Due to the Festive season, there will be heavy traffic on the roads as people travel for vacations and homecomings. There will also be celebrations that draw a lot of people as they take part in the festivities. Municipalities, the provincial, and the national government are putting plans in place for a safe festive season.
As part of the planning meeting for festive season operations, the South African Police Services led a status of preparedness briefing on Tuesday morning this week. The District Visible Policing Commander for Buffalo City Municipality (BCM), Brigadier Nomazwi Nkombisa, presided over the meeting.
The safety and security cluster announced preparation as most businesses will be closed for the upcoming long weekend and as many people are expected to return home for the holidays.
All safety plans for roads, beaches, and events were finalised at the meeting, according to a statement from BCM Spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya.
The safety and security cluster has issued a warning that non-compliant events will not be permitted to proceed after concerns were expressed about a few of them.
High visibility on the long weekend of December 16, drunk driving, drinking on beaches, car guards, and swimming safety are a few more issues that have been brought up.
While BCM lifeguards are already on duty at prominent beaches, the municipality stated that extra attention will also be provided to all metro beaches with National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) boat patrols. There will also be patrols on foot, by air, on horseback, and on the roads.
The safety and security cluster are dedicated to having a safe and incident-free December, according to Ngwenya.
The construction of the festive venue operation centre (VOC), which will be located on the East London beachfront, is reportedly under way.
On the same day, the Department of Health held their annual Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Festive Season Activation at Kouga Partnership Hospital in Humansdorp.
Later, the event moved to the Humansdorp N2 Bridge for the launch of the EMS Arrive Alive campaign in collaboration with the Department of Transport.
This coordinated event aimed to show how prepared and equipped the provincial EMS is to handle the influx of visitors over the festive season.
Last week saw the beginning of the festive road safety awareness campaign. This government initiative intends to prioritise and promote safe driving practices on all South African roads during the impending peak season.
This program aims to prevent careless and reckless driving, which could cause traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities, in addition to ensuring smooth traffic flow.
Lumka Oliphant: ‘Yekani utywala’