Sub-council 17 chair Elton Jansen stopped his chairman’s report at the monthly meeting last week to deliver a special welcome to neighbourhood safety officers (NSO).
The officers were part of the 35 dedicated metro police deployment to Mitchell’s Plain for wards where there are no Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (Leap) officers.
The newly minted officers were among the 700 that the City graduated at Athlone Stadium earlier this month and they will be deployed to wards 33, 43, 75, 78 and 79.
Councillor Ashley Potts, who will not have NSOs assigned to his ward (81), welcomed the officers saying that they should not underestimate the value of their patrols.
“Your presence makes a massive difference,” he said.
Jansen said: “This investment is the largest in new boots on the ground in a decade.”
In the rest of his report, Jansen addressed several issues, including the difficulties that had been resolved around the non-motorised transport route being built from Highlands Drive to Baden Powell Road.
“We met with the project manager of the Eisleben NMT; there were some issues that came up, like the fact that rubble was left on the sidewalks. We relayed our concerns and there were some commitments made,” Jansen said.
He added that a WhatsApp group was formed with the liaison officers so that any issues can be dealt with as they arise.
Jansen also highlighted the projects being implemented in informal settlements in Strandfontein which include the building of a storm water system.
“Year after year, winter after winter, they complain about flooding, so the City is rolling out a project where they will install a storm water system to deal with the flow of water.”
He said construction had begun in Masincedane informal settlement and would begin soon in Sewende Laan.
“Informal settlements are a phenomenon that is not going to disappear overnight and we need to restore the dignity of the people living there,” he said.
Electricity scammers
“We want to alert you that there are some electricity WhatsApp scammers out there,” Jansen said.
He said the scammers contact residents via WhatsApp.
“They falsely claim that residents’ services will be disconnected due to outstanding municipal debt.”
He advised residents to call the City’s call centre first before allowing people claiming to be municipal workers onto their properties.
“The City does not notify residents of service disconnections via WhatsApp, and no City officials may request payment via ewallet or personal bank accounts. Money exchange only happens at our revenue offices and official City channels.”
He encouraged residents to be alert saying: “All City officials are required to carry an identification card which displays the City logo, the person’s name, surname and an embedded photo. If you are unsure, call the call centre.”
Annual report
Daniel Sass presented the community arts and culture development annual report.
He said that for the last financial year there had been specific focuses on development, training and compliance of early childhood development (ECD) centres and street people interventions and support.
He noted however that the number of street people was increasing.
“The economic and social environment in many of our communities are basically forcing people onto the street,” he said.
He also highlighted the family strengthening programme which he said was “very small but impactful”.
“I think we need to start building capacity in wards so that people can start running with that programme. If you have a team of people in your ward that can do it, it will gain so much more mileage. The fundamental problem with crime and gangsterism is that it starts in dysfunctional families. That is why I would request that that is something that you advocate for,” Sass said.
Another anti-gang programme the department ran was aimed at building self esteem in primary school children.
“What we found was, with drug abuse, there’s an emotional reason why many people get into drugs,” he said. The youth programme was designed to help young people make better choices by having more self esteem.
Mitchell’s Plain anniversary
Jansen closed the meeting by announcing that R1,3 million had been put aside by the sub-council for Mitchell’s Plain’s 50th anniversary next year.
“I will be meeting with the mayor and I am hoping that we will be given additional funding from the mayor’s office,” Jansen said.
He added that the provisional plan was for a street festival but added that planning was still in the early stages.
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