About MPPOA
WHY JOIN MARLOTH PARK PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
One Voice – Your Park – Our Commitment
MPPOA’s aim is to be the eyes and the ears of the Marloth Park property owners and speak with a common voice when and where necessary.
MPPOA is a voluntary a-political organisation of Marloth Park property owners. It informs its members about initiatives and events from service providers, whether state or private, in the area, which may affect the village and its surroundings. Sometimes the community needs to interact with the service providers or originators of such initiatives. MPPOA aims to evaluate the impact of such initiatives and question the service providers, to provide a response reflecting the view of the majority of the Marloth Park property owners.
MPPOA’s goals include the following:
- Improved service delivery from the Municipality.
- Monitoring and enforcement of the Title Deed and town planning provisions (including building code enforcement), by-laws, general laws, and environmental management and conservation.
- Gate management, waste management, security and ultimately the achievement of a gated community with its own controls.
- MPPOA IS: VOLUNTARY
Everybody who owns property in Marloth Park can become a member, but membership is voluntary. MPPOA strongly encourages property owners to join however, because it is the most efficient way for them to be represented in interactions with service providers.
The annual membership fee is only a token of support. Several specific actions require more voluntary contributions to be effective. Please check the website https://www.mppoa.info/ to find the current contact
information of the committee, or send an email to secretary@mppoa.info to get more information on membership.
- MPPOA IS: NON-PROFIT
MPPOA, like other voluntary property owners’ associations around the world, is a non-profit organisation (NPO). It is governed by a committee that is elected by its members at an Annual General Meeting (AGM). Its mission is to represent the common interests of its members. Like a company, its performance will be determined by its management and its members get to determine who will manage it.
- MPPOA IS DEMOCRATIC
Voluntary property owners’ associations are governed by a democratic process. If you as a property owner want to serve on the committee, volunteer to serve on sub-committees and let your fellow members know that you want to serve the association. Alternatively, if you choose not to serve actively, your presence as a member is a form of support.
- MPPOA IS NON-POLITICAL
MPPOA has a lot of dealings with institutions of government, e.g., the Municipality, SAPS, Eskom, etc. MPPOA cannot afford to be associated with any political organisation to avoid favouritism. MPPOA’s funds come ONLY from subscriptions and personal donations. This is a limiting factor, but also a major selling point for the impartiality of the organisation.
- MPPOA IS DIFFERENT FROM RESIDENT’S ASSOCIATIONS IN OTHER VILLAGES
The ownership of property in a nature conservation area, and life in such an area, puts additional benefits and constraints on property owners, compared to those in a ‘normal’ village. This Guide explains many of those benefits and consequences of our co-habitation with nature. MPPOA exists to help its members with a vision on how we can create a long-term co-existence of us humans with the natural plants and animals around us. The majority of owners of property in Marloth Park have bought here to enjoy a life ‘in the bush’, by so doing accepting that they need to co-habit with nature.
Some of the necessary restrictions to facilitate this have been put into law, but some are just common sense when you think about a long-term relationship with nature. MPPOA has put a lot of thought into the best ways to achieve this. It has employed the services of an established leader in conservation, Ralf Kalwa, to help us define some guidelines. The findings and report (he would appreciate the promotion, but not a professor – he is a friend and we worked together in the SA Air Force) are available to MPPOA’s members.
The most important rules that MPPOA encourages its members to adhere to are:
- Do not bring alien plants or animals into the conservancy. Do not remove or kill indigenous plants and animals. If you find alien plants or animals, report this to the authorities and have them removed.
- No manufacturing or maintenance businesses are allowed. Only hospitality businesses, retail, and leisure in the designated areas.
- Avoid littering and the spilling of unnatural liquids or chemicals.
- Avoid over-construction. Limit the built-up surface of your property to the minimum, and certainly within the 50% allowable maximum. Do not construct fences which limit the free movement of animals. Clean up building materials thoroughly during and after construction. Be careful with the storage of anything which could endanger animals – poisons, plastic, metal scrap, wires, etc.
- Take note: building limits are published in the by-laws.
- Avoid employing illegal immigrants for cheap labour (building or domestic) because this creates the unnatural and unsustainable attraction of humans to the conservancy.
- Avoid fences and ‘classic’ gardening, with extensive pruning and sweeping. Avoid unnatural feeding and watering as much as possible. Nature will find its own balance if you don’t interfere. The ecosystem needs all its natural resources.
- Avoid excessive noise and light as these disturb the animals and your neighbours!
- MPPOA INTERACTS WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS
MPPOA works in close association with different service providers. The most important one is the Nkomazi Local Municipality which covers most aspects of governance, including the following:
- Building regulations
- Policing and law enforcement
- Fire protection
- Water provision
- Road maintenance
- Parks and nature conservation
- Municipal camping grounds and chalets
- Alien plants and animal control
- Immigration and workforce control
MPPOA represents to the Municipality the requirements of the majority of property owners, without seeking confrontation. We have found that we achieve more by helping the Municipality to find and implement solutions, rather than simply confronting and opposing governance decisions.
We need the cooperation of the Municipality for most common aspects such as roads, water, sanitation, fire protection, safety, and security. We need to understand that Marloth Park is only a small portion of the very large Nkomazi Municipality, which has more than half a million residents who are also entitled to services such as roads, water, sanitation, and policing.
In the case of Marloth Park, the Municipality is also the custodian of the parkland, the fauna and flora in Marloth Park as well as Lionspruit. They are managing these aspects with Wildlife Rangers – a service not commonly found in other municipalities.
Many other service providers are involved in Marloth Park:
- SANParks: representing the governing body of the Kruger National Park.
- MTPA – Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency – governing most of the hospitality services and wildlife resources.
- Eskom and other energy providers of electricity, gas, petrol, diesel, and paraffin.
- Post Office
- Communication providers of telephone, Wi-Fi and fibre.
- Hotels, restaurants, bars, B&B’s, camping grounds.
- Health and clinic.
- Games and entertainment.
- Safety and security.
- Nature conservation and long-term sustainability. Animal welfare.
- Real estate buying and selling.
- Shops and markets.
- Refuse removal, litter clean-up.
- News agencies: paper and electronic.
- Transport.
- Developers of businesses that go against the nature conservation ideal.
The list of providers and possible interactions is endless. The property owners of Marloth Park need a unified voice to bring these interactions in line with a common goal.
For more information on current and planned activities, please join MPPOA to get a monthly update. You can contact MPPOA by email at secretary@mppoa.info/ or contact one of the committee members named on the website https://www.mppoa.info