Cape Town launches Beach Safety plans ahead of record festive season
02 December 2024
The City of Cape Town has deployed over 680 lifeguards to beaches and swimming pools ahead of the summer tourism boom. This forms part of a record festive safety deployment of over 5 000 personnel across the metro. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis launched the City’s drowning prevention plans together with Councillor Patricia van der Ross, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, at the Lifeguarding Clubhouse on Clifton 4th beach on Monday, 2 December.
As part of its drowning prevention campaign, the City is deploying 340 beach lifeguards and 343 swimming pool lifeguards.
Lifeguards will be on duty at 29 different beaches, tidal pools, stretches of coast, and all public swimming pools between 10:00 and 18:00 daily. Partners include Lifesaving Cape Town, with 14 clubs along the coast, and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), who are on standby to make emergency deployments of rescue swimmers and vessels operating from eight base stations across the city.
The City’s Identikidz child safety project will be in full-swing, with this initiative tagging more than 130 000 children last summer.
Holiday-makers can further expect a top-up cleaning service targeting all beaches, scenic routes and central business districts. Cape Town’s anti-litter mascot, Bingo, will also be making various public appearances to encourage people to “bin it in the Bingo bin” and keep Cape Town clean for all to enjoy.
‘Cape Town is expecting record numbers of visitors to our shores this festive season, bringing a welcome boost to our local economy and supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
‘We are excited to welcome the world to our pristine beaches, where we will be pulling out all the stops to ensure a safe and enjoyable festive season. Visitors can expect well-trained lifeguards, an extensive child safety programme to prevent lost children, vehicle checkpoints, visible policing, and bolstered area cleaning services,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Cape Town has seen an improvement in drowning statistics over the past three years.
Fatal drownings were down 26% in the 2023/24 summer season when compared to the season before. Thirty non-fatal drownings, 14 fatal drownings and 80 rescues were recorded along the coast in the 2023/24 season. There were no fatal or non-fatal drownings at municipal swimming pools.
'The improved statistics are welcomed, but one drowning is one too many. Even more heart-breaking is that all of the fatal drownings last season happened outside designated bathing areas, or during times when lifeguards were not on duty.
‘Our lifeguards are dedicated professionals who play a crucial role in safeguarding beachgoers, but it is a shared responsibility. Please adhere to the rules, and support our lifeguards, so that we can ensure a safe and memorable beach experience for everyone,' said Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross.
City safety operations will be coordinated from special Beach Joint Operational Centres (JOCs), reporting into the central Metropole Integrated JOC at the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) in Goodwood, as well as the SAPS Command Centre.
Vehicle checkpoints will be in place on major routes to beaches, with officers clamping down on alcohol-use and anti-social behaviour in public spaces.
The City would like to remind the public of four golden rules to be cognisant of when in and around water:
• Always swim on a beach with lifeguards on duty, and between their red and yellow flags
• Do not leave children unsupervised in or around water
• Do not swim under the influence of alcohol
• Beware of rip currents. If you're caught in a current, try to stay calm and signal for help
More details on lifeguarding schedules are available here: https://bit.ly/CT-Beaches-Lifeguard-Schedule
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
