NMBTGA Stop Press

Minutes of extraordinary meeting of the NMBTGA held at the Beach Hotel on the 9^th July 2014

1. Notices were sent out to all known members in accordance with the constitution.

2. Present: Peter Joseph, Arlene Daly, Shirley Naude, Patricia Neervoolt, Jean Moore, Tracy Andrew, Lynn Haller, Jonker Fourie, Deon Spies Willy de Jong.

3. Apologies: Anita Meijberg, Jean Thomas, Derek Thomas, Danny Frey, Robert Lourens, Peter Haller, Yournis, Joke Roberts, Mike Callaghan, Mark Heck, Speradow Ayerst, Terry Wilson.

4. Willy took the chair as an ordinary member and Lynn Haller took the notes. Willy welcomed all present and gave an outline of the history of the NMBTGA. He followed up that due to the problems encountered to keep the NMBTGA going it should be dissolve and the monies to be put into a trust account. Tracy Andrews suggested we should carry on in an informal basis. Jonker Fourie offered to do the administration work in his office and to keep our contact list up to date and to distribute any notices or news items of interest. He also suggested the monies be donated to SAMREC to assist them in their solar panel project. All present felt this to be a good idea. There were also 11 proxy votes in favour of dissolving the association. A further suggestion was then made from the floor that we meet on a monthly basis in an informal manner and that we be known as the Nelson Mandela Bay Tour Guides.

5. Final Decision.

5.1 The formal NMBTGA be dissolve and to carry on in an informal basis as the Nelson Mandela Bay Tour Guides.

5.2 The monies to be donated to SAMREC on Nelson Mandela Day on the 19^th July at 9:00 at SAMREC premises. Shirley Naude to do the hand over.

5.3 Tour guides to meet on an informal basis on the 1^st Thursday of each month for breakfast or a coffee at the Donkin Reserve Restaurant at 10 a.m.

5.4   Jonker Fourie to kindly keep a contact list up to date and to circulate any news items of interest to the guides.                   The meeting closed at 20h00.

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In short, after discussions between the members present at the meeting, a decision was made to dissolve the formal association. Very little has happened for over a year along with committee members stepping down due to personal reasons and nobody willing to replace them, the AGM not taking place because of no quorum, only a hand full of members arriving at an earlier meeting to decide the future of the association and non-participation in educationals. It was decided to replace the formal association with an informal group administered by myself from the ECTOUR office. This involves keeping a database of tourist guides and operators in and around the city and sending out information to the guides. These would include relevant newsletters, things happening, generic information and info on educational opportunities. I will also forward the database to operators, trade or consumers looking for a list of tourist guides / operators in the city.

I would like to ask all of you for your assistance in this though.

·         Firstly I have attached the database I have. Please have a look and see if I have missed anybody or if you would like me to change your email address.

·         Secondly, If you don’t want to continue receiving emails from me or be on the list, please let me know and I will remove you.

·         Information – If there is anything you would like to share with the other guides, please send it on to me and I will forward it to everybody

·         Educationals – If you are willing to organise an educational or visit somewhere, have any suggestions or educational opportunities, please let me know and I will forward the information

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and for your involvement in the association in the past. I hope that the informal group will bring the guides in and around NMB closer together and grow from strength to strength.

Regards

Jonker

Jonker Fourie

CEO – ECTOUR

(Emfuleni Corridor Tourism)

Office       +27 (0)41 507 7912

Mobile     +27 (0)82 889 2459

E-mail        ectour-ceo@suninternational.com

Website   www.ectour.org.za

Announcement of a formal boycott of Shell South Africa!
Media release - Embargo: Sunday 15 May 2011
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chase SHELL OIL out of the Karoo!

Although not Stop Press News this is still relevant

Anti-fracking Activists call for a National Boycott of Shell!

Plans by oil companies to explore for fossil gas in large parts of the Karoo have begun a firestorm of protest.

Tens of thousands of square kilometres of the ecologically fragile, water-scarce Karoo are under threat from being devastated by a dirty, water- and energy intensive gas exploration technique called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Several oil and gas companies, most prominently Royal Dutch Shell, are in the process of exploring this unique and beautiful region of South Africa for underground layers of so-called gas shale. If they are successful, we can soon expect to see thousands of gas drilling rigs dotting the pristine Karoo landscape with potentially devastating social, economic and environmental impacts on our people and their livelihoods.

As the 37th driest country in the world, with the Karoo being the driest part of the country, this threat is magnified locally, especially given that as much as 20 million litres per well at a time are used, after being mixed with a toxic cocktail of chemicals.

Earthlife Africa is calling for a nationwide boycott of all Shell service stations and all Shell products, from Tuesday 17th May – which coincides with Royal Dutch Shell’s AGM in the Netherlands, and is also, co-incidentally, the United Nation’s World Information Society Day - to show their displeasure at plans to “frack” large parts of our country.

“We ask people to go to their nearest Shell garage, NOT fill up, but ask to speak to the manager and say that they have nothing against the manager personally, but the company is carrying out plans that have potentially horrendous impacts on people and especially scarce water in our country,” said Andreas Spath, Earthlife’s Anti-fracking co-ordinator.

Shell, the South African government and the natural gas industry portray shale gas as a climate-friendly, low-carbon energy source. In reality, however, preliminary studies have shown that if the entire carbon footprint, including methane (a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2) escaping from fracking wells in substantial quantities, is taken into account, natural gas from this source contributes to climate change in a magnitude similar to oil and coal.

“Shell’s record in Africa should be cause for alarm”, said the Reverend Barry Wuganaale, of the Ogoni Solidarity Forum. “Not only for widespread and continuing environmental harm, but they have also acknowledged being complicit in the murder of activists opposing them in Nigeria. They cannot be trusted.”

“The relevance of World Information Society Day is clear, given the disinformation and misinformation spread by Shell through their adverts, and flyers that avoid mentioning impacts being handed out at their garages,” said Earthlife Branch Co-ordinator, Muna Lakhani. “The most recent and shocking scientific international reports, confirm that high levels of methane are found in drinking water at locations close to fracking operations, and in some cases, enough to set tap water alight!”

The organisation is calling upon Government to extend the recently announced moratorium on fracking to a permanent ban, and for Shell to end all fracking and related activities immediately.

Issued by Earthlife Africa Cape Town
Contact: Muna Lakhani – muna@iafrica.com – 083-471-7276