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Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Eyewitness News
CoCT's JP Smith says 700 new 'neighbourhood police officers' trained to have multitude of skills
CAPE TOWN - City of Cape Town (CoCT) Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said the 700 new "neighbourhood police officers" were being trained to have a multitude of skills. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently joined Smith at the city's Observatory College, where the officers were in their final stages of training. READ: CoCT's 'neighbourhood policing' initiative to see metro police officers deployed in every ward Smith explained some of the training the officers had to endure. "The candidates completed an 18-month-long training programme which included traffic officer training, metro police officer training, which included firearm competency, as well as specialised training which included our neighbourhood safety officer training, evidence-based policing, additional tactical training." Smith said the officers were also taught how to use the city's electronic devices. "Officers were also put through their paces using the city's cutting-edge firearms training simulator. Officers will be assigned EPIC hand-held devices for digital coordination and reporting of offences as part of our computer-aided dispatching system." Smith said that five officers per ward would be deployed across Cape Town in spring.
Daily Maverick
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Cape Town set to pass budget, while civic bodies consider legal challenge
A special council meeting will be held in Cape Town on Thursday, June 26 to discuss and adopt the city's revised 2025/2026 budget, after a process which saw the city making adjustments to it after complaints over tariff increases and other issues. Tariff increases, rebates for pensioners and unaffordable rates — these are some of the key issues that will take centre stage on Thursday morning in Cape Town when the city's budget is due to be adopted. There have been indications that opposition parties will not vote in favour of the budget, and ratepayers' organisations have questioned rates and tariff increases. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads When the city tabled the draft 2025/2026 budget on 27 March, it came under fire for raising tariffs and including a new citywide cleaning fee. Ratepayers and civic organisations said they would object to the new budget. Just one day before public comment closed in May, the city announced expanded measures for relief, particularly for families in lower-value homes, as well as softening tariffs for the middle class, according to a media release by the City of Cape Town (CoCT). Read more: Petitions, statements and condemnation: Cape Town's draft budget controversy explained Some of the additional expanded measures announced by the city include extending the 'first R450,000 rates-free' benefit to all homes up to a R7-million property valuation (up from R5-million). Another measure includes more pensioners qualifying for this benefit by raising the qualifying threshold to a R27,000 monthly income per household (up from R22,000), regardless of property value. Public comment on the new adjustments closed on 13 June. However, there are still some concerns from political parties and ratepayers' associations. Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, 25 June, the ANC caucus leader in the council, Ndithini Tyhido, said his party would not support 'a budget that fails the people of Cape Town'. The ANC is the biggest opposition party in the council. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'While the DA-led administration attempts to portray this adjustment as a response to the public input, the reality is that the revised budget remains fundamentally anti-poor, anti-development and deeply exclusionary,' he said. The party, he claimed, had made it clear that the original draft budget 'failed to address the structural inequalities in our communities'. Ratepayers' association considering options The Cape Town Collective Ratepayers' Association (CTCRA) said it still had concerns about the new adjustments, including that 'total municipal rates bill increases are many multiples of the inflation rate, especially for property owners with values [of] R5-million and more, who face double-digit increases'. The association comprises 57 ratepayers' associations and civic organisations from across the city. The CTCRA said 'alternative additional revenue sources have not been included'. Another concern was that 'commercial properties are exempted from the introduction of the citywide cleaning charge. This is not fair to residential property owners who do not have this exemption.' In response to Daily Maverick's questions, Bas Zuidberg, interim chair of the CTCRA, said, 'Given that it is probable that CoCT will approve this budget, we will be looking into the merits of a legal challenge to the principle of calculating fixed charges based on the property valuation. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'We believe, as do many others, that this a breach of the Municipal Systems Act and sets a dangerous trend for Cape Town as well as a dangerous precedent for the country as a whole.' advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Some of the priorities in the city's budget include 500 new metro police officers spread across wards and more than 200 new officers to protect service delivery teams from criminals. Other projects include a R4.5-billion allocation for the new MyCiTi route linking Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and other communities to Wynberg/Claremont. The city has a budget of R2-billion for a project that will reduce sewage spills and water bursts by replacing 100km of sewer and 50km of water pipes per year; R3.5-billion will go towards road upgrades, repairs and congestion relief. According to a report by the city on the public comment process, 1,147 individual submissions were submitted, with a 'significant portion of the feedback focused on the proposed increases in property rates and tariffs, with concerns raised by individual residents, ratepayers' associations, and community organisations'. DM
Daily Maverick
21-06-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Refusing to die — reframing the Cape Peninsula Chacma baboon crisis through the return of suppressed ecologies
In May 2022, the City of Cape Town (COCT) launched the Living Alongside Wildlife Charter (WildCT), a progressive initiative promising to protect urban wildlife and reduce 'human-wildlife conflict'. The charter emphasised prevention, education, enforcement of bylaws, improved waste management, traffic calming and a holistic, non-lethal approach to managing biodiversity. It is committed to wildlife-friendly urban management and planning, law enforcement coordination and public awareness campaigns, principles echoed in the Baboon Strategic Management Plan 2023/24-2033/34. Two years on, promises of meaningful, proactive intervention remain largely unfulfilled. Instead, baboons are still subjected to violent aversive tactics like paintballs, confined to degraded habitats with diminishing natural forage. Unsurprisingly, they seek out high-calorie alternatives such as unsecured waste in urban areas, increasing human-wildlife encounters, fuelling public frustration and deepening social divisions. While the Chacma baboon is indigenous to the Cape Peninsula and plays an important role in the local ecosystem, especially in seed dispersal, COCT and its partners, CapeNature and SANParks, collectively known as the Joint Task Team (JTT), plan to remove about 120 of them from their ancestral range. This comes as a profound contradiction: COCT, globally recognised in 2024 as a ' Beacon City ' for its compassionate approach to animal management, is now advancing undeniably cruel removals as the sole response to the presence of wildlife in increasingly human-transformed landscapes. Political expediency disguised as ecology These removals are not driven by unavoidable so-called conflict. They reflect sustained failures to implement preventative measures and enforce existing legal obligations, including bylaws on waste management and traffic calming. The reliance on reactive, coercive interventions and short-term, violent fixes reflects a legacy of exclusionary governance and control-oriented ideologies that are inconsistent with constitutional principles of participatory decision-making, administrative justice, and practices that are free from violence. To justify removals, a narrative has emerged, based on two flawed claims: first, that some baboons have splintered into smaller groups led by ' lower-ranking ' males and females; second, that hair loss may indicate poor health. The first claim ignores the biological reality that troop splintering is natural in baboon societies. The five 'splinter troops' targeted for removal have coped over the years, surviving devastating fires and human pressure. The second claim lacks scientific transparency: authorities have not released any data on stress hormone levels, despite clear links between hair loss and the chronic stress that their very management's violent tactics create. Residents regularly documented paintball gun use, including cruel attacks on lactating females and even day-old infants. Ecological decline and governance failure The 2024 Western Cape State of the Environment Report offers a dire picture: ecosystem health continued its steady decline over the past five years. Habitat loss and species deterioration are recorded even in protected areas like Table Mountain. Drivers include invasive species, poaching, arson, illegal trade, lack of enforcement and poor implementation. While protected areas have expanded on paper, this has not translated into ecological recovery. These trends expose a critical truth: formal protection without ecological restoration is not sufficient. Fragmented, reactive conservation is failing. No climate adaptation plans seem to be effectively in place. No significant funding seems to be allocated to ecosystem repair. Most alarmingly, legal duties remain unfulfilled: the duty of care and the obligation to consider animal wellbeing in management decisions are routinely ignored. Nature continues to be treated not as a living system, but as an inert object to be controlled and used. Indigenous wisdom and suppressed ecologies Globally, indigenous communities represent just 5% of the population, yet protect more than 80% of biodiversity. In southern Africa, the San and Khoe peoples have long held baboons in high regard. Known as beings who ' refuse to die ', baboons were admired for their powerful resilience and ability to heal, escape danger and overcome drought and injury. San healers observed them closely, evoked their powers in rituals, and followed them to learn which plants they used to manage pain and heal, laying the foundation for their legendary knowledge of medicinal plants. This is not folklore. It is empirical wisdom grounded in generations of observation and coexistence. But colonial and patriarchal conservation systems systematically devalued and suppressed this intelligence. They imposed binary hierarchies: man/woman, human/animal, white/non-white, mind/body, able/disabled, etc, to normalise domination and elimination. As Dr Vandana Shiva notes, modern science evolved to serve exploitation, treating Nature as lifeless and turning knowledge into a tool to justify extraction. In doing so, it dismissed the regenerative wisdom of Indigenous people, women and peasants, precisely the knowledge we now urgently need: that of care, reciprocity and regeneration. Rehabilitation, not removal Removal is not a solution; it is a symptom of systemic failure. The way forward lies in rehabilitation, restoration and rethinking our relationship with Nature. To begin repairing its fractured bond with wildlife, the JTT must shift from a conservation paradigm of control and elimination to one of ecological restoration and care. COCT must immediately impose a moratorium on all planned baboon removals. Any future decision must be based on interdisciplinary knowledge, transparency, procedural fairness and genuine public consultation. This contrasts sharply with the flawed process imposed on the Cape Peninsula Baboon Advisory Group, which was handed the baboon removal final decision without being consulted. CapeNature and SANParks must commit to large-scale habitat restoration. This means rehabilitating degraded zones, creating corridors and large ecological patches and planting indigenous food-bearing species essential for baboon and other wildlife survival, reducing their dependence on urban waste. COCT must implement its own mitigation strategies and bylaws on waste management, WildCT and the Cape Peninsula Baboon Strategic Management Plan by promoting true interdepartmental collaboration between waste management, law enforcement, urban planning and environmental units. This crisis is not simply political. It is ecological, ethical and cultural. It will only be resolved when the question shifts: not how to remove baboons, but how to restore the environments that have failed them. DM
News24
15-06-2025
- Climate
- News24
Boyes Drive closed to traffic as firefighters battle Muizenberg mountain fire
Multiple firefighting teams are currently fighting a fire that broke out above Boyes Drive in Muizenberg. The fire is presently burning in the direction of Kalk Bay and St James. Boyes Drive is closed to the public until further notice. Boyes Drive in Muizenberg has been closed to traffic following a fire that broke out on the mountain slopes above it on Sunday morning. The fire broke out at about 08:30, and a call for assistance was made to the City of Cape Town's Fire and Rescue Services Department. According to Fire and Rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse, several resources were dispatched to the scene as well as the Incident Management Teams (IMT) to coordinate operational functions. 'The right flank was quickly secured. However, the concern is the left flank that is slowly spreading towards Kalk Bay,' Carelse said. He added that they are being assisted by Table Mountain National Parks (TMNP) and Volunteer Wildfire Services in efforts to get the fire under control. READ | Cape Town blaze: Wildfire still raging as animal welfare inundated with cases 'At this stage, we cannot give a definitive answer as to how long it will take to extinguish the blaze,' Carelse added. Volunteer Wildfire Services said that authorities have cautioned residents and visitors to steer clear of the area as containment efforts intensify. 'Emergency services are currently at the scene, mobilising multiple resources to combat the blaze that threatens to extend along the verdant hillsides surrounding this popular route,' the organisation added. Supplied by SANParks The Table Mountain National Park warned motorists to avoid Boyes Drive as far as possible and allow emergency cars to pass. SANParks head of communications JP Louw said in a statement that all available resources are being deployed in active suppression efforts, with a primary focus on keeping the fire above Boyes Drive. He added: The fire is presently burning along the left flank in the direction of Kalk Bay and St James. As of now, the fire is approximately 90% contained, thanks to the coordinated efforts of all firefighting teams on the ground. SANParks said Boyes Drive will be closed to the public until further notice to ensure public safety and facilitate firefighting operations.
The Herald
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Herald
Cape Town lab tests thousands of samples as city notes increase in foodborne illnesses
Noting a gradual increase in foodborne illnesses, the City of Cape Town says its microbiological laboratory has tested nearly 5,000 food samples over 10 months to verify the items were safe to eat. Tests are conducted on ready-to-eat and dairy products, from sushi to baked goods. The laboratory also conducts testing of samples in cases of foodborne illnesses. Food handling, production and processing environments from manufacturers to retailers and takeaways to old age homes, informal traders and spaza shops are included in the sampling. 'The testing is essential for identifying unhygienic conditions, poor food handling practices and possible contamination to prevent potential outbreaks,' said the city. 'Over 10 months since July 2024, the laboratory received 4,853 samples that were subjected to 17,759 analyses. The sample results yielded an overall compliance rate of 84.55%.' The city said it had noted a 'steady increase' in reported foodborne illnesses from July 2022 to April 2025. 'As Covid-19 restrictions eased, there was a return to normal food handling, dining and social behaviours. This may have led to increased exposure to foodborne pathogens and a rebound in reported cases. The increase in notifications, specially in 2024, may also reflect better detection, reporting and surveillance systems as public health operations normalised post-pandemic,' said community services and health MMC Francine Higham. 'However, as the underreporting of foodborne illness is known to be extensive, the actual incidence is likely to be far higher, which reinforces the need for regular testing of foodstuffs in the public domain.' The city described its health department's food microbiological laboratory and environmental health practitioners as frontline defenders against foodborne illnesses. TimesLIVE
