With high levels of crime in his ward, Councillor Fanie Heystek, alongside the Kouga Local Municipality, plans to clamp down on crime by working with security companies, law enforcement and the Jeffreys Bay Neighbourhood Watch, to provide residents and businesses with a safe and secure area.
Heystek, who has been involved with local politics since 2012, was elected as Ward 11 councillor in November last year. He said he had joined the local municipality because he wanted to improve Kouga and to attract investments.
Furthermore, he wanted to use his knowledge on business and security to benefit the Kouga region.
“I joined the local municipality because I felt that my input as a councillor could help to improve the Kouga Municipality in a lot of ways, especially in the safety and security portfolio,” said Heystek.
Since his ward was in the central business district (CBD) and industrial area, he said there were a lot of challenges with an increase in crime and deteriorating roads.
Heystek is therefore currently busy upgrading the CBD and working on improving the safety in the area, which involves all security companies, law enforcement and the Jeffreys Bay Neighbourhood Watch.
“We protect the town from illegal car guards at night and act quickly on any incident of crime,” said Heystek.
To further improve the safety, he plans to install cameras throughout his ward which will then be monitored by the control room of the municipality.
In addition to fighting crime, he is also advocating for the upgrade of the Koraal Street pump station and planning to pave the parking area in front of the Tampa Bay Spur Steak Ranch located at Times Square Building in Diaz Road.
He said being appointed as ward councillor has afforded him the opportunity to deal with various issues in his ward alongside the local municipality. He added that thus far the support from his community has been great but they do expect service delivery issues to be resolved.
“My hopes for my ward are that we can see the improvement in infrastructure on a year-to-year basis and that the community receives excellent service delivery from the municipality,” said Heystek.
