- The City of Cape Town believes the various safety interventions implemented to curb crime in Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and other tourist attractions are paying off.
- According to JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security, the City’s law enforcement agencies have not recorded any incident since December.
- Minister Mireille Wenger says to continue these safety efforts, the provincial government is adding R4 million to the tourism law enforcement unit over the next 18 months.
The City of Cape Town believes the various safety interventions implemented to curb crime in Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and other tourist attractions are paying off.
According to JP Smith, Mayco member for safety and security, the City’s law enforcement agencies have not recorded any incident since December.
Smith was updating the media about the City’s safety measures over the festive season on Thursday (11 January).
He was accompanied by Mireille Wenger, provincial minister of finance and economic opportunities.
During the launch of the festive tourism safety operation in November, the City announced that 4 000 enforcement and emergency personnel would be deployed across all the tourist attractions (Thousands of officers to guard tourism attractions in Cape Town during the festive season, People’s Post, 8 November 2023).
The safety interventions include regular patrols in partnership with various agencies including SANParks, TMNP, Saps, Metro Police and civil organisations.
Smith says they also reinstated the Table Mountain Safety Forum. “As a consequence of these interventions, we started to make a few arrests during the last week of November and the first week of December. And as a consequence, we have not had an incident since the 22 December. Several of the perpetrators are in custody.”
He adds: “We managed to contain attacks and we will continue to work closely using our drones, CCTV cameras, SANParks’ technology while not having any negative impact elsewhere in the city.”
Wenger says to continue these safety efforts, the provincial government is adding R4 million to the tourism law enforcement unit over the next 18 months.
“From the provincial government side, we will be bolstering the City’s law enforcement unit for trails and pathways on the mountains to make sure that we have a consistent presence and make sure that everyone visiting the mountains has a safe hike.
“We are also collaborating with SANParks as well as Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and civil society groups. Together, we can make sure that our mountain is safe,” explains Wenger.
She says a safe city is beneficial for the economy. “More tourists mean more jobs. For every 100 foreign visitors, two local jobs are created. And that is why tourists are precious, whether they come from the Western Cape or other parts of South Africa or from overseas. We would love to welcome them because we understand tourism is for job creation.”
