Santa says Hannah Ellis is our newest member! When I spoke to Dirkie about the timing of the baby, he said this would probably be his last working day; at 8pm on 4 May 2020, the journey to the hospital in PE began and Hannah was born shortly thereafter. We all welcome our newest addition to the Links! Dirk Jr, Anina and Hannah | Health and safety – now more than ever! Our relationship with Advocate Kevin Erasmus of Universality SA, our health and safety legal advisors, began about three years ago when we tightened up our health and safety protocols for tour companies to ensure we as an estate and our employees remained compliant and up to date with the Occupational Health & Safety Act. With the arrival of Covid-19, and the various regulations put in place by government, including workplace plans, Kevin kicked it up a gear. We also learn from fellow estates and receive assistance from the Association of Residential Communities too. Kevin participates in weekly zoom meetings with our industry and he and I put together this 8-minute video to explain what we are doing from an estate side. Kevin also provides some tips for you at home. | | | Essential Services (Kev’s Team) have not stopped since lockdown Kevern is sometimes referred to the man who doesn’t sleep. It’s not uncommon for him to be sipping a coffee at 5am after he has toured the perimeter fence and solved an electrical problem; or he has assisted the Municipality when there is a water line break, or he is in the “suburbs” with his team fixing a leak of the sewerage mainline. Our services team has not stopped; nor has anyone in management for that reason. The train stays on the tracks at all time to see that your services and others needs are met swiftly. We were maintaining an estate with 56% permanent residents prior to the lockdown. This jumped to more than 80% occupation when Covid-19 arrived. Electricity up, sewerage consumption up, Wi-Fi pressure, up! And sadly, water consumption increased to record levels at the start of lockdown. We remind you that we are still in a severe drought. Please use water sparingly. Our HOA will be communicating with property owners whose readings showed excessive water usage. | | Broken sewer line | Acid wash | | | Team to the rescue | Pulling borehole pumps | During the lockdown period, we were also able to perform essential maintenance on our boreholes, water treatment plant as well as other services. This week, we will start the necessary work to overhaul and brush the thatch roof over the Clubhouse, a project that started last year. Good preventative maintenance has in most cases dramatically extended the lives of our equipment! The Official PRESS RELEASE from John Collier Coming 5 June |