1 June, 2003	The proposed Eskom Cape Strengthening Project causes alarm to the residents of the Tulbagh valley and adjacent communities of Gouda, Ceres, Prince Alfreds Hamlet and Riebeek Kasteel and Malmesbury. It is proposed to traverse the valleys with an enormous 765kv Transmission Line the height of the length of half of a Rugby field (or a 14 storey building).  An Action committee has been formed and are interacting with Eskom to prevent this from happening to the valley.	More information
18 July, 2003	A letter from the Tulbagh Transmission Line Action Committee has been sent to Eskom wherein the objections by the Committee to the proposed Transmission Line through the valley were recorded.	More information
21 July, 2003	A letter addressed to Tulbagh Transmission Line Action Committee regarding the Proposed 765kv Transmission Line through the valley, was received from Eskom.	More information
16 October, 2003	Eskom's response in the form of a report from their Consultant has been received together with a list of 'stakeholders' that have been 'consulted'.	More Information
21 November, 2003	Public feed-back meeting about Eskom's plans to bring a 765kv Power Line through the middle of this valley was well attended. Meeting overwhelmingly rejected the proposed power line and endorsed the Action Committee's efforts to have it stopped using whatever means at their disposal. Municipality participation conspicuously lacking as indicated by the apparent absence of any Councillors or officials at the meeting. Questions were asked from the floor as to whether the Witzenberg Council should not be seen to be more supportive of it's community by taking appropriate action to stop the line from being proceeded with.	More information
9 December, 2003	Letter 2 from the Tulbagh Transmission Line Action Committee - in response to letter received from Eskom has been sent.	To Page
21 December, 2003	Copy of Municipality's letter to Eskom about the official Council standpoint is published for general information	To Page
29 January, 2004	Information meeting was held with Eskom on 29 January 2004 and it appears as though Eskom is determined to place a line over this valley. It appears also that Eskom is intent on placing the said line where they deem it appropriate (right through the center of the valley). The matter now rests with the public as to whether they can motivate Eskom or the Department of Environment and Tourism to take the line somewhere else? The Public is urged to rally behind the Action Committee to get this power line stopped - no matter which part of the valley it is intended to cross! The Public is also urged to realise that irrespective of where it crosses the valley, it will be seen and the visual impact will be mind boggling and the effects on tourism and some substantial much needed developments and Job Creation for the valley residents, could be severely effected? It will affect us all! Questions are now been asked as to whether the community has been adequately consulted in the process. It appears as though very few residents of the valley even knew of the proposed line and those that did know of it, understood the pylons to be of the same size as the existing lines (15m) as opposed to the 45 to 55m as proposed. Most of those that knew were apparently also of the understanding that the line were to go between the existing lines. There is also a perception or understanding from the facts at our disposal, that so called 'stakeholders' that were consulted were not fully representative of the broader community. As a matter of fact, some of the owners of farms approached by Eskom for options to cross their land certainly did not know of the proposed power line and there are many who are not members of an organised Agricultural Union. Then, in respect of the ordinary public and general property owners in the valley, not many, if any, knew about the power line at all! Furthermore, it appears as though the Eskom field worker was of the opinion that he didn't have to share any information with anyone outside of his list of possible candidates for an option to cross their property. There are reports that farmers were told that their neighbours had signed so they should sign and it turns out that this was not the case. Was this unfair coercion? So was this process flawed? - You be the Judge! If you feel aggrieved about not being adequately consulted about a matter of such grave impact on your environment, then you should immediately write to the Eskom Transmission Line Action Committee, the authorities and Eskom, stating your objections and why you are unhappy about the process. The addresses of the various role players as above are; Your heading should be 'Cape Strengthening Project' The Tulbagh Eskom Transmission Line Action Committee C/o John Veschini P O Box 10, Tulbagh, 6820 The Municipal Manager Witzenberg Municipality P O Box 44, Ceres, 6835 The Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism Private Bag X447 Pretoria 0001 The Chief Director Provincial Administration, Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Planning Private Bag X9086 Cape Town 8000 Eskom Transmission Land and Rights Aquisitions P O Box 1091, Johannesburg, 2000 Don't just think about it, do it!! 18 February, 2004 Letter received by the The Tulbagh Eskom Transmission Line Action Committee from the Witzenberg Municipality wherein the Municipality says that it will call on Eskom to undertake a totally new Environmental Impact Assessment Study as it believes that the community was not adequately informed!
6 March, 2005	Witzenberg Municipal Council lays it on the line to Eskom in respect of the proposed 765kv power line. Pity Council can't get in sync with the feelings of the community and oppose the line entirely! Gamma Omega 765 kV power line:     ESKOM     (16/3/01)     Item 7.16 van die Uitvoerende Burgemeesterskomitee vergadering gehou op 18 Januarie 2005, verwys.     After consultation with the Executive Mayoral Committee, the Executive Mayor, resolved: Not to approve the new route as suggested by ESKOM and to advise ESKOM that the following options will be considered: (i)     The same route as the existing one on condition that the poles must be designed in such way that it can accommodate any further power lines through this area and also furthermore to be of an acceptable aesthetic appearance to Council and the community and that the final approval of the relevant design and type of pole must be approved by Council after community consultation. (ii)     Underground cabling. `n Memorandum van die Bestuurder:  Beplanning en Projekte, gedateer 15 Februarie 2005, word ingebind as bylae 7.23. Die Uitvoerende Burgemeester het besluit dat die roete teen die noordelike grens van die Prince Alfred's Hamlet meentgronde goedgekeur word.
17 March, 2005	Municipality takes a strong stand against the Powerlines at last! Extract of a recent resolution of Council follows. Gamma Omega 765 kV power line: ESKOM The Mayoral Executive Committee resolved not to approve the suggested route through Witzenberg for the 765 kV power line. Furthermore that a joint effort to interact with ESKOM be supported and that a meeting with all stakeholders be scheduled as soon as possible. The Action Committee of Tulbagh and the Du Toit group will be included in the joint effort. Any other interested person or party must submit their details to the Municipal Manger as a matter of urgency.
17 March, 2005	Letter written by the Tulbagh Residents /Inwoners Forum to the Wizenberg Municipality and various Provincial and Government Departments about the encroachment of a building to approximately 4,8 m over the street boundary of the main street of Tulbagh is available for Public information. No action has been taken in respect of this letter by the municipality or the higher tiers of Government.  The Municipality does not even work within the requirements of the Provincial Ordinance and nobody appears to care! Does this mean that the rule of Law has broken down in this municipality? Are we to understand that we can all do what we like from now on?	More information
25 April 2005	A letter from the Tulbagh Transmission Line Action Committee together with Petition from residents of the Tulbagh Valley sent to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism objecting to the Proposed 765kv Power Line that Eskom is indending to place over the Tulbagh Valley.	More Information
28 April, 2005	We are not alone in the fight against the proliferation of monster Power Lines internationally. Click on the link to the right to see what the Electrical supply company is doing to the Kamionki community in Poland and get the feel for what it could look like if such a line were brought through this valley!!	To Web
14 July, 2005	Part of the route for the Eskom Power Line to the borders of the Tulbagh Valley is revealed! Some owners of property in the valley, are to be severely affected by the proposed Power Line! The rest of us too!	More Information
14 July, 2005	Tulbagh is not alone in its fight for survival because of an insensitive Electricity supply company. See what the community of Kamionki in Poland is up against! Help save Kamionki from catastrophe.	To Web
26 April, 2006	What the proposed 765kv power lines that are intended to traverse the Tulbagh valley mayl look like (artist's impression).	More Information

14 June, 2005	Eskom has been granted a Record of Decision by Government to go ahead with the horrible powerline that is intended to traverse the valley. The Public have now only 30 days in which to lodge their objections. More to follow on the course of action to prevent this Power Line from destroying the Tulbagh Valley.
13 July, 2006	ETLAC and others submit their appeal against the Eskom Power Line	More Information
13 July, 2006	Witzenberg Municipality does a backtrack on it's decision not to appeal against the Decision by DEAT to issue a Record of Decision for Eskom to proceed	More Information
22 August, 2006	The Ward Councillor for Tulbagh, Lizzie Jooste tries to manipulate the Ward Committee elections and fill the seats with her 'flock' once again!	More Information
13 October, 2006	'Final' maps of the proposed route through the Tulbagh and Ceres valley received and published.	More Information
27 October, 2006	Eskom Consultant's response to some of the Appellants against the Eskom 765kv Power Line has been received. Appellants have until 15 November, 2006 to add further comment. For this report click on the right.	More information
16 November, 2006	What appears to be raw sewerage, threatens the health of the Tulbagh residents and water users as far away as Cape Town and the West Coast towns yet again. See the grusome photos of the once proud Tulbagh Klip River Park now as opposed to how it was five years ago!	More Information
16 November, 2006	Webmaster advised that the Ward Committee elections have been declared by the Municipality at a meeting on 12 October, 2006 to be nul and void (unlawful). The notice was apparently posted in the Witzenberg Herald issue of 10 November, 2006 but the Ratepayers / Inwoners Forum has yet never had the courtesy of a response to it's representation which caused the furore. Be that as it may, a battle has been won. There is still hope for democracy and we thank and congratulate the municipality for a wise decision.
8 June, 2007	To date, the Ward Councillor has not duly constituted her Ward committee and the Municipality and the Minister of Local Government seems totally intransigent to the plight of the affected residents and ratepayers. Letters go unanswered. So, we are left without a means of communicating with Council.
8 June, 2007	Words to reflect upon	To Page
10 August, 2007	The Municipality does it again! Now they have approved a plan for the local Spar to encroach over the pavement (they have already built over the boundary?) without a public participation process, to assertain whether the public is happy to loose some more of the one and only pavement on Van Der Stel Street. So where are we going with this? Has the rule of law finally collapsed in Tulbagh?
10 October, 2007	Grootevallei Olives won a gold medal at the 2007 S.A. Olive Awards held at the Laborie Estate for their olive oil in the intensely fruity category. Well done!
11 October, 2007	The new Oude Meul Village Mall has new shops and offices now trading. Visit these businesses at 38 Van Der Stel Street for a new shopping experience
15 February, 2008	New artist in town! Renowned artist, Petro 'Shingalana' Coetzee has moved to Tulbagh	To page