Premier
Question by:
Hon Brett Herron
Answered by:
Hon Alan Winde
Question Number:
2
Question Body:
With reference to his response to the SOPA debate in which he mentioned that the Safety Plan had been taken to communities for consultation on two separate occasions:
- Whether these engagements were publicly advertised; if so, when were they advertised;
- whether these engagements were open to the public; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- whether members of the standing committees were included; if so, what comments were made;
- whether the report of both public consultations can be made available?
Answer Body:
I am informed by the Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety (DPoCS) that:
- The Western Cape Safety Plan engagements were designed and targeted to specific safety stakeholders in the District Municipalities and Policing Sub-Districts in the City of Cape Town. These engagements were not publicly advertised. The leadership of Community Police Forums (CPF), Faith-Based Organisations (FBO), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs), Neighbourhood Watch structures, (NHW) were invited as representatives of the local communities. In addition, officials from National, Provincial and Local government departments were invited and attended these sessions.
Recent engagements have been held in each policing sub-district of the City of Cape Town, as follows:
Sub-district | Date of event |
Nyanga Sub-district | 19 February 2026 |
Wynberg Sub-district | 24 February 2026 |
Khayelitsha Sub-district | 5 March 2026 |
Cape Town Sub-district | 7 March 2026 |
Mitchells Plain Sub-district | 10 March 2026 |
Tygerberg Sub-district | 11 March 2026 |
- The engagements were aimed at key safety stakeholders directly involved in the implementation of the Safety Plan i.e. the South African Police Service (SAPS), CPFs, local NGOs, NPOs, NHWs, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement, Municipalities, and various government departments. As indicated above, the CPFs and NHWs represent their local communities. Budgetary constraints limited the number of participants that could be invited for the Western Cape Safety Plan engagement. In line with the Provincial Strategic Plan, the Western Cape Safety Plan discussions and deliberations were structured according to the three safety focus areas, namely (1) Integrated violence prevention, (2) Safe and Secure Communities, and Infrastructure (3) Effective and Efficient Law Enforcement. In this context, the participants had an opportunity to make contributions that speak to these themes.
- Engagements were limited to community level safety structures that are positioned to add value to the Safety Plan and are destined to directly implement safety initiatives that will advance the objectives of the plan. The Western Cape Safety Plan was presented to the members of the Standing Committee on Police Oversight and Community Safety and Culture Affairs and Sport last year as part of the broader consultation with key stakeholders. The committee members’ comments were considered to improve the plan.
- The Western Cape Safety Plan consultation consolidated report will be made available by the DPoCS once it has been finalised.
Date:
Friday, March 20, 2026
