that our old girls are also giving back. “They are paying it forward for the education they had here.”

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Search is on for new Rustenburg Girls’ principal

Susan Schnetler, deputy principal at Rustenburg Girls’ High, is acting principal after former head, Laura Bek-ker, resigned last year.

5www.rondeboschlife.co.za info@rondeboschlife.co.zaFebruary 2016

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Party time inR’bosch streetsRondebosch residents recently emerged from behind their high walls and shrub-covered electric fences to fill the streets with laughter, conversa-tion and food.

This was the aim of the third annual Rondebosch Community Improvement District (RCID) street braai where res-idents were invited to gather with their neighbours and have a party in their street.

The ideal was to have the 97 streets in the RCID area, which runs from Park Road in the north to Avenue De Mist in the south, and between Campground Road in the west and the M5 in the east, each host small gatherings in the street.

The street braai day has been very successful over the past three years, said Shirley Aldum, RCID manager. “It is good for people to get to know each other. Every year we’ve got new people coming into the area so it is a good way for them to meet their neighbours.”

Readers’ LettersWrite to info@rondeboschlife.co.za

Residents’ behind-the-scenes effortsJohn Williamson writes: The article “R’bosch fountain to be repaired” (Ron-deboschLife, January 2016) refers.

I think its good to note the actual train of events. My wife , Liz William-son ( past chairman , and now Executive member of the Rondebosch Commu-nity Police Forum) was telephoned by the Rondebosch police shortly after the collision with the fountain as they were concerned about the likely theft of the remains.

The accident happened at about 4am. Liz was telephoned at the police’s shift change at 7 am.

She went immediately to the police station, got the facts, saw the dam-age, returned home and telephoned Alderman Owen Kinahan to ask how she should deal with the matter before Cape Town’s stripper mafia got there, to prevent the fountain ending up as scrap, and to advise that she had some of the parts.

En route home she put a number of the bits, especially the top light fitting which was more or less intact and very heavy, in her car.

Alderman Kinahan advised her to ask Anthony Davies of Groote Schuur Improvement District (GSCID) to ur-gently send staff to collect and safe-ly store the bits and take them to the Heritage Committee, who had previ-ously repaired the fountain.

But unfortunately when the GSCID got there, a number of the parts had al-ready been stolen, including one whole

and undamaged leg. The GSCID also collected the light

fitting and other bits from her home.I mention this because I think its

important and because a lot of things are being done quietly involving a lot of effort by the “little” people behind the scenes without the grandstanding and self-congratulation one sees so often around us.

A typical scene from the annual street braai organised by the Rondebosch Community Improvement District’s (RCID’s).

6 www.rondeboschlife.co.za info@rondeboschlife.co.zaFebruary 2016

Advertorial: Pick n Pay Rondebosch

Pick n Pay staff help find customer’s wallet

Local Spec Savers thrives in changing Main RdDESPITE the constant churn of busi-nesses in Main Road, Spec Savers has managed to thrive in the bustling Ron-debosch CBD for almost ten years.

Rondebosch Spec Savers owner Leveen Chetty, who took over the prac-tice three years ago, said while many businesses in Main Road don’t survive the quiet periods when the large tran-sient local student population is away, they have managed to stick around be-cause of the support they receive from permanent Rondebosch residents.

Ms Chetty, also a Rondebosch res-ident, said even though most of their clients are students, Rondebosch res-idents strong support keep them going afloat during the quiet June and Decem-ber university holidays.

But being on the Main Road poses a bit of challenge as people will enter businesses only if they need that par-ticular service.

“If you were in a mall, you have a constant feed of people in all the time, every weekend they’re there. Whereas

here, people will come in when they need you.”

Ms Chetty, who is a qualified optom-etrist, took over the Rondebosch Spec Savers in 2013.

She says she al-ways wanted to be-come an optometrist ever since her prima-ry school days in Port Elizabeth.

Spec Savers is more than just a store but is actually a health-care practice, she says.

During her routine eye tests all as-pects of the client’s vision are looked at.

Spec Savers are also equipped to do more in-depth eye tests if a prob-lem is picked up, to determine whether the client should be referred to an eye specialists.

The most common problem Ms Chetty deals with is weakening vision caused by excessive computer use.

“A lot of students are on laptops quite a bit ... And then we find that there is a lot of strain [on their eyes], they get headaches, their vision changes.”

She advised people, especially those who work on computers most of the day, to have their eyes checked every year instead of the two-year norm.

“You shouldn’t wait for a symptom. You’re not supposed to get headaches. You’re not supposed to have blurry vi-sion.”

These regular checks are especially

important for children. Ms Chetty said parents often don’t have their children’s eyes tested because they are not com-plaining. However, children themselves are not aware that they have any vi-sion problems because they don’t know what the ideal is. “You want to make sure that they can see on the board in class, that they can read well. A lot of teachers will say they’re not doing well at school but (often) the reason they’re not doing well is because they actually can’t see,” she said.

Rondebosch Spec Savers, the only branch from Woodstock to Claremont, offers free eye tests for children aged six to 12 years, when children’s vision is changing quickly.

What makes Rondebosch unique for Ms Chetty is the different people she gets to meet. “I get to meet a new per-son every half an hour...Every person that sits in that chair, it is a whole new story on its own. I really like the area.”

Rondebosch Spec Savers, in Main Road, owner and optom-etrist Leveen Chetty (middle) with staff members Zaitoen Greary (left) and Lungi Krawe (right).

RONDEBOSCH Pick n Pay Family Su-permarket staff recently went beyond their usual duty of providing a quality shopping experience and helped a customers track down his lost wallet.

An out-of-towner, John Kearney, recently thanked Pick n Pay staff and security personnel at the Rondebosch Main centre after they managed to track down his wallet, which was taken after he misplaced it in the store.

“I would like to express publicly my appreciation for the help I received from managerial and security personnel,” he said.

Mr Kearney said while shopping at Pick n Pay, he left his wallet at the newspaper stand at the front of the store. “I completed my shopping, but discovered my wallet was not in the basket when I went to go

pay.”He said Rondebosch Pick n Pay

staff helped him search the store for the

missing wallet. Following the advice of store manager Keith Felix and assistant manager Jennifer Swannep-oel, Mr Kearney approached the centre’s head of security.

The camera footage from Pick n Pay revealed that Mr Kearney had indeed left his wallet at the newspaper stand and that a young wom-an had taken it.

He managed to have the wallet, still intact, returned to him after the woman was identified as a regular cus-tomer who worked nearby.

Rondebosch Pick n Pay Family Supermarket is open daily from 8am to 9pm. Phone 021 685 4001.

Pick n Pay managers Jennifer Swannepoel and Keith Fe-lix with John Kearney and security guard Kiduma Ngoyi