Seeking to Achieve Greater Safety Across Western Cape

During August, the Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen undertook intergovernmental municipal engagements (IGMEs) to ensure that greater collaboration is strengthened in the fight against crime in the province. The first IGME occurred last week in Ceres with the Cape Winelands District municipality (CWDM), followed this past week in George with the Garden Route District municipality (GRDM). All local municipalities from the respective districts were represented during these engagements.

Amongst others, the aim of these engagements are to:

• Discuss the Western Cape Safety Plan (WCSP) and ensure a shared vision,
• Unpack the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP),
• Understand the provincial safety budget,
• Engage with the crime statistics per district,
• Integrate, mobilise and utilise a wide range of knowledge, capacity and resources, and
• Align efforts that will lead to a safer Western Cape.

Minister Reagen Allen said: “My gratitude goes to all the municipalities in the Cape Winelands and Garden Route Districts for the robust and insightful engagements. A special word of thanks is extended to the CWDM Executive Mayor Dr Elna von Schlicht and the GRDM, Executive Mayor, Memory Booysen for the manner in which they hosted us. It is evident that throughout these areas there is a desire for residents to live in improved and safer environments. This speaks directly to our goal as captured in our safety plan, where we do not only want to halve the murder rate by 2029 but we want to see our residents live in dignity and without fear.”

“I am looking forward to engaging the rest of the districts throughout the province, with the West Coast being next on my agenda. It is extremely important that we become more aggressive and remain resolute in our aim to make this the safest province in the entire country. The Western Cape continues to achieve various successes, and this is what we seek to do in the safety space as well. The more the different spheres of government, particularly at the local sphere which is closest to the people sing off the same hymn sheet, the sooner, along with the various and necessary stakeholders would we be able see greater and more success in our mission to combat crime,” concluded Minister Reagen Allen.