| Another busy week for the City’s Safety and Security Directorate | The City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to 406 incidents between Friday 21 January and Sunday 23 January | <p></p><p>The City’s Fire and Rescue Service responded to 406 incidents between Friday 21 January and Sunday 23 January.</p><p>Among these responses were 235 vegetation fires, including the fire on Ou Kaapse Weg; 48 residential fires (22 formal residential and 26 informal residential), 43 motor vehicle accidents and 17 pedestrian vehicle accidents and 15 trauma responses. </p><p>‘Cape Town has been experiencing some incredibly hot days in recent weeks, and we still have at least two more months of summer in the offing. While vegetation fires are more commonplace during the warmer months, the weather conditions of late provide an additional challenge. I am however very proud of how quickly staff were able to suppress the fire on Ou Kaapse Weg this weekend, working alongside other firefighting agencies. And, while the absence of wind has likely made weather conditions all the more unbearable, it served as a blessing to firefighters as the wind is often one of the biggest contributors to runaway fires,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.</p><p><strong>LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT</strong></p><p>In the past week, Law Enforcement officers made 79 arrests and issued 4 596 notices. </p><p>Officers attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan also arrested two suspects – one in Nyanga and another in Philippi – for the possession of illegal firearms. </p><p>In Hanover Park, a LEAP officer arrested an individual for discharging a firearm in a municipal area.</p><p><strong>METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT</strong></p><p>Officers made 67 arrests and issued 4 541 traffic and by-law fines. They also recovered two imitation firearms.</p><p>On Saturday 22 January, officers were conducting patrols in the Macassar area when they heard motor vehicles spinning close by. Officers responded, and on arrival, observed two vehicles spinning recklessly. The drivers sped off when they spotted the officers, but one of them hit a curb and came to a standstill. Officers then noticed the driver and passenger switching seats as they approached.</p><p>Officers instructed the occupants to step out of the vehicle, and sought permission to conduct a search. They found and found an imitation pistol underneath the driver’s seat and arrested the 26-year-old male motorist for the possession of an imitation firearm, reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol. </p><p>On Monday 17 January, officers conducting crime prevention patrols found an 18-year-old male in possession of an imitation firearm in Ravensmead.</p><p><strong>TRAFFIC SERVICE</strong></p><p>Officers arrested 31 suspects – 21 for driving under the influence of alcohol.</p><p>They also impounded 102 vehicles, 80 cell phones and issued 62 125 fines.</p><p><br><strong>End</strong><br></p> | 2022-01-23T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| City to prioritise safety of its facilities and service delivery through Facility Protection Officers and security escorts | The City encourages volunteers from the former Walking Bus volunteer project in the City of Cape Town to apply to its newest law enforcement unit. | <p></p><p>The City encourages volunteers from the former Walking Bus volunteer project in the City of Cape Town to apply to its newest law enforcement unit. A new unit focused on the protection of service delivery teams, facilities and infrastructure will be forthcoming in the next few months. This is an important step in our plans to make Cape Town safer.</p><p>A new community safety unit is to be established by the middle of the year, and will be located in the Safety and Security Directorate. </p><p>This new unit aims to professionalise the former walking bus programme, giving qualified applicants better security training and equipment, and a broader scope of duties in the community. These teams will specifically help in protecting service delivery crews in identified crime hotspots across the city. These teams include water, fire, electricity, sanitation and cleansing crews who face danger and violence while trying to do their jobs to improve service delivery in communities. </p><p>This unit is critical to ensuring that service delivery is not delayed due to public unrest that threatens the safety of our teams who then have to wait for law enforcement escorts to arrive before they can commence with their work. They can also help in protecting city facilities and infrastructure (like cables) critical to their communities, protecting schools and school routes. This project will have two significant public benefits: freeing up law enforcement resources, and speeding up response times to service delivery complaints in hotspot areas. </p><p>It is our hope that the numerous volunteers in our city will gain an opportunity to professionalise the work that they do for their communities by applying to the vacancies once they open up in the next few months. </p><p>This previous iteration of this project, namely the Walking Bus, was managed directly from the Mayor’s office and officially ended on 15 December when the last of the support contracts that had been in place with EPWP workers ended. Moving forward, the new safety project will no longer be run directly out of the Mayor’s office as it becomes professionalised under the Safety and Security Directorate. </p><p>While the new professionalised project will have fewer positions available than the volunteer based walking bus project, the new unit will be professionally managed, with clear performance targets, clear appointment processes, longer contracts and better pay. The new programme will take a few months to set up, but members of the walking bus programme who meet the requirements for the new project are encouraged to apply once the programme is up and running. </p><p>These future changes for these projects are exciting and promise to provide even greater safety to our most vulnerable areas. </p><p><br><strong>End</strong><br></p> | 2022-01-23T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| City’s skills development programme helps thousands get jobs in Cape Town’s fast-growing call centre industry | Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Alderman James Vos visit Capita South Africa in Maitland. | <p><span aria-hidden="true"></span>City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, today visited Capita South Africa, a call centre that exemplifies the stellar growth of the local industry and one of the companies hiring Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator project trainees.</p><p>The Maitland-based business is one of 17 in the city that has absorbed trained employees through the skills programme. </p><p>Launched nearly a year ago, the project is funded primarily by the City and the National Skills Fund and is geared to facilitate over 3 000 jobs in three years, by providing training and workplace experience in high growth industries for previously unemployed South African youth and women.</p><p>‘It’s great to witness the fruits of this project, especially as it directly impacts vulnerable Capetonians who were desperately in need of a paying job, and channels revenue into Cape Town’s GDP,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis. </p><p>‘As I have previously said, our higher purpose as public servants is to serve those who still suffer the indignity and deprivation of poverty by growing the economy and laying the groundwork for opportunities. Through initiatives such as the Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator project, we are making a meaningful impact in the fight against unemployment,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis. </p><p>To date, almost 1400 unemployed and previously disadvantaged individuals have been trained for call centres and every single one of them has been offered permanent employment upon successful completion of their training. This is against a target of 1 100 people, meaning that the project has over-delivered by almost 30%. </p><p>‘I am happy to confirm that this coming year, the City will be directing more funding towards the Cape Skills project, with CapeBPO, the local government’s Strategic Business Partner for the call centre industry, facilitating the training programme,’ said Alderman Vos. </p><p>In total, Cape Town’s call centre sector created almost 5 500 international jobs in 2021, bringing the overall jobs servicing global clients to over 42 000. Together with domestic-facing clients, more than 69 000 people now work in the sector in Cape Town.</p><p>In addition, the international BPO market in Cape Town last year contributed around R14 billion to the metro’s economy.</p><p>‘Realising the potential of Cape Town’s high growth industries and extending their opportunities to Capetonians who need it most has been my goal since stepping into this mayoral committee position three years ago. Through programmes such as Cape Skills, we are achieving that goal. And will continue to do so,’ said Alderman Vos. </p><p>To apply for a spot in the programme, visit the Skills Portal platform to complete your registration and complete a series of assessments.</p><p>Successful applicants will then be selected for a 12-month programme with CapeBPO, during which time they will receive accredited training, a monthly stipend allowance and workplace experience at employer sites in Cape Town.</p><p>To sign up to the Skills Portal platform, click here: REGISTER</p><p><br>End</p><p><br> </p><span aria-hidden="true"></span> | 2022-01-23T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| City advises of water supply disruptions in Blue Downs, Brentwood Park, Camelot, Hagley, Highgate, Malibu Village, Nuwe Begin, Silversands, Summerville, Sunbird Park, Wembley and Wesbank | The City’s Water and Sanitation Department will be doing the permanent repairs to the leaking 650mm diameter pipeline supplying Blue Downs, Brentwood Park, Camelot, Hagley, Highgate, Malibu Village, Nuwe Begin, Silversands, Summerville, Sunbird Park, Wembley and Wesbank on Monday 24 January 2022. The water supply to these areas will be shut off on Monday from 09:00 until 20:00 to enable the repairs to be done safely. | <p>The water in the vicinity of the leak will be pumped out once the pressure in the pipeline has dropped. This will allow the maintenance team to remove the leaking pipe section and replace it with the fabricated section.</p><p>Residents are kindly requested where possible to store water upfront in clean sealed containers for domestic use during this period and to ensure their taps are closed to prevent any water wastage and/or damage when the water supply is restored.</p><p>Water tankers will be roaming through the areas to provide water for domestic purposes where required. Covid-19 measures will apply when collecting water from the tankers. </p><p>The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience, but it is imperative that it maintains and upgrades its water supply infrastructure to benefit its consumers.</p><p>Please visit the City Alerts twitter page or consult your ward councillor for updates including the water trucks delivery service. </p> | 2022-01-22T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
