4 July 2025 Media Release: Final GRDM Community Safety Forum Meeting for 2024/2025 Financial Year Focuses on Funding, Accountability, and Community Impact
Media Release: Final GRDM Community Safety Forum Meeting for 2024/2025 Financial Year Focuses on Funding, Accountability, and Community Impact
4 July 2025
Yesterday, 3 July 2025, the final quarterly Garden Route District Community Safety Forum (CSF) Meeting for the 2024/2025 financial year took place at Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM) Joint Operation Centre. Stakeholders in attendance, some online, included GRDM Executive Mayor Andrew Stroebel; Portfolio Chairperson for Community Services, Cllr Jobieth Hoogbaard; the Acting Municipal Manager and Executive Manager of Community Services, Nthabeleng Raisa-Mlandu; and political and administrative representatives from the seven B-municipalities, South African Police Services (SAPS), the Western Cape Provincial (WCG) Department Social Services, and the WCG Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety (POCS).
Acting Municipal Manager officially welcome all present at the quarterly meeting and thanked them for prioritising community safety in the district. This was followed by the main discussion of the meeting, led by Vuyani Mbaqa from WCG POCS, which focused on the approval process for the 2025/2025 annual funding business plan. Feedback was provided on the six criteria that will be used as a tool to monitor and measure the effectiveness of Community Safety Forums (CSF) in local municipalities. Mbaqa during his discussion emphasized the importance of ringfencing and streamlining funding, noting that grant allocations be made based on the six criteria outcomes, making sure that local municipalities used the fund strictly for the purposes identified in their respective business plans.
Local municipalities present were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the status of their Local Safety Forums, the scheduled dates of their next CSF meetings, and the progress made on projects and objectives identified in their previous business plans.
In conclusion, GRDM Executive Mayor Andrew Stroebel delivered a word of support. “Safety is not just about statistics or patrols; it’s about people feeling secure in their homes, children walking to school without fear, and families building their futures with peace of mind. It’s about love – love for our communities, our neighbours, and the places we call home,” Stroebel said. He went on to thank all stakeholders, “From the SAPS officers to municipal officials, forum members, and community representatives. Your commitment, even when the work is tough, is truly inspiring”.
Following the formal programme, the GRDM Executive Mayor, the MMC for Community Services, and the Acting Municipal Manager handed over safety equipment and PPE to local municipal officials for use by their CSF members. The forum meeting was chaired by Cllr Jobieth Hoogbaard, with Gail Bekeer serving as secretariat.
Featured image and above: GRDM team with representatives from Hessequa Municipality.
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