The civil rights organisation AfriForum established a neighbourhood watch in Margate on 13 September 2018 after the community has expressed the need to address the high levels of crime in the area by way of a neighbourhood watch.
The neighbourhood watch management comprises Wessel Pretrorius (Chairperson), Wynand Kirchner (Vice Chairperson), Marizaan du Plessis (Margate), Adolf Oosthuizen (Ramsgate), Wynand Kirchner (Uvungo), Hennie van den Berg (Manaba) and Jaco van Vuuren (Port Shepstone).
“We really want to build good ties with the SAPS, the CPF and other structures in the area to make a difference together and specifically to reduce the high levels of crime in Margate and surrounding areas,” Pretorius says.
“The Southcoast Herald recently reported that Margate had the largest burglary statistics of KwaZulu-Natal. For this reason, I am very happy about the establishing of the neighbourhood watch and I invite the community to become involved. We can no longer allow the Police to carry the burden of fighting crime themselves – we have to get involved,” says Adolf Oosthuizen, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Margate branch.
“AfriForum serves on the SAPS’ Provincial, Rural and Tourism Safety Committee that meets monthly in Durban, where we give input regarding community safety. We hope to transfer this positive attitude between AfriForum and the SAPS also to the local neighbourhood watch to Margate’s benefit,” says Eugene van Aswegen, Provincial Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal.
Join your local AfriForum branch by sending an SMS with your name to 45267 (R1).