WESTERN CAPE NEWS - According to a statement by premier Alan Winde earlier today, the Western Cape is working on a number of interventions to reduce alcohol harms.
The link between alcohol and substance abuse and violence is well-established and smart interventions around the sale and policing of liquor can significantly impact safety in the province.
The Department of Community Safety is in the process or re-considering legislation around the licensing of liquor outlets and the sale of alcohol.
The Western Cape Liquor Authority also continues to conduct investigations on liquor traders who have contravened the National Disaster Management Act regulations. Between 27 March and 11 September 2020, 144 investigations have taken place and 42 licenses have been suspended.
The Department of Transport and Public Works meanwhile continues its focus on road safety. Over the past week, the provincial Traffic Services implemented 82 integrated roadblocks, vehicle checkpoints and speed control operations, stopping and checking over 13 000 vehicles.
During this time, 15 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and more arrests were made for speeding and negligent driving.
I call on residents to drink responsibly and not to drink and drive. Driving under the influence is a criminal offence and puts both your life and the lives of countless other road users at risk.
Update on the coronavirus
As of 13:00 on 14 September, the Western Cape has 2935 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 107 784 confirmed cases and 100 784 recoveries.
Garden Route district
- George: 3468 cases, 3205 recoveries
- Mossel Bay: 2288 cases, 2140 recoveries
- Knysna: 1442 cases, 1323 recoveries
- Oudtshoorn: 1346 cases, 1108 recoveries
- Bitou: 605 cases, 560 recoveries
- Hessequa: 298 cases, 274 recoveries
- Kannaland: 110 cases, 108 recoveries
Data note: It is not always possible to check and verify that the address data supplied for each new recorded case is correct, within the time frames required to provide regular and timely updates. This means that in some instances, cases could be allocated to the wrong sub-districts. We are working with the sub-districts to clean and verify the data and where errors are picked up locally, cases will be re-allocated to the correct areas.
The Western Cape has recorded an additional 7 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 4065. We send our condolences to their family and friends at this time.
Focus on safety as part of our recovery plan
Today, I had the opportunity to present the work the Western Cape Government has done on its safety plan at the Kouga Safety Summit in the Western Cape. The two-day safety summit, attended by various role-players in the safety sphere, is an initiative of the Kouga Mayor, Horotio Hendricks, aimed at keeping Kouga safe.
The Western Cape safety plan was introduced last year with the aim of reducing the province's murder rate. The plan is a whole of government approach which will have two components- increasing law enforcement on the ground, coupled with violence prevention strategies. Every department in the Western Cape Government has been tasked with violence prevention priorities to ensure that we implement safety interventions across the entire government sphere.
While some aspects of the plan have been adapted or delayed as a result of COVID-19, our focus on safety continues. We have identified safety as one of the three key priorities in the Western Cape's recovery plan, alongside jobs and dignity and well-being.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share our experience so far in the implementation of our plan, in the interest of making South Africa a safer place and I value the opportunity to learn from other role players.
The Western Cape safety plan, much like our response to COVID-19, has been data driven and evidence based, with interventions where they are needed most.
Going forward, we will use the lessons we have learned, and the momentum we have created through our COVID-19 response to further implement our safety plan to ensure that the people of this province are able to feel safe.
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