With the deadline of Friday 30 June looming – the date when the contract with the managers of the Urban Baboon Programme (NCC Environmental Services) comes to an end – the City of Cape Town has announced their intention to extend the contract for 18 months.
Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, says the purpose of the extension is to allow for the transitioning from the current status quo (with the City as the sole authority allocating resources) to a sustainable management of the Chacma baboon population of the Cape Peninsula underpinned by three spheres of the government – the City, SANParks and CapeNature.
“By extending the current contract, including rangers to assist with keeping baboons out of the urban areas as far as possible, we give all involved more time to adapt and plan for the new dispensation as envisioned by the draft Baboon Strategic Management Plan (BSMP),” says Andrews.
The question of what would happen after 30 June was one of the main concerns raised at a stakeholder workshop held in March, considering that it could take months to implement what is outlined in the BSMP.
Another worry was the fact that a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the City, SANParks, and CapeNature had not been in place yet at the time of the workshop.
The MoA, together with the draft BSMP that is currently being finalised by the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (CPBMJTT), proposes a coordinated approach involving all three conservation and management authorities.
Last week, the City announced that the City Council had approved such an MoA on Wednesday 26 April. This does not mean that the MoA is in effect yet.
Andrews says, with Council’s approval, the City Manager now has the mandate to sign the MoA on the administration’s behalf.
“This is a very important step to ensure the City enters legally into an agreement with the other spheres of government. The MoA will come into effect once all of the parties – the City, SANParks, and CapeNature – have signed the document.”
In the statement, the City said the MoA focused on each sphere of government working together, and fulfilling their respective functions and mandates.
“Actions and interventions will be undertaken, either individually, or as a collective, as required, according to the roles and responsibilities as set out in the MoA. The MoA also facilitates joint decision making, through the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team, and will oversee the implementation of the Baboon Strategic Management Plan, once approved,” the statement read.
The City’s responsibilities will focus on local government functions such as waste management, fences, roads, wildlife friendly municipal infrastructure and by-law enforcement, in addition to engaging with and supporting local communities to develop and implement solutions applicable to their unique circumstances.
In terms of Section 116 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, the City is obliged to source public comment on its intention to extend the contract until 31 December next year. The window for comment, which opened on Friday 5 May, will close on Thursday 18 May.
After the commenting period, the applicable supply chain management processes will be followed, inclusive of reports to the City’s Mayoral Committee and the Bid Adjudication Committee.
“We will announce the outcome of these processes once it has been concluded, safe to say that we are working hard to meet the deadline of 30 June 2023 to ensure there is a bridging period,” says Andrews.
Carolynne Franklin, councillor for Ward 71, who has been working with various stakeholders and ward councillors on a parallel process to pick up the slack during the transitional time, says that this is a very positive outcome.
“We got the tender rollover from an absolute hard ‘no’ through to an 18-months rollover, so I am very happy and grateful for that.
She adds everybody did a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
“This now gives us the space and the time that we need to work on the more transversal, universal baboon strategic management plan and protocols to ensure that everybody’s concerns and best practices are taken into account,” says Franklin.
