Bringing together subsistence farming, environmental conservation and recreational activities that locals and visitors love, a new proposal for the Bathurst Commonage could provide a model for how municipal commonages across South Africa are used and managed.
With the Bathurst Commonage Management Committee set to sign a partnership agreement with Ndlambe Municipality, chairperson Monty Roodt recently took Probus members through various scenarios for the 2900ha resource.
Roodt’s talk in the Royal Port Alfred Golf Club’s conference room last week was titled The Bathurst Commonage: the management of a community resource and he began by explaining what commonage means.
Municipal commonage is understood to be land owned by a municipality or local authority acquired through state grants or from the church.
“A lot of the Bathurst commonage is old church land given to residents in 1825 by the Royal Commission during the reign of King William IV,” Roodt said.
Municipal commonage is different from other municipally owned land in that, first, residents have frequently acquired grazing rights on the land and, second, the land was granted in order to benefit needy local inhabitants.
Municipal commonage is also different from communally owned land held in trust by the state and usually occupied and administered by tribal authorities.
“Municipal commonage provides opportunities for land reform, primarily because it is public land which does not need to be acquired, there is an existing institution which can manage the land, needy residents live next-door and have certain rights to this land,” Roodt said in his presentation.
“A reallocation of commonage to poor residents who wish to supplement their incomes, could help address local economic development and provide an inexpensive land reform option.”
Roodt then outlined the policy and legislation that govern how municipal commonages are used and managed.
This was set out in a 1997 document by the then department of land Affairs which guided the establishment of the Bathurst Commonage Management Committee. Its executive has a chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary, treasurer as well as co-opted members with special skills. Representation was through bona fide Commonage Users Structures (CUS) and two representatives from each structure were allowed.
The committee reflects broad interests and Roodt’s presentation lists cattle owners, goat owners, pig owners, a vegetable project, the Bathurst Residents and Ratepayers Association, Friends of Bathurst Nature, the equestrian community, the ward councillor, the Ndlambe Municipality’s acting director of local economic development and the Ndlambe Municipality speaker.
Pristine
The commonage of 2,900ha is one of the largest in the country. Two- thirds consists of pristine sub-tropical or Albany mesic thicket, Albany valley thicket and Grahamstown grassland thicket. These are different types of thicket biome, each supporting complex ecosystems.
“Because of human impact the eastern section closest to the R67 containing two quarries and the municipal landfill is less than pristine.”
Roodt said an unrehabilitated quarry and the rubbish dump were not part of the commonage but were in fact on municipal land that fell under Ndlambe Municipality’s jurisdiction.
He said some media reports had painted a hopeless picture of destruction.
But the reality was more complex.
“Along the Lushington Valley thicket two-thirds of the commonage is unspoilt beauty which in places had been cleared for grazing. Animals that shelter in the thicket include rabbits, bushbuck and duiker. Flowers and trees on the commonage are plentiful,” he said, with landscapes and colourful close-up photos in his PowerPoint presentation hinting at the impressive diversity.
Other features of the Bathurst Commonage that Roodt highlighted were:
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The pool at the foot of majestic cliffs at Penny’s Hoek. A sacred place for Xhosa-speaking people, it is home to a variety of wildlife such as otters and leguaans.
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A vegetable-growing project established on the commonage, now dormant: “One of our aims is to revitalise the project.”
Challenges that the committee had tackled were:
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The landfill: the committee was concerned that litter would catch fire and that the cattle who wander there and eat the plastic would die. They had met with the municipality’s community protection services director, after which a company had been appointed to investigate how better to manage the site.
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An application to mine the old quarry and another to start a new sand mining project had met with strong opposition from the community. “Nolukhanyo and Bathurst residents came together as one, with over 60 objections sent to the consultants doing the EIA. Our objection has also gone to the department of mineral and petroleum products and we are awaiting an outcome,” said Roodt. Among the concerns of the opposers was that there would be run-off in to the Lushington River, Bathurst’s main water supply.
Under the heading, ‘Where are we?’ Roodt summed up as follows:
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The committee has drawn up a policy and strategic management plan submitted to the municipal manager and ward councillor, and various organisations have already looked at it.
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After a meeting with municipal manager Rolly Dumezweni and municipal staff, the Bathurst Commonage Management Committee (BCMC) is about to sign a lease agreement to manage the commonage.
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Proposals for projects that further the aims and objectives of the Commonage Policy and Strategic Management Plan for the Bathurst Commonage must be submitted to the BCMC for consideration. If deemed to be of benefit to the residents of Bathurst, especially disadvantaged groups as set out above, these would be escalated to the Ndlambe Municipality through the Ward Councillor and Agriculture/LED reps who are members of the BCMC. Prospective applicants should show evidence of the feasibility and environmental, social, and economic implications/benefits of the proposed project. Priority would be accorded to projects from CUSs who are part of the BCMC.
“We have already met with SanParks officials who are working on an economic biosphere project that they are implementing from Addo to Fort Beaufort. Friends of Bathurst Nature have been a leading light with SanParks and we are working with them to implement tourism and economic initiatives in the future,” Roodt said.
Proposed strategic plan and policies
In terms of the community/ municipality partnership, a proposed commonage policy and strategic management plan has to be ratified by Ndlambe Municipality. Here are the key points of that proposal:
The municipality commits itself to, inter alia and within its statutory and legal framework, facilitate the use of the commonage for:
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Livelihood activities such as collecting wild foods, herbs, fire and construction wood within environmentally sound parameters.
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Traditional cultural and medicinal practices within environmentally sound parameters.
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The servicing and empowerment of emerging farmers, both arable and livestock-based.
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The alleviation of poverty by implementing and supporting commonage projects that target poor residents, especially women and youth.
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Local economic development, including environmentally sensitive tourism initiatives, in conjunction with other State and private actors such as SANParks.
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Recreational uses, including hiking, equestrian pursuits, birding, camping, sports, etc.
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As a resource for environmental education for the community, especially for school learners.
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, September 18, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays