a) Due to the ongoing dispute between the three role-players, Knysna LM, SANPARK and the Leisure Island Rate Payers Association about who is responsible for maintenance of such wall, no significant maintenance was done in the past five years. An Environmental Approval was issued by DEA&DP in 2019 to assigned to the Island Rate Payers Association to work on the sea wall.
b) The responsible party has not been formally identified and all maintenance remains on hold.
There is currently a formal IGR dispute between the Knysna Local Municipality and SANPARKS in relation to the above. Knysna Local Municipality disputes liability for maintenance of the seawall and so does SANPARKS.
A formal IGR has been declared by the Knysna Local Municipality to resolve the dispute as to whether Knysna or SANPARKS should be responsible for the maintenance of the seawall. The dispute is still ongoing, but there are current attempts to facilitate a resolution. The dispute is however still ongoing and is not yet resolved.
The Acting Municipal Manager of Knysna Local Municipality on 8 December 2020 (attached as ANNEXURE A), requested that the Western Cape Provincial Government (WCG) designate a facilitator to assist with resolving the dispute between the Knysna Local Municipality (KLM) and SANParks regarding the repair and maintenance of the Leisure Island seawall.
The following three-pronged approach has been proposed to address the issue:
There is no set date on the outcome and no timelines determined but will depend on the procedures of the IGR dispute.