Reverend Andrew Manning, 48, has extended his already immense community participation with being elected as chairperson of the Amanzimtoti Conservancy.
Andrew is already chairperson of Kingsburgh Child and Welfare and Group Scout leader of 1st Umbogintwini Scouts and Cubs. He heads the Anglican parishes of St Mary’s Church in Warner Beach and the Church of the Good Shephard in Athlone Park.
Andrew was born in Durban and did his schooling at Empangeni Primary School, Pelham Senior Primary in Pietermaritzburg, then at Maritzburg College and matriculated from Weston Agricultural College. He went on to become a dairy farmer in Underberg after school and is proud to admit that thereafter he has worked in every sector of the economy – agriculture, mining, manufacturing and retail – all before 2008.
From farming he became a farrier (shoeing horses), as he has always had a love for horses. He moved to Piet Retief where he met his wife Michelle and when he hurt his back in a shoeing accident, he took up a post in retail, working for his future father-in-law. He married Michelle in 1996 and they have three children – Jamie, 19, Matthew, 16, and Noah, 11.
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While in Piet Retief Andrew began with lay ministry in the Anglican Church and while studying for ministry, he joined an environment consulting firm specialising in public participation where he was involved in urban development, environmental impact assessments and mining authorisation applications, as well as water use licences and forestry. He went into full-time ministry 11 years ago at the Parish of Evander, with Secunda being his first parish as a rector, and now since 2013 as team rector of St Mary’s Kingsburgh and Church of the Good Shepherd Amanzimtoti.
He has been a member of Toti Conservancy since his arrival in Toti and served as vice-chairperson for the last six years. “In the last six years the role of the conservancy has evolved in the area. We have two WESSA groups that are busy with their own projects, as well as Clean Surf Project that is doing wonderful work with the clean-up of our beaches.” Every little bit of involvement from the various groups helps, or else it would make the management of the Toti area impossible.
In the last four years Andrew and his team have been hard at work with the formation of a Catchment Management Forum (CMF), which will be the conservancy’s main focus under his chair, along with projects on the Amanzimtoti River.
The forum is part of the Catchment Management Agency, which is an initiative of the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation to involve all water uses with the management of water resources.
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The Toti CMF was established in 2015 when the Amanzimtoti River was classified as an insignificant body of water, and it was thanks to the work of past chairperson, Angus Pyke that this was eventually remedied and now the Toti River is very much on the radar of all concerned.
“We are now working towards establishing a proto CMA in KZN, to roll out the objectives of the Catchment Management Strategy, as per the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998). The aim is to get water users to become more active in water use management and conservation.
The biggest water-related problem at present in SA is pollution. The long-term objective is to get the Amanzimtoti River classified for recreational use, which means a specific water quality standard has to be met.
Amanzimtoti has quite a unique river in that it is only 12km long and so is truly a local river, however this falls under three different management bodies: Beaches, estuaries and rivers. The CMF will assist to ensure collaboration of management and control and a holistic approach to management of the river.
South Africa is a water scarce country and the cost of treating water, due to pollution, is escalating. Improved management and utilisation of our water resources is essential.
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“As we have recently been reminded, flooding is a serious issue, and all parties need to do more to address this issue. Residents blame the municipality but we all need to do more to manage storm water runoff. Down pipes connected to sewerage lines are a huge problem throughout eThekwini, and something that we should all look to remedying.
“In order for effective and sustainable management of our natural resources we all need to play our part. We need protesters, to keep highlighting issues, we also need the academics to come up with solutions, but I choose to operate in the space of encouraging each individual to play their own part.
“The CMF is a forum to get all the role players around the same table and work towards solutions to our water resource management issues. These things do take time, and unfortunately, we are not going to immediately change the world, but protecting our environment is a challenge that we all need to work towards, and we need to change people’s thinking. Too often the challenge seems too big, but if people can believe that their contribution, no matter how small they think it is, makes a huge difference, then we can sustain a collective effort to address environmental issues.
“There are many things residents can do to facilitate a remedy for the mess we are in. Make sure storm water runs off your property in the correct manner, keep litter off our roads, prevent blockages in storm water and sewerage drains, participate in beach clean-ups, report faults and issues, encourage others to take better care of the world we live in, by your example and by your awareness, all of this can make a huge difference.”
Toti Conservancy will also turn its attention on localised recycling projects and clean-ups of the Amanzimtoti River including the clearing of alien invasive plants. The CMF will continue with the work at the Amanzimtoti Bird Sanctuary.
“Most importantly, we need to enlighten the community on how to report faults to the municipality.” The best way is to email a detailed report of the incident to eservices@durban.gov.za or WhatsApp the fault to 073-148-3477, preferably with a photo and the exact whereabouts. Use either the numbers on the lamp posts or road markings. Take a photo of this and attached it too.
“I care about the planet that we live on, and I care about Amanzimtoti, which I call home, and if I can encourage other people to do the same, then I’ll be content. We do have some major issues with water related issues in Amanzimtoti, from the delayed bulk sewer reticulation project to storm water issues and ongoing maintenance of the pump stations and there is not an easy fix.
“But as the Amanzimtoti Conservancy we will continue to build the bridge between the residents and the eThekwini Municipality, with whom we have built a good working relationship. We believe that we are working towards positive solutions. Each of us must use the opportunities we have to make a positive impact on the world we live in, and I am privileged to be able to make my contribution through the Toti Conservancy,” he said.
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