Day: September 25, 2022

City Hall recently hosted the launch and official draw for the Kapstadt CUP, The Mother City’s premier grassroots football festival, to be held this coming week. The City is once again a sponsor of the tournament.

The 2022 edition of the Kapstadt CUP will pit together 120 teams in 10 age groups from under 7 to under 20.

More than 1 700 youth football players will take part in the tournament over five days from 28 September to 2 October 2022. 

In addition to 23 Cape Town-based football clubs, the Kapstadt CUP will also welcome two clubs from the Western Cape, three from KZN, three from Gauteng and one from Namibia.

‘The City of Cape Town has been a supporter of the Kapstadt CUP for a number of years now and its growth year-on-year has been remarkable. For us, what is encouraging is the involvement of teams from outside Cape Town’s boundary to compete with our local clubs. This speaks volumes for the event’s growth potential and its ability to provide a platform for promising football players who aspire to play professionally.

‘The City’s support for the Kapstadt CUP is part of its commitment to investing in the development of grassroots sports and ensuring young Capetonians have the platforms to express their gifts and a stage where they can be discovered by talent scouts,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

In addition to support for event services, the City will be providing some of its facilities including Athlone Stadium, Greenpoint Park, Greenpoint Shared Fields and Hartleyvale in Observatory.

‘The 11th edition of the Kapstadt CUP 2022 has evolved the event into an international youth football festival. Namibian side, Athletic FC becomes our first international visitors. The inclusion of an under-20 competition makes the tournament the only full international youth development competition programme in South Africa. The Kapstadt CUP will continue to be a platform to inspire youth to develop and rise to fame. Playing at Athlone Stadium is the stuff dreams are made of. The Kapstadt CUP aims to make dreams a reality, by bringing youth teams from the biggest clubs in the world to the Mother City in 2023,’ said Kapstadt CUP tournament director Zaid Omar.

Fans are encouraged to go out to support the young footballers. Entry at all venues is R20 for adults and R15 for children under the age of 15.

YoungstaCpt will perform at the Opening Ceremony to be held at Athlone Stadium on Friday 30 September 2022 at 18:00.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Statement by Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis

On behalf of the City of Cape Town, I’d like to wish all Jewish Capetonians shana tova umetuka.

Cape Town is a city that prides itself on its rich diversity of cultures and religion, and our social fabric is weaved together with the many different cultural and religious celebrations of our communities.

May the new year bring a sense of optimism; a feeling that the lives of everyone in our beautiful city can (and will) become better, safer, more prosperous, more kind, and more loving.

Source: City Of Cape Town

With World Environmental Health Day commemorated annually on 26 September, the focus is on the assessment and control of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health. It’s also an opportunity for City Health to pause and take stock of the mammoth task its Environmental Health Practitioners do each year, to keep Cape Town safe – from air quality to food safety and many other important aspects in between.

Environmental Health is the branch of public health tasked with monitoring, and mitigating factors in the environment that affect human health.

While there are many common denominators in the environmental health sector the world over, in the last financial year (July 2021 to June 2022), Cape Town’s Environmental Health Service dealt with an array of complaints and concerns, with the top five being vector control, unhygienic conditions, noise pollution, overgrown erven and air pollution.

During the period in question, the Environmental Health Service attended to 8 356 complaints from the public – over and above the proactive education/awareness and compliance monitoring that also forms part of their mandate.

In addition, they:

Installed and serviced well over 60 000 block baiting service points for vector control in public areas and informal settlements

Conducted 1 338 hygiene education/awareness outreach projects

Issued 326 admission of guilt fines spanning various by-laws and national legislation like the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act, the Business Act and regulations around hygiene and the transportation of food

Accrued R1,6m in fines for transgressions in terms of the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act

Tested 8 788 vehicles to ensure compliance with diesel emissions limits

‘These statistics represent but a fraction of the work that our Environmental Health Service gets through in a year. The list is incredibly long, and I don’t think we fully appreciate the critical role that they play in our health and well-being. Apart from the more well-known aspects, our EHPs even conduct inspections at barbershops and salons, and also have a hand in matters relating to the safe keeping of animals. And, let’s not forget how crucial they were to ensuring compliance with Covid-19 protocols at restaurants, shopping malls and other public facilities,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Community Service and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross.

FOOD SAFETY

During the last financial year, EHPs conducted 24 925 inspections at food premises.

It is a criminal offence to sell or offer to sell any foodstuff that is contaminated or unfit for human consumption and staff have the authority to order the removal from sale of such contaminated or unsafe foodstuffs.

Of the thousands of premises visited, legal action was necessary at 119 premises, while three others were completely prohibited from trading until the necessary rectification measures were taken by the owners.

‘That is actually a very small percentage of non-compliance when measured against the overall number of premises inspected, which means that the work our staff does day in and day out is having an impact. It’s also important to note that theirs is not a punitive approach – education is always the first step, along with time frames for remedial measures. Only in instances of continued non-compliance are fines issued or legal action instituted. So, we implore business owners, particularly those in the food industry, to reach out to their nearest Environmental Health Office for advice and guidance on operating within the bounds of the law. This is a far easier option than the alternative of playing dangerous games with the health of your clients, and paying a far higher price in the end,’ added Councillor Van der Ross.  

HUMAN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Residents are reminded that their behaviour directly impacts on the ability of the environment to sustain human health.

Human activities such as indiscriminate dumping, lack of recycling, increased carbon footprints, pollution of water sources, air pollution, increased urbanisation etcetera,  escalate the deteriorating quality of the environment that is essential for human survival in day-to-day life.

‘We want to remind residents that we are all responsible to play a part in preventing diseases and creating health-supportive environments. Human impact on the environment directly affects our health and we all need to take personal responsibility to work towards creating societies that are focused on well-being,’ said Councillor Van der Ross.

CONTACTING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Service requests/complaints can be logged online via the City’s e-services portal: https://eservices1.capetown.gov.za/coct/wapl/zsreq_app/index.html

Alternatively, residents can contact the City’s call centre on 0860 103 089.

Other channels of reporting are via your local clinic, or your nearest Environmental Health Office.

A list is available here: https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Forms,%20notices,%20tariffs%20and%20lists/LIST_ENVIRONMENTAL_HEALTH_OFFICES.pdf

REPORT ILLEGAL DUMPING

Illegal dumping contributes greatly to unhygienic environments in communities. Together we can stop illegal dumping.

Residents can also take their recycling to one of the City’s free drop-off facilities. See the list here: https://bit.ly/3dDco8U 

As part of the #SpringCleanCT campaign, the City is calling on residents to report illegal dumpers to us.

They could be fined up to R5 000, have their vehicle impounded, or face a 2-year prison sentence.

For every fine and conviction, we will offer you a reward from R1 000 up to R5 000:

24-hr tip-off line: 0800 110 077

Email: solidwaste.bylaw@capetown.gov.za

To notify the City about dumping that needs to be cleared please call 0860 103 089.

Source: City Of Cape Town

LULEKANI – The South African Police Service in Lulekani through the Communication Officer and Mopani District Men For Change Deputy Chairperson, Sergeant Ntsako Reoh Mabunda continued with partnership policing after they effectively hosted a prayer sermon at Letterain Church under the leadership of Pastor GC Ntimani on Sunday, 25 September 2022.

The initiative was also supported by the members of Detectives, Women’s Network, Crime Prevention and Social Crime Prevention.

Sergeant Mabunda was afforded the opportunity to address the congregation. He sensitized them about sexual offences, gender-based violence (GBV), Children’s Rights, Domestic Violence (DV), Community Policing, Community in Blue, Partnership Policing and illegal mining.

The contact details of the police management, Community Service Centre (CSC) including safety tips to prevent burglary and theft cases were also shared with the congregation.

Source: South African Police Service