With the alarming increase in violent crimes in the Eastern Cape, the Kouga Municipality has taken a proactive stance in fighting crime by hosting a Safety Summit on October 2 in Cape St Francis to devise strategies aimed at crime prevention across the Kouga region.
Executive Mayor Hattingh Bornman said that the summit was a second sitting, with the first hosted in September 2022.
He mentioned that the alarming increase in violent crimes in the Eastern Cape has been of great concern, and the municipality has therefore taken a proactive stance in fighting crime by developing a strategy on how to “Keep Kouga Safe”.
Bornman stated that key stakeholders involved in the summit included Kouga region Neighbourhood Watches, Private Security Companies, South African Police Services, the Department of Community Safety in the Eastern Cape, Community Police Forums, Ministry Fraternal, Tourism Boards, MMC for Safety and Security in Mossel Bay, Leon Van Dyk, and MMC for Safety and Security in the City of Cape Town, JP Smith.
During the summit, he underscored the critical importance of safeguarding all residents.
Bornman stressed that a collaborative effort between community members, local authorities, and law enforcement agencies is essential for ensuring safety and security in the region.
During the event, Kouga Municipal Manager, Charl du Plessis, presented the Memorandum of Agreement, a formal acknowledgement of the discussions and commitments made during the summit.
In a symbolic gesture of the municipality’s dedication to community safety, Bornman was the first to sign the memorandum, affirming Kouga’s commitment to working closely with all stakeholders to make safety a top priority.
“The focus points discussed at the summit were the development and amendment of the Kouga Municipality Safety Plan, formalising the Kouga Municipality Safety Forum, and signing the Memorandum of Cooperation,” said Bornman.
He further mentioned that action plans to combat crime in the region included investing in their current infrastructure, which involves upgrading the incident command centre, rolling out more CCTV cameras and other technologies, and using the Kouga Safety Forum as a vehicle to implement the amended safety plan.
With Van Dyk and Smith sharing insightful information about their experiences within their respective municipalities, Bornman said that Kouga plans to adopt their use of other forms of devices that assist in dealing with crime, such as body cameras for safety officers and gunshot detectors.
Additionally, he said that they also plan to adopt state-of-the-art software used in the City of Cape Town and various methods to use by-laws and implement the constitution, which was discussed during the summit.
To deal with crime hot spots, especially in Humansdorp, Bornman said they are working with relevant stakeholders and have embarked on a safety campaign to #KeepKougaSafe.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the municipality held engagements and safety prayers with Humansdorp communities, particularly in the Gill Marcus areas.
“Through the Special Programmes Unit, there are several projects in the pipeline that will educate and support our communities on how to assist the municipality and SAPS in dealing with crime. Additional surveillance cameras in crime hot spots will assist with crime prevention and efficiency in apprehending perpetrators of crime,” said Bornman.
“The municipality, however, cannot do this alone. We need collaboration from the community, SAPS, and other relevant stakeholders. This is why we held a whole-of-society approach safety summit.”
