A number of initiatives have been implemented in Hanover Park aimed at creating a safer environment and assisting residents to access information and tools that will help them find job opportunities.
They form part of a raft of measures that the City of Cape Town has adopted as part of its Gang Prevention Strategy, which is a “whole of society” plan.
“The City knows that the residents of Cape Town can only truly access the opportunities that we and others provide for them when they feel safe. We also know that safe environments are more likely to exist in areas where residents, particularly the youth, have access to opportunities for development.
“We believe that equipping people with the right skills to find work and build a career will deal with issues of poverty in the community and provide alternative futures to young people who might be tempted by the lure of gangs,” says the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Councillor Garreth Bloor.
Cape Town Activa is running a Job Readiness Programme at Hanover Park library from 9 September until 26 October 2013 – teaching CV development, communication skills, and job interview preparation, including mock interviews.
This is to better prepare members of the community for the job market and teach them to communicate their skills in a more effective manner. The programme will also run at other libraries across the city.
The City provides work through its Expanded Public Works Programme which gives short-term job opportunities to those who most need work. Examples include the cleaning and waste removal projects at the Hanover Park Market and the Athlone Fish Market, which are due to start in a few months.
Another example is the security project at the Hanover Park Market which starts later this month, and offers opportunities for people to enjoy temporary employment as a leg up to something greater.
The security plan includes policing interventions such as the Gang Unit, the Drug Unit, the K-9 drug sniffer dogs; payment of informants for information leading to the confiscation of illegal firearms and narcotics; the eviction of criminal elements and drug dealers from the City’s rental housing units, especially in gang-affected areas; the development of neighbourhood watch (NHW) organisations; and the sourcing of our new Law Enforcement Auxiliary Service members from these NHWs.
It also includes social development solutions such as drug treatment and counselling programmes, youth recreation opportunities, youth development programmes, the Metro Police Youth Academy and the successful Ceasefire programme in Hanover Park which will soon be extended to other suburbs, such as Manenberg.
This is in addition to various interventions being driven by the Western Cape Government.
“The City of Cape Town is committed to creating safe spaces in which individuals are free to make use of every opportunity available to them. This remains our mission and drive in Hanover Park,” says Councillor Bloor.
