The Launch of the West Coast District municipality's (WCDM) Multi- Sectoral Forum (MSF) is another step in the right direction in ensuring that the challenges in the WCDM relating to the social and health environment is speedily addressed.
I laud this bold initiative of the WCDM as another first in the Western Cape as it will address the root causes of crime related to the social conditions in the communities of the Western Cape. This community of the West Coast may be poor economically; but they are rich in leadership; vision and values which is essential ingredients to ensuring that a holistic approach is taken when we address the multiple factors and causes of crime.
I and my Department of Community Safety are honoured to support the leadership and vision of this municipality. We are particularly pleased as this municipality has partnered with our department when we initiated the West Coast District Municipality's Intergovernmental Safety Forum that particularly focuses on the safety issues and projects.
During the last meeting of the WCDM Safety Forum which was hosted at the Municipal Council Chambers on 21 April 2010, we already identified some of the main challenges we must address. Not only did Commissioner Petros and the SAPS Cluster Commander; Col Von Litzenburg advise on the challenges; we also immediately started the planning of interventions with 27 members where we undertook to partner with other stakeholders such as Social Development; Agriculture; Home Affairs; Labour ; Marine & Coastal Management; Department of Health; the South African National Defence Force (SANDF); South African Police Service (SAPS); the local municipalities (just to mention a few).
Again, I must acknowledged these partners and more so the West Coast District Municipality's leadership and co-ordination role who ensured these partnerships were strengthened by the Mayors Integrated Development Planning Co-ordinating Committee (IDPCC) that we also supported. It is such vision and leadership that will ensure that we improve the living conditions of the rural communities in the West Coast.
Already, the WCDM Safety Forum has prioritised the rural safety and farm safety capacity building programme with SAPS and the Department of Agriculture; where the reception of farmers and farm workers was wonderful (March 2010). They were open to us to allow training and building the capacity of farm workers and particularly focus on dealing with the scourge of alcohol and drug abuse.
We initiated the discussions on the role out of the new substance abuse programme with the Department of Social Development who intends to establish a rehabilitation centre in the West Coast. These types of partnership interventions is critical for the West Coast communities; as we see an increase in youth in Vredenburg and other areas abusing drugs and alcohol. We must continue with these types of interventions to get the Criminal Justice Sector Departments i.e. SAPS; Justice; Corrections etc. with the other departments and municipalities to form project teams that specialise in developing and implementing safety projects within the West Coast communities.
However we must now ensure that we align the two forums and I will undertake to ensure that the WCDM Safety Forum report on a quarterly basis to the Multi Sectoral Forum on their progress on the safety projects we have initiated.
We have also initiated the drafting of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the municipality where we are considering the partnership funding and development of a West Coast Safety Strategy that can form part of the WCDM IDP 2011/12. Already the WCDM has budgeted over R 100 000 for safety in their IDP and I hope we can cement this partnership with finalising the agreement between my department and the WCDM and local municipalities in the next two months.
Such an integrated safety strategy with the necessary projects and interventions will greatly guide us further to implement and sustain interventions and deal with the social causes related to crime based on a sound understanding of the WCDM demographics and statistics.
Through this strategy, multiple partners will join hands to implement such projects and programmes in line with their own functions. It is this type of Multi- Sectoral planning and implementation we must forge through this bold initiative of the establishment of the WCDM Multi-Sectoral Forum today. I am therefore greatly appreciative of the formation of the Multi-Sectoral Forum, as it will make my work much lighter in the communities of the West Coast.
I trust that the work already done and the plans mooted here today, will take this initiative from strength to strength as we work together to ensure that every member of this community has access to opportunities to live in a safer environment.
I thank you.
