24 August 2021 Executive Mayor’s Speech a the GRDM Council Meeting

Mr Speaker

Mr Speaker, I am going to be short and sweet in my address today. One of the issues at hand, Mr Speaker, is that we, as South Africans, are very good at celebrating events. Year-after-year, week-after-week and day-after-day, we celebrate various international days, or focus months. On top of this, we are also very good at creating policies. The challenge faced by all spheres of Government is to efficiently communicate policies to communities and to implement them.

Mr Speaker, we all know that we are currently in Women’s month. During August annually, we celebrate our women, sisters, mothers and nieces, etc. However, we are still getting sleepless nights because if one looks at the headlines in the newspapers and the media in general, we remain and are constantly reminded of the violent society we live in. Even here in our own Garden Route, the crime statistics are on the rise; if it is not men killing their wives, boyfriends killing their girlfriends, children killing their parents – this remains a scary thought and scenario for all of us.

I know that we do not have a silver bullet for resolving crime here or at any Council, but I know Mr Speaker, that we would need to at one stage or another have more engagements. Our safety summits are already making a difference in communities of the Garden Route, and we also have the relevant stakeholder involved there. However, we need longer-lasting solutions and more dedication from all sectors of society to curb violence in our communities.

Mr Speaker, we probably also need to arrange engagements with the judiciary or someone from the crime intelligence; in essence, we need subject experts to help root out the violence faced by women. We know that trust in law enforcement can often become a problem because perpetrators commit crimes again after they’re released from jail. This has a detrimental impact on perceptions about those who are tasked to keep communities safe.

Mr Speaker, we also know that on a daily basis, we get other scary figures on Covid-19 and even one incident/positive case is one too many, let alone losing a loved one to this dreaded disease.

It has also come to my attention that, apart from the fake news and these other conspiracy theories regarding the vaccination etc., that there is a lot of skepticism about the vaccines. Therefore, I would like to plea with everyone to get the jab. I am a living example of someone who took his first and second Pfizer jabs. Also, I know that some people have shown no signs of side effects, while others have had some side effects – both are normal to experience. I said this the last time I addressed you – I am repeating what the medical practitioners are saying; if you react to the vaccine, your body’s defensive system is working perfectly and this is a good sign.

Mr Speaker, we as Government encourage those who are 18 years and older to register for the vaccine and to go for their jabs. Based on the needs of the Health sector, Mr Speaker, we also had an engagement with Provincial Health and we’ve decided to avail twenty (20) Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers to various sites to assist with administrative duties at entrances. This will alleviate the pressure on medical staff. These EPWP workers have also been vaccinated and they are being managed by the George hospital. The feedback we’ve received thus far is positive and we are happy that we are able to make a difference. We are aware that the frontline staff are exposed to the virus more than anyone else and we appreciate them and the passion they have for fighting this pandemic.

Thank you,
Mr Speaker.