Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - There was exuberance at Santos Beach on 1 July when those involved in the community safety sector on the part of the Mossel Bay Municipality and its partners gathered for a photo opportunity.

Mossel Bay Helicopters have been assisting in safety and search and rescue initiatives alongside local emergency services for a number of years.

This legacy of the late Kobus Crous, who died of Covid-19-related symptoms in 2021, is being continued by his wife, Lizelle. Pilot Barnie Tromp is also one of the private enterprise partners supporting the municipality in its quest to create a safer environment for all communities.

At a recent event where Western Cape Minister of Safety and Police Oversight, Reagan Allen, was present, the mayor of Mossel Bay, Dirk Kotzé, reaffirmed that the municipality is committed to unrolling its safety plan to less affluent areas.

Allen was the guest speaker at a fundraiser on 25 June, hosted by the Westridge Eyes in the Hood NPO. The organisation is raising funds to support safety initiatives in Extension 13.

Kotzé said that even though community safety was not a funded mandate of the local municipality, it was of prime importance to secure a safety net over the entire town and all its suburbs.

At the event, Kotzé lauded the 44 neighbourhood watch structures which voluntarily strengthen this so-called safety net. Mossel Bay Municipality has taken great pains to put systems in place to create a safer society for all communities in the greater Mossel Bay area.

The process started in 2019. Through innovation and strategic public-private partnerships, a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach can now be taken to address community safety issues.

Part of this safety initiative is the R9 million Joint Operation Centre at the Mossel Bay Golf Club, which will be opened officially in August.

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