Petisie - Petition - Oorstromingskrisis - Flooding - Touwsrivier
The Issue
Afrikaans & English (Below)
Dringende Optrede Vm die Oorstromingskrisis in Touwsrivier aan te spreek
Urgent Acereis otion Required to Address the Flooding Crisis in Touwsrivier
Petisie: Dringende Oproep vir Regstelling van die Touwsrivier Rivierstelsel
Nasionale Regering va
Aan: Suid-Afrika
Wes-Kaapse Regering
Alle Betrokke en Verantwoordelike Departemente
Ons, die ondergetekende inwoners, boere, en lede van die landbougemeenskap van Touwsrivier, Wyk 1 van die Breedevallei Munisipaliteit, dien hiermee hierdie petisie in om ons diep bekommernis en toenemende frustrasie oor die voortslepende en eskalerende oorstromingskrisis wat ons gemeenskap en plase vir jare teister, uit te druk. Ten spyte van talle versoeke en risiko-evaluerings wat die erns van die situasie beklemtoon, word ons stemme stelselmatig geïgnoreer, en die nodige regstellingsmaatreëls is nie geïmplementeer nie.
Die Touwsrivier-rivierstelsel is toegelaat om te versleg tot 'n toestand van chroniese verval, wat ons gemeenskap en landbougrond kwesbaar maak vir toenemend gereelde en verwoestende oorstromings. Hierdie verwaarlosing bedreig ons veiligheid, huise, lewensbestaan, en die kern van ons gemeenskap. Die oorstromings het enorme skade aan ons eiendomme veroorsaak, gesinne ontwortel, die daaglikse lewe ontwrig en die toekoms van ons boerderybedrywighede, wat noodsaaklik is vir die plaaslike ekonomie, ondermyn.
Vir die inwoners van Touwsrivier verteenwoordig die oorstromings 'n onophoudelike aanval op ons huise en lewenswyse. Gesinne moes herhaaldelik verliese verduur en die trauma ervaar om te sien hoe hul huise en besittings weggespoel word. Die infrastruktuur wat ons daaglikse lewe ondersteun, is ondermyn, wat ons met verswakte paaie, verswakte geboue en 'n gevoel van onsekerheid laat wat elke aspek van ons bestaan deurdrenk. Die veiligheid en welsyn van ons kinders, bejaardes en die mees weerlose lede van ons gemeenskap is voortdurend in gevaar.
Vir die boere en die landbougemeenskap is die impak ewe verwoestend. Die oorstromings het oeste verwoes, waardevolle bogrond erodeer en noodsaaklike landbou-infrastruktuur vernietig, wat dit toenemend moeilik maak om landbouaktiwiteite vol te hou. Hierdie verliese raak nie net die lewensbestaan van diegene wat direk by landbou betrokke is nie, maar bedreig ook die breër gemeenskap wat afhanklik is van 'n florerende landbousektor vir indiensneming, voedselsekerheid en ekonomiese stabiliteit.
Ons eis onmiddellike en beslissende optrede om die rivierstelsel permanent te herstel om 'n 1/100-vloed te kan weerstaan. Dit gaan nie net oor infrastruktuur nie, maar oor ons kollektiewe reg op veiligheid, waardigheid en 'n stabiele omgewing. Die voortgesette verwaarlosing van hierdie kwessie weerspieël 'n versuim om die fundamentele regte van die mense van Touwsrivier—sowel inwoners as boere—na te kom.
Indien ons eise nie met die dringendheid wat dit vereis, nagekom word nie, sal ons met 'n verenigde weerstand reageer. Die mense van Touwsrivier, saam met die boerderygemeenskap, sal verenig staan om te verseker dat ons regte gerespekteer word en dat die regering sy plig nakom om sy burgers en die landbou-integriteit van die streek te beskerm. Ons sal nie toelaat dat ons stemme gesmoor of ons behoeftes langer van die hand gewys word nie.
Ons, die ondergetekendes, eis dat die Nasionale Regering, die Wes-Kaapse Regering, en alle verantwoordelike departemente die regstelling van die Touwsrivier-rivierstelsel as 'n saak van dringendheid prioritiseer. Die tyd vir optrede is nou, en ons sal nie rus totdat ons eise nagekom word nie. Hierdie petisie verteenwoordig 'n verenigde oproep van alle sektore van ons gemeenskap—inwoners, boere, en sakelui—wie se toekoms verweef is en ewe bedreig word deur die voortslepende verwaarlosing van ons rivierstelsel.
English
Petition: Urgent Call for Rectification of the Touwsrivier River System
To:
National Government of South Africa
Western Cape Government
All Relevant and Responsible Departments
Subject: Urgent Action Required to Address the Flooding Crisis in Touwsrivier
We, the undersigned residents, farmers, and members of the agricultural community of Touwsrivier, Ward 1 of the Breede Valley Municipality, hereby submit this petition to express our deep concern and escalating frustration over the ongoing and worsening flooding crisis that has afflicted our community and farmlands for years. Despite repeated appeals and risk assessments underscoring the severity of this issue, our voices have been consistently ignored, and the essential rectification measures have not been carried out.
The Touwsrivier river system has been allowed to deteriorate to a state of chronic disrepair, leaving our community and agricultural lands vulnerable to increasingly frequent and destructive floods. This neglect threatens our safety, homes, livelihoods, and the very fabric of our society. The floods have caused extensive damage to our properties, uprooted families, disrupted daily life, and undermined the future of our farming operations, which are crucial to the local economy.
For the residents of Touwsrivier, the floods represent a relentless assault on our homes and way of life. Families have had to endure repeated losses and the trauma of watching their homes and belongings being washed away. The infrastructure that supports our daily lives has been eroded, leaving us with compromised roads, weakened buildings, and a sense of insecurity that permeates every aspect of our existence. The safety and well-being of our children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable members of our community are at constant risk.
For the farmers and the agricultural community, the impact is equally devastating. The floods have ravaged crops, eroded valuable topsoil, and destroyed vital agricultural infrastructure, making it increasingly difficult to sustain farming activities. These losses not only affect the livelihoods of those directly involved in agriculture but also threaten the broader community, which depends on a thriving agricultural sector for employment, food security, and economic stability.
We demand immediate and decisive action to permanently rectify the river system to withstand a 1/100 flood. This is not just a matter of infrastructure but a matter of our collective right to security, dignity, and a stable environment. The ongoing neglect of this issue reflects a failure to uphold the fundamental rights of the people of Touwsrivier—both residents and farmers alike.
If our demands are not met with the urgency they require, we will respond with unified resistance. The people of Touwsrivier, together with the farming community, will stand united to ensure that our rights are respected and that the government fulfils its duty to protect its citizens and the agricultural integrity of the region. We will not allow our voices to be silenced or our needs to be dismissed any longer.
We, the undersigned, demand that the National Government, the Western Cape Government, and all responsible departments prioritize the rectification of the Touwsrivier river system as a matter of urgency. The time for action is now, and we will not rest until our demands are met. This petition represents a unified call from all sectors of our community—residents, farmers, and business owners—whose futures are interlinked and equally threatened by the ongoing neglect of our river system.
528
The Issue
Afrikaans & English (Below)
Dringende Optrede Vm die Oorstromingskrisis in Touwsrivier aan te spreek
Urgent Acereis otion Required to Address the Flooding Crisis in Touwsrivier
Petisie: Dringende Oproep vir Regstelling van die Touwsrivier Rivierstelsel
Nasionale Regering va
Aan: Suid-Afrika
Wes-Kaapse Regering
Alle Betrokke en Verantwoordelike Departemente
Ons, die ondergetekende inwoners, boere, en lede van die landbougemeenskap van Touwsrivier, Wyk 1 van die Breedevallei Munisipaliteit, dien hiermee hierdie petisie in om ons diep bekommernis en toenemende frustrasie oor die voortslepende en eskalerende oorstromingskrisis wat ons gemeenskap en plase vir jare teister, uit te druk. Ten spyte van talle versoeke en risiko-evaluerings wat die erns van die situasie beklemtoon, word ons stemme stelselmatig geïgnoreer, en die nodige regstellingsmaatreëls is nie geïmplementeer nie.
Die Touwsrivier-rivierstelsel is toegelaat om te versleg tot 'n toestand van chroniese verval, wat ons gemeenskap en landbougrond kwesbaar maak vir toenemend gereelde en verwoestende oorstromings. Hierdie verwaarlosing bedreig ons veiligheid, huise, lewensbestaan, en die kern van ons gemeenskap. Die oorstromings het enorme skade aan ons eiendomme veroorsaak, gesinne ontwortel, die daaglikse lewe ontwrig en die toekoms van ons boerderybedrywighede, wat noodsaaklik is vir die plaaslike ekonomie, ondermyn.
Vir die inwoners van Touwsrivier verteenwoordig die oorstromings 'n onophoudelike aanval op ons huise en lewenswyse. Gesinne moes herhaaldelik verliese verduur en die trauma ervaar om te sien hoe hul huise en besittings weggespoel word. Die infrastruktuur wat ons daaglikse lewe ondersteun, is ondermyn, wat ons met verswakte paaie, verswakte geboue en 'n gevoel van onsekerheid laat wat elke aspek van ons bestaan deurdrenk. Die veiligheid en welsyn van ons kinders, bejaardes en die mees weerlose lede van ons gemeenskap is voortdurend in gevaar.
Vir die boere en die landbougemeenskap is die impak ewe verwoestend. Die oorstromings het oeste verwoes, waardevolle bogrond erodeer en noodsaaklike landbou-infrastruktuur vernietig, wat dit toenemend moeilik maak om landbouaktiwiteite vol te hou. Hierdie verliese raak nie net die lewensbestaan van diegene wat direk by landbou betrokke is nie, maar bedreig ook die breër gemeenskap wat afhanklik is van 'n florerende landbousektor vir indiensneming, voedselsekerheid en ekonomiese stabiliteit.
Ons eis onmiddellike en beslissende optrede om die rivierstelsel permanent te herstel om 'n 1/100-vloed te kan weerstaan. Dit gaan nie net oor infrastruktuur nie, maar oor ons kollektiewe reg op veiligheid, waardigheid en 'n stabiele omgewing. Die voortgesette verwaarlosing van hierdie kwessie weerspieël 'n versuim om die fundamentele regte van die mense van Touwsrivier—sowel inwoners as boere—na te kom.
Indien ons eise nie met die dringendheid wat dit vereis, nagekom word nie, sal ons met 'n verenigde weerstand reageer. Die mense van Touwsrivier, saam met die boerderygemeenskap, sal verenig staan om te verseker dat ons regte gerespekteer word en dat die regering sy plig nakom om sy burgers en die landbou-integriteit van die streek te beskerm. Ons sal nie toelaat dat ons stemme gesmoor of ons behoeftes langer van die hand gewys word nie.
Ons, die ondergetekendes, eis dat die Nasionale Regering, die Wes-Kaapse Regering, en alle verantwoordelike departemente die regstelling van die Touwsrivier-rivierstelsel as 'n saak van dringendheid prioritiseer. Die tyd vir optrede is nou, en ons sal nie rus totdat ons eise nagekom word nie. Hierdie petisie verteenwoordig 'n verenigde oproep van alle sektore van ons gemeenskap—inwoners, boere, en sakelui—wie se toekoms verweef is en ewe bedreig word deur die voortslepende verwaarlosing van ons rivierstelsel.
English
Petition: Urgent Call for Rectification of the Touwsrivier River System
To:
National Government of South Africa
Western Cape Government
All Relevant and Responsible Departments
Subject: Urgent Action Required to Address the Flooding Crisis in Touwsrivier
We, the undersigned residents, farmers, and members of the agricultural community of Touwsrivier, Ward 1 of the Breede Valley Municipality, hereby submit this petition to express our deep concern and escalating frustration over the ongoing and worsening flooding crisis that has afflicted our community and farmlands for years. Despite repeated appeals and risk assessments underscoring the severity of this issue, our voices have been consistently ignored, and the essential rectification measures have not been carried out.
The Touwsrivier river system has been allowed to deteriorate to a state of chronic disrepair, leaving our community and agricultural lands vulnerable to increasingly frequent and destructive floods. This neglect threatens our safety, homes, livelihoods, and the very fabric of our society. The floods have caused extensive damage to our properties, uprooted families, disrupted daily life, and undermined the future of our farming operations, which are crucial to the local economy.
For the residents of Touwsrivier, the floods represent a relentless assault on our homes and way of life. Families have had to endure repeated losses and the trauma of watching their homes and belongings being washed away. The infrastructure that supports our daily lives has been eroded, leaving us with compromised roads, weakened buildings, and a sense of insecurity that permeates every aspect of our existence. The safety and well-being of our children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable members of our community are at constant risk.
For the farmers and the agricultural community, the impact is equally devastating. The floods have ravaged crops, eroded valuable topsoil, and destroyed vital agricultural infrastructure, making it increasingly difficult to sustain farming activities. These losses not only affect the livelihoods of those directly involved in agriculture but also threaten the broader community, which depends on a thriving agricultural sector for employment, food security, and economic stability.
We demand immediate and decisive action to permanently rectify the river system to withstand a 1/100 flood. This is not just a matter of infrastructure but a matter of our collective right to security, dignity, and a stable environment. The ongoing neglect of this issue reflects a failure to uphold the fundamental rights of the people of Touwsrivier—both residents and farmers alike.
If our demands are not met with the urgency they require, we will respond with unified resistance. The people of Touwsrivier, together with the farming community, will stand united to ensure that our rights are respected and that the government fulfils its duty to protect its citizens and the agricultural integrity of the region. We will not allow our voices to be silenced or our needs to be dismissed any longer.
We, the undersigned, demand that the National Government, the Western Cape Government, and all responsible departments prioritize the rectification of the Touwsrivier river system as a matter of urgency. The time for action is now, and we will not rest until our demands are met. This petition represents a unified call from all sectors of our community—residents, farmers, and business owners—whose futures are interlinked and equally threatened by the ongoing neglect of our river system.
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Petition created on 23 August 2024