Media Briefing: Safer Festive Season 2005/6 Launch

Western Cape Minister for Community Safety, Leonard Ramatlakane, has strongly condemned the armed robbery of a bus carrying German tourists in Khayelitsha yesterday.

Minister Ramatlakane also commended the Police who reacted swiftly and arrested 14 people in connection with the incident.

Addressing the media together with Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner Mzwandle Petros, Minister Ramatlakane said "Police are now combing the area for more clues and are working around the clock to recover the belongings of the tourists."

Commissioner Petros said, "Police were only alerted to the incident of armed robbery once it was reported at the Cape Town central police station," something he says could have been avoided had it been reported at the Khayelitsha police station.

'"The SA police are also sitting in a committee that looks after the safety of tourists. It is at such a forum where both the Tourism industry could have alerted the police that there was a big tourist delegation going to Khayelitsha so that precautionary measures could have been put in place." said Commissioner Petros.

Minister Ramatlakane added: "We are rolling out our provincial safety plans for the festive season on Sunday and we will be ensuring that tourists and locals are safer when they visit places of interest. We have rolled out this programme because we believe this is what we have to do to protect our people."

"Together with law enforcement agencies like the National Parks, the Police, and the deployment of Bambanani volunteers, we will be exercising maximum visibility at these places throughout the festive season.

Launch of  Safer Festive Season from the Castle army base

On Sunday 04 December 2005, the South African Police Services, the Provincial Traffics and officials in the Department of Community Safety, and 4000 Bambanani Volunteers from throughout the Western Cape communities, will officially kick off this year's Safer Festive Season programme.

Minister Ramatlakane will officially launch them to action from the corridors of the Castle of Good Hope , military headquarters of the South African National Defence Force.

Minister Ramatlakane launched this programme three years ago in Khayelitsha, where he called on ordinary people from throughout the Western Cape communities to become volunteers in the fight against crime.

The Programme, which has been endorsed by the Western Cape Provincial government, is aimed at creating a safer environment, less crime and safety on Provincial roads during the festive season.

"Since we started this programme, we have managed to see strong partnerships between the South African Police Services and the communities, something which resulted in a substantial decrease in crime during the festive season." said Minister Ramatlakane.

"In both previous years, the partnership against crime formed by the police and the Bambanani volunteers, resulted in crime, contact crime and property related crime decreasing during the festive season."

 "We also saw a decrease in fatalities on our Provincial roads, (N1, N2, and N7) during this period, this being a result of the hard work put in by our volunteers and the law enforcement agencies."

 The programme has become known as the Safer Festive Season campaign.

"We can therefore not abandon such a programme. To that effect, we have also managed to document the success of this programme and we have brought out two editions of the Improved Service Delivery Methodology," said Minister Ramatlakane.

He added "We have had delegation after delegation from other provinces which had visited our Department with a view to gain first-hand experience on the workings of our Bambanani Programme and now this programme is gradually being launched in other provinces."

"This coming Sunday, more than 4000 Bambanani volunteers will gather at the Castle grounds and we will be asking them to go to work and safe guard our Province, working in partnership with the South African Police Services and other law enforcement agencies."

The Department of Community Safety will roll out programmes and crime deterrent activities throughout the Western Cape , which shall coincide with maximum visibility of our volunteers and the Police.

• Women and Children : This festive season, the Bambanani volunteers and Police will ensure that the more than 1 million children who will be at home from next Monday, are safer at home and are engaged in programmes. Activities to create awareness against gender violence will also be held in various communities.


• Shebeen and Liqour control : With the involvement of our local Community Police Forums, the Bambanani Volunteers and the Police, liquor traders and shebeen traders will be constantly visited and will be monitored so that, communities also feel safer


• Safety on Trains : Our project to bring about safety on trains has been on going throughout the years. This festive season it will be intensified as we deploy 700 Bambanani volunteers, the Metrorail police and the South African Police officers so that they can safeguard our people who will be commuting between their homes and the city carrying with them valuable goods and money.


• Safety on the roads : With the National project of Arrive Alive officially being launched on the 8 th in Gauteng, we in the Province we will be intensifying visibility of Provincial traffic on our roads starting this Friday which marks the official closure of Western Cape schools. Our law enforcement officers on the roads supported by our Bambanani volunteers will have their work cut out ensuring that those who will use our roads will so in an orderly manner. Law offenders on the road will not be tolerated.


• Safety on Beaches : Our beaches are places where our families should enjoy themselves in an atmosphere where there is no violence, fighting and consumption of alcohol. Our Bambanani Volunteers, the city's law enforcement agencies and the Police will be deployed on all our beaches and will ensure that our beaches are safe without the presence of violent behaviour.


• Safety on Farms : Our rural farms in the Province are also entitled to be safer this festive season. Therefore, we will be deploying trained volunteers who will be of critical importance to help the Police especially in the case of farms where vehicle access is difficult or not available.

"Coupled to this programme, we will also be working with the Police and other agencies to safeguard our people in shopping malls and tourist attraction outlets." said Minister Ramatlakane

He said, "I am confident that, the partnership between our Police and the communities through the Bambanani volunteers, are on the right track in establishing relations and trusts among us."

Provincial government is fully behind this programme and we do believe that, all those who live in the Western Cape , and those who will be visiting the Province, should feel safer this festive season. Crime, violence, and those who abuse our women and children will be thwarted in their efforts to commit these crimes.

NB: The Department of Community Safety will release a calender of events and activities that will coincide with the Safer Festive Season programme. Minister Ramatlakane and Provincial Commissioner Mzwandile Petros will officiate or make a presence at many of those events.

Safer Festive Season Open Launch takes place at the Castle on 04 December @11am.

Issued by:

Makhaya Mani
Media Liaison Officer
Ministry and Department of Community Safety
Western Cape
Tel: 021 483 3873
Cell: 082 780 4493