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The New Frontier - A Realistic, Natural Growth MD

Started by M4346, April 15, 2014, 09:42:48 PM

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APSMS

Congrats on a job well done.

Finally, a lake you can swim in! You have no idea how frustrating it is when looking for summer vacation spots in California to run across a lake that will let you water ski, but not swim (???). Those are some nice scenic railways, too.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

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BTS_SC4

Nice! I am using the same region. It is a monster of a region that offers good layout potential: waterfronts, beaches, shipping, fishing and other types of transportation entities. Mine, I would say is more modern; I think because of my patients or lack of and some early 19th century bats/mods.

I actually use the Google map of Jacksonville as a guide to help name some of my cities, certain areas and road names. I am not trying to duplicate it by no means! Looking and your map "Islands Context & Rivers, Section A & D - Pelican Roost; Section H - Chicopit Bay; Section 5 and below - Saint John's River; below that San Pablo and Section C & B - Fort George. Roads and bridges along with any ferry ports are kind of tricky, especially highways.

ecoba

Once again, everything looks great, M!

Moving out of the more developed area I see your rural settings are equally detailed as the city. I'll be interested to see everything continue to grow and blend together into a cohesive region. This most recent update is especially impressive with the railroad work and the seasonal flora.

art128

Nice work on the rural area as well. The dam is nice. The second picture is my favorite.
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FrankU

Ahhh, yes. Beautiful work once again! Congratulations too.

kelis

This is amazing !! officially we have another great MD in SC4Devotion. Congratulations for your fantastic work, your region looks really good and clena :thumbsup:
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benedict

Very nice!

And you've held on to the top spot on Ben's Top Ten this week - good work.
Click on the banner to celebrate!

M4346

I apologise for the lack of updates - or interaction - but that is mainly due to our recent general (national and provincial) elections here in South Africa which have kept me a little busy and...


I will accordingly be sworn in as a Member of the National Assembly of the Fifth Democratic Parliament of the Republic of South Africa on 21 May, representing the Democratic Alliance (DA);D
 
It is on this note that I would like to introduce you to the politics and government of the Mayor's Diary, starting with the vertical division of power between the three spheres of government:


As you can see from the image above, there are three spheres of government: national, regional and municipal or local. The Federal Government has authority over the national level, a provincial government over the regional level, and a district (more rural) or metropolitan (densely urban) council governs over the local or municipal level.

We will explore the national and provincial sphere of government in greater depth at a later stage. Let's look at the local level of government, and locate Bradley and Benhurst in the grand (albeit local) scheme of things.
 
Bradley and Benhurst fall under the North Coast District Municipality. Where feasible, or necessary, district or metropolitan municipal councils can be or are divided into local or sub-councils.
 
In the case of the North Coast District Municipality - which includes Bradley - there are three sub-councils: Bradley, Addington and Tamworth (which includes Benhurst).
 
The North Coast District Municipal Council is made up of 25 Councillors, of which 12 are directly elected (first past the post) to represent a ward (a demarcated geographical area covering roughly 5 700 people) and 13 are PR councillors allocated to parties based on their share of the votes received in the District Municipality overall (using a closed party list proportional representation system). 
 
The current composition of the North Coast District Municipality is as follows, with the Social Democratic Alliance (SDA) holding 14 seats and the Free Democrats (FD) holding 11 (more about these political party groupings at a later stage): 


 
A District or Metropolitan Council has an Executive Mayor and a mayoral committee to assist the mayor in his or her executive duties.

Metropolitan and district councils are responsible for a number of localised matters, including:


  • Building regulations
  • Electricity and gas reticulation
  • Firefighting services
  • Local tourism development and promotion
  • Municipal health services (clinics)
  • Municipal airports, roads, public transport, pontoons, ferries, jetties, piers and harbours
  • Stormwater management systems in built-up areas
  • Trading regulations, markets and street trading
  • Water and sanitation services 
  • Beaches and amusement facilities
  • Billboards and the display of advertisements in public places
  • Cemeteries, funeral parlours and crematoria
  • Control of public nuisances
  • Control of undertakings that sell liquor to the public
  • Licensing and control of undertakings that sell food to the public
  • Municipal parks and recreation, amenities and sport facilities
  • Street lighting, traffic control and parking

These functions can be delegated to a sub- or local council. Sub- or Local Councils consist of the ward councillors in the area and one PR councillor for every ward councillor. These sub- or local councils are chaired by a local PR or ward councillor.

The North Coast District Council meets at the Addington Town Hall (below), while the Bradley Sub-Council meets at the Bradley Town Hall on Bradley Square.


 
In the spirit of all things parliamentary, Addington is named after the first Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth.
 
We will explore Addington in greater detail at a later stage - as we make our way to Parliament to deal with the issue of Congressman Ross and his unsavoury and questionable ways.

While the Addington Town Hall dates back to days marked by simpler living, the monstrosity next to it was recently built to house the ever increasing bureaucracy to meet the administrative needs of the District.

 
Apart from being the meeting place of the District Council, the Town Hall also functions as a public meeting place and houses the Magistrate's Court for the North Coast District Municipality. Other civic and municipal services are administered next door at the head office of the North Coast District Municipality.



The Town Hall and District Municipal Offices are located in the heart of old town Addington, to which we will return at a later stage.

 
For now, we'll head back to Benhurst, from where we will continue our journey to Parliament!


Quote from: vester on May 04, 2014, 07:47:33 AM
First time I have seen one of my freight engine in a MD :D

It's too beautiful not to show off  ;D

Quote from: c.p. on May 04, 2014, 08:02:50 AM
Very nice.  It's impressive how the fence separates the different ground textures, even around the curves.  Also, I really like the region view, and the zoomed out views of the previous updates, and especially, the campsite by the water &apls

Thank you very much! Ensuring smooth transitions is one of my pet peeves... but I am always satisfied with the end result, even if it takes hours to get it right!

Quote from: APSMS on May 04, 2014, 10:54:05 AM
Congrats on a job well done.

Finally, a lake you can swim in! You have no idea how frustrating it is when looking for summer vacation spots in California to run across a lake that will let you water ski, but not swim (???). Those are some nice scenic railways, too.

Thank you!  ;D It does sound a bit odd that you can ski, but not swim...  ??? I am not aware of any such restrictions on our dams here in South Africa. You must come visit  :P

Quote from: BTS_SC4 on May 04, 2014, 09:06:55 PM
Nice! I am using the same region. It is a monster of a region that offers good layout potential: waterfronts, beaches, shipping, fishing and other types of transportation entities. Mine, I would say is more modern; I think because of my patients or lack of and some early 19th century bats/mods.

I actually use the Google map of Jacksonville as a guide to help name some of my cities, certain areas and road names. I am not trying to duplicate it by no means! Looking and your map "Islands Context & Rivers, Section A & D - Pelican Roost; Section H - Chicopit Bay; Section 5 and below - Saint John's River; below that San Pablo and Section C & B - Fort George. Roads and bridges along with any ferry ports are kind of tricky, especially highways.

Wow! Great feedback and advice! I really love the region, it's flat and has endless possibilities, as you outline! I prefer flat regions because I don't have the patience to properly develop and plan mountainous regions  :P

Quote from: ecoba on May 05, 2014, 08:01:41 PM
Once again, everything looks great, M!

Moving out of the more developed area I see your rural settings are equally detailed as the city. I'll be interested to see everything continue to grow and blend together into a cohesive region. This most recent update is especially impressive with the railroad work and the seasonal flora.

Thank you very much!  :thumbsup:

I hope to showcase more of Tamworth (largely rural area) next week!  ;D Stay tuned!

Quote from: art128 on May 05, 2014, 10:36:52 PM
Nice work on the rural area as well. The dam is nice. The second picture is my favorite.

Thank you very much  ()stsfd()

Quote from: FrankU on May 06, 2014, 05:02:45 AM
Ahhh, yes. Beautiful work once again! Congratulations too.

Dankie!  ;)

Quote from: kelis on May 06, 2014, 10:12:07 AM
This is amazing !! officially we have another great MD in SC4Devotion. Congratulations for your fantastic work, your region looks really good and clean :thumbsup:

Thanks! I really appreciate it! A great compliment indeed! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment  ()stsfd()

Quote from: benedict on May 10, 2014, 11:28:30 AM
Very nice!

And you've held on to the top spot on Ben's Top Ten this week - good work.

It has certainly been a good week for me!  :o :D ;D ()stsfd()

Thanks!  :thumbsup:

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Flatron

Congratulations.  &apls

A member of parliament, and then from a place as great as South Africa!
(Which ones of the eleven languages do you speak?)

Your MD should get a green party, though ;)

BigSlark

Beautiful MD and congratulations on being elected a MP!

Does this make you the first elected representative to MD from anywhere in the world?

FrankU

So maybe you could rename this MD to MPD?

Congratulations, and I hope you will be able to help your country into a better future. It surely will not be a simple job!

M4346

#51
Okay! It's official! My name was on the list handed over to the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa today of individuals to be sworn in as Members of Parliament's National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures across the country on Wednesday, 21 May! The list is available here, and I'm on page 13.

Next week I will solemnly affirm in the presence of the Chief Justice (as opposed to swearing an oath, which is religious) my allegiance to the Republic, its Constitution and laws and to perform my duties as a Member of the National Assembly of Parliament to the best of my abilities.

Until then, back to Benhurst as the plot thickens...


As you can see, Benhurst is north of Bradley and located in the "breadbasket" of the region: A stretch of the north coast predominantly dedicated to producing the region's food. But more about that later.

After the dip in the dam, we're off to spend the night at the home of Mr Gordon Plumstead, the manager of the North Coast Nature Reserve, who lives in Benhurst.


We pull up in the drive way of Gordon's home at the end of Lilac Street, keeping our opinions of the faux Tudor style exterior to ourselves...


Gordon lives on the eastern end of the little village that is Benhurst, close to the freeway to Bradley and the Benhurst train station that also links the neighbouring town by rail.

Benhurst, despite its rather unimpressive stature, has a local clinic, a primary school, and a modest chapel used by various denominations and religious groups for services and the town-at-large for public meetings.


The conversation at the dinner table drags on way into the night, especially after the mention of the name of Congressman Ross piqued Gordon's interest.

Gordon had not only heard the name before, but was well acquainted with the dealings of Double Cross Ross. Armed with another bottle of Chardonnay, Gordon reveals a web of lies, deceit and manipulation.


The North Coast Nature Reserve was declared a federal conservation area by Congress in the late 1970s. The Reserve covers the area east of the R74 and up to 5km off the north coast. The area may not be developed or permanently settled in anyway, in order to preserve the local fauna and flora.

Ocean View, the Wayne Ross development in which we were asked to invest, completely ignored this and this was never properly investigated. We add this to our to-do list as we set out to save the world...


However, it doesn't just end there... the next morning Gordon takes us on a tour of the surrounding farmland west of Benhurst.


This agricultural heartland of the region has also remained the breadbasket because of a resolution dating back to the founding days which specified that produce grown for food will not be taxed, while non-foodstuff will be taxed heavily. This includes, for example, grain used for whiskey or beer, grapes used for wine, tobacco or flowers.

Congress has upheld this resolution and this applies to all produce grown in the North Coast District Municipality even if it is exported elsewhere for any purpose other than food consumption.

But Gordon takes us south to two grape farms along the river...


It is alleged that the grapes produced on these two farms end up in the wine bottles of a company in which Congressman Ross is the majority shareholder... tax free.

Our to-do list grows...

Fortunately Benhurst and surrounds is not just known for dodgy dealings and questionable transactions. Gordon shows us why the area is known as the breadbasket of the region as he takes us on a tour of the not-so-dodgy farms and cattle kraals.





What a beautiful stretch of countryside!


We bid farewell to Gordon at the Benhurst Station, where he catches the train to Bradley for some business in town.



With Benhurst behind us we head further north - Tamworth bound - armed with new information and an even greater cause.


Quote from: Flatron on May 13, 2014, 01:27:43 AM
Congratulations.  &apls

A member of parliament, and then from a place as great as South Africa!
(Which ones of the eleven languages do you speak?)

Your MD should get a green party, though ;)

Thank you very much! :D I speak 3 of the eleven official languages, and understand about 5 as a result (English, Afrikaans and isiZulu).

The Green Party doesn't contest local elections on its own, it is part of the Social Democratic Alliance (SDA) at the local level, just like the Free Democrats is also a grouping of parties on the right and centre right ;) hehe

Quote from: BigSlark on May 13, 2014, 06:00:03 AM
Beautiful MD and congratulations on being elected a MP!

Does this make you the first elected representative to MD from anywhere in the world?

Thank you!  ;D Maybe I'm just the first elected representative to come out as one? :P

Quote from: FrankU on May 13, 2014, 06:36:48 AM
So maybe you could rename this MD to MPD?

Congratulations, and I hope you will be able to help your country into a better future. It surely will not be a simple job!

MPD sounds nice... ;) And thank you very much! ;D
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vortext

Congratulations being elected a member of parliament!  &apls

Great couple of updates! I really enjoy the overall atmosphere. Also nice to see the narrowest RHW being used properly. People tend to go all out crazy with RHW while it can also serve as an 'upgraded' road. And nice banner designs btw!  :thumbsup:
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

noahclem

Great catching up here  &apls  Really impressive scenes and I'm particularly enjoying the rural and small town areas.

Girafe

The Floraler

This is the end, hold your breath and count to ten, feel the earth move, and then...

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *    *   *   *   *   *    * 

mave94

The great M is back? Yeah. :D

It looks fantastic what you've shown here. Dit lyk baie goed uit. Dit is lekker hoe jy alle uitwerk. :) It's nice to see how you work everything out. Keep it going.  :thumbsup:

-Matthijs

benedict

Congratulations on your election to South Africa's parliament. I wonder if you're the first professional politician here at SC4D?

And congratulations on having the number one MD on BTT again this week.
Click on the banner to celebrate!

belfastsocrates

I loved the latest Benhurst update, I'm particularly fond of small towns and rural images from SC4 and those were lovely.

Congrats on the election as well Marius, very well done and great to see DA polling so well!
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threestooges

After a lovely month with c.p.'s bats, let see what our newly elected member of parliament has in store for us this month.


c.p.

Congratulations Marius for the OSITM and especially, the election to parliament &apls I look forward to seeing what develops here this month.