The White City Neighbourhood Watch (WCNHW) held a public engagement meeting on Thursday 17 February.
The meeting took place at the Multipurpose Centre and was attended by community members and various stakeholders.
Wayne Solomons from the WCNHW said the meeting was called to address how the community can protect their town against vandalism and crime. Phumzile Mbaliswana, Director of Corporate and Public Safety Services at the Saldanha Bay Municipality, was also present at the engagement and gave insight on the department of public safety which includes traffic services, law enforcement, security services and fire and rescue services.
Mbaliswana explained that the spinning of vehicles on local roads is a huge challenge in the Saldanha Bay municipal area. He indicated that a municipal vehicle testing centre will function in Langebaan from Tuesday 1 March which will make traffic officers task much easier.
“The plan is also to open a vehicle impoundment facility in Vredenburg as we currently only have a public transport impoundment facility at the Provincial Traffic in Vredenburg,” said Mbaliswana.
Other stakeholders included representatives from the police, department of social development and more who gave more insight on their departments and the way forward. Mbaliswana also touched on crime and factors which add to it.
Wayne Solomons from the WCNW said crime in Saldanha has been on the increase due to unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse and other factors.
“With the eyes and ears of the neighbourhood watch on the ground we can report crime to the police and being visible on the streets has the ability to scare off criminals,” says Solomons.
White City Ward 3 Councillor Charlene van Nooi said the meeting was a success and residents walked away informed.
“It was an engaging session and residents now have more information about how the systems work and who to contact,” said van Nooi.
Residents also had the opportunity to share their concerns with the involved parties.
Solomons concluded by saying the way forward and to ensure the safety of Saldanha residents is to sharpen tactics and solutions.
“By having regular meetings and discussing progress and engaging with relevant parties we can achieve this.”
