Local Municipality’s Community Safety Forum Activated
Koster- The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management together with the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality and other stakeholders have officially launched the Community Safety Forum (CSF) on the 13th of February 2025.
The work of the forum is to coordinate government entities, private organisations and community structures to effectively deal with safety issues in a more integrated manner. This is done by realising the objectives of the National Crime Prevention Strategy. Therefore, addressing the needs of the community, effectively closing gaps within a society and isolating criminals.
The MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng described the activation of the forum as a commitment by government to address crime on all fronts.
“I am acutely aware of trust deficit that exists between our communities and us as public representatives and the law enforcement agencies, the time is now to rebuild this fragile relationship.
“We request municipalities who are at the coalface of service delivery to play an active role in ensuring CSFs are functioning optimally. This can be done by simply giving the forum adequate support. As has been emphasised many times before, we have entered into a social compact with the communities to ensure they live in a safe environment.
“This social compact calls on all of us to ensure that we collectively create a safe, secure and conducive environment. An environment where the elderly can take a brisk walk with no fear, where children can play freely without thinking they may be attacked,where mothers can buy groceries at a local store without fear of being mugged. This is the environment people have voted for and this is the environment I am challenging all of us to ensure it exists within our communities,” said MEC Morweng during his keynote delivery at the launch in Koster.
The Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality is the second in the Bojanala District to launch a CSF. The Mayor, Thabo Jacobs says the partnership offers an opportunity to form a united front on safety matters.
“This is an opportunity to create a community that we have always wanted to create for our people. This occasion marks the beginning of a long and difficult but necessary task of working together to fight crime.
“Creating a safe environment will drive investment into our municipality, bring much needed development and transform the lives of our people,” said Cllr Jacobs.
The establishment of CSFs at a local municipality level is coordinated through the District Development Model (DDM). This enables a broader and integrated approach with all role players to effectively address service delivery issues.
-ENDS-
Issued by the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management.
