• Submit your proposals, and a motivation (optional), by going online as from today, 3 July 2023

• The closing date for submissions is midnight on Sunday, 16 July 2023

• The proposals must be related to any of the indigenous aquatic animals, including mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish or insect species, that roam these vleis, or indigenous plants

• The proposed name can be in any of the Western Cape’s indigenous languages

The naming process:

• Once submissions have closed, the City’s Biodiversity Management Branch will shortlist five names for each weed harvester

• The Protected Areas Advisory Committee (PAAC) for the Zandvlei Nature Reserve and the PAAC for the Table Bay Nature Reserve will select the preferred name for each weed harvester from the shortlist  

• The PAACs are independent committees, representing stakeholders and the local communities, and are working closely with the City at the Zandvlei Nature Reserve and the Table Bay Nature Reserve 

• The names for the two weed harvesters will be announced in the first week of August 2023

‘Naming is an important symbolic act. Through naming we take ownership and responsibility. By naming something we say we care. These machines belong to each and every resident of Cape Town. The City is only the custodian responsible for looking after these machines and using them to the benefit of residents and our natural environment. This is why we are calling on Capetonians to submit naming proposals for the two weed harvesters. We are excited to receive these submissions, and want to encourage creativity and inclusivity, especially when it comes to our local indigenous languages,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

Weed harvesters are specialised vessels, designed to harvest weeds. Last week, the City’s Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, and Alderman Andrews and Alderman Theresa Uys, Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, visited the factory in Paarden Island where the teams confirmed all is on track with the assembling of the vessels.

‘Once delivered, these machines will help us keep Zandvlei and Rietvlei free of weeds and other invasive plant species so that we can improve the water quality. At Zandvlei in particular, we have focused on the harvesting of the macrophyte Stuckenia pectinata or Sago Pondweed, but lately we have seen a shift in the community to Ruppia spiralis or Spiral Tasselweed. The weed harvester also collects floating filamentous algal mats which can accumulate on the water surface in summer months. Improving water quality will benefit all of those who use these vleis for recreational purposes, and is in the interest of our natural environment and unique biodiversity,’ said Alderman Andrews.

A third weed harvester will be delivered to Zandvlei in the 2024/25 financial year and this machine will be named at a later stage.

End