A step closer for new Kwa Police Station

Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - After over a decade of needing a new police station, the first steps toward the future development of a new KwaNonqaba Police Station and Police K9 Unit were taken today, 17 August, on the very land the station is to be built on.

The Minister of the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), Dean Macpherson, and the Mossel Bay Municipality’s Mayor Dirk Kotzé signed a property exchange pledge at the vacant grounds opposite the KwaNonqaba Shoprite.

This means that land in Dana Bay owned by the DPWI will be handed over to the Mossel Bay Municipality for the development of a safe park for the surrounding community, while the vacant land in KwaNonqaba will be handed over to the DPWI for the construction of the new KwaNonqaba Police Station.

When construction starts depends on the budget approval from the South African Police Services, however, Macpherson said during the ceremony that he hopes to see development start in five years or sooner.

The municipality said this milestone follows many years of engagement and collaboration “aimed at supporting improved policing infrastructure for the communities served by the KwaNonqaba Police Station, while also ensuring long-term community value through strategic land use”.

Also present at the signing were Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers; Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism Dr Ivan Meyer; Western Cape Minister of Social Development Jaco Londt and District Police Commissioner Major General Phumzile Cetyana, as well as some KwaNonqaba police officers and members of the community.

As of the latest statistics, and according to Cetyana’s speech at the event, the current station serves 43 000 people with only 59 Vispol officers and 12 vehicles.

Mossel Bay Advertiser has previously reported on the dire conditions of the current station, which consists of three brick buildings for the administration and detective offices, the community services centre, the station commander’s office and the archives office, and the rest being prefabricated structures that house three to six people per office.

The station has also failed health inspections in 2019 and again in 2024, and was deemed non-compliant with health standards.

Read more on the land exchange and what this means for Mossel Bay in the print edition Mossel Bay Advertiser on 21 August.

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