All posts by elsiesri

Our Safety Initiatives

Seeing To Your Safety

Update On Our CCTV Camera Network

Crime is a sombre reality in South Africa that costs us dearly. Emotionally, living in fear drains us and financially, unplanned expenses due to theft can leave us grasping at straws. To do our part in creating a safer space for us all to share we are expanding and upgrading the CCTV camera network in the Elsies River City Improvement District (ERCID). 

The expansion supports our other public safety activities by sustainably decreasing criminal activity. 

In conjunction with the City of Cape Town, The SAPS, Neighbourhood Watch groups, local businesses and private individuals, we are a pivotal member of a public safety network with cameras that have eyesight over the critical locations of our CID. 

Allowing us to see the entire  Elsies River City Improvement District and intervene in all types of crimes to make our community safer.

Organized criminal activity targeting theft and vandalism of electrical components cost Eskom an estimated R69 000 000 in the last 18 months alone according to CEO  Andre de Ruyter. The damages to local businesses caused by interrupted power are incalculable, especially in mixed-use and industrial areas like the ERCID. 

The Elsies River City Improvement District’s road and communications infrastructure is also being crippled by vandalism and robbery, resulting in key road intersections, cell phone towers, and fibre networks being rendered inoperable. 

By expanding our CCTV surveillance we hope to be a significant contributor to creating a collaborative city-wide surveillance system that will prevent, identify, and neutralise criminal activity in real-time. We also know that our systems will help lawyers bring more criminals to justice and alleviate some of the load on our judicial system as they make the conviction process clearer and quicker. 

Our network is so effective due to our multifaceted approach to both the camera hardware and the data management of the surveillance systems. Our cameras are monitored on a 24/7 basis by a centralised control centre meaning we can track and stop criminal activity across districts in real-time. 

Our Cameras 

We use three types of cameras, some with infrared capabilities to see even in the dark.

– Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) cameras – These can be rotated by our trained operators to track people acting suspiciously even after they think they have walked out of frame.

– Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras – These are static cameras reading licence plates of vehicles.  The CID belongs to a recognised, well-organised user group that holds a database of suspicious vehicles.  Our LPR software generates alerts when such vehicles enter our Improvement District and place us on high alert.  Should the occupants act suspiciously we have the option of alerting the local SAPS sector patrol vehicles.

– Static cameras enabled with artificial intelligence functionality – These are static cameras and can be focused on hotspots or boundary areas such as fences.  The cameras detect the movement of vehicles and people and alert our control room and patrol vehicles of such activity.

 Our Data Management

  • Our Artificial Intelligence Cameras and Software detects even the slightest movements which help our personnel see potentially hidden persons and suspicious activities.  
  • Video Analytics can be used to interpret, study and project criminal behavioural patterns which help us aid the SAPS to bring down the syndicates that are disrupting our peace. 

Our expansion of the CCTV network is one example of how we are trying to make our community a more profitable business and residential node by creating holistic urban regeneration programmes. 

Landlords, business owners and residents of the ERCID can expect: 

  • A continued effort to decrease crime. 
  • Targeted intervention by our public safety teams
  • Improved response time
  • 24/7 monitoring by our control room.
  • Foot and vehicle patrol teams, law enforcement officers and the police equipped with essential live information to improve arrest rates. 
  • Prevention of more incidents due to the improved directing of resources. 
  • Reduced false reporting of incidences due to our ability to validate the claim instantly.
  • Progress on creating a Unified City-Wide Public Safety Network.

We are improving our public safety plan by: 

  • Surveying the entire ERCID to identify vulnerable points to inform the next extension of our CCTV network. 
  • Targeting public safety efforts on infrastructure crime to safeguard the continuous supply of energy, water, sanitation, communication infrastructure and access to transportation.
  • Implementing mechanisms to alert our management and public safety teams to early warning signs of threats so that the distribution of our safety resources can be optimised.  

Our sophisticated CCTV cameras use the latest technological advancements so we can streamline our prevention and intervention efforts and help bring criminals to justice.

The manufacturing, education, property, hospitality and public transport industries form the backbone of our community’s livelihoods. Ultimately, our goal is to protect the people and the resources of the institutions they serve within the Elsies River City Improvement District.  

With your help and investment, we step closer to a safer South Africa every day. And so many of you already do remarkable work in the ERCID. We would love to hear your #GoodNews and how you are making our area a better place. 

To share your story with us and stand a chance to be featured in one of our future newsletters email us at media@geocentric.co.za

If you have any safety concerns to report, please contact one of the following numbers:

·       10111 – SAPS (South African Police Services)

·        107 – City of Cape Town Disaster Management

·        021 565 0900 – Geocentric Control Room 

Up for Your Review

City Improvement District By-Law & City Improvement District Policy

We believe that you are an expert in your area and have seen the positive change we can make first-hand.  You know better than anyone, where our precious resources are best spent and we value your contribution in helping us plan for future projects. 

The legislative structure governing much of our work in your area is up for amendment. We hope that the proposed changes of making the processes of starting and running a CID  more structured will improve the efficiency of CIDs citywide. 

Your suggestions on the proposed amendments to the CID by-law and City improvement district policy can be submitted online here,   emailed to CityImprovement.Districts@capetown.gov.za or written to, City of Cape Town, PO Box 298, Cape Town 8000

Comments and objections may be submitted from 16 August to 15 September 2021.

Our Safety Initiatives

Our Speeding Awareness Initiative

NO NEED TO SPEED

It’s no mystery that for many of us, a work commute is an unavoidable and chaotic part of our lives. Shockingly,  1 third of all deaths on our roads are caused by motor pedestrian collisions at speed. Closely followed by passenger deaths, making up 32% of road fatalities. This leaves countless families shattered simply because drivers were in a rush. Our speeding initiative shares our top insights on how to curb speeding in your area.

A common occurrence we see daily in the Elsies River City Improvement District (ERCID) is this. Imagine there is a truck or a visitor is pulling into an opposite bay, and you are a driver speeding. You overtake the truck quickly but don’t see the pedestrians walking in front of the vehicle. Leaving you with 0 reaction time to brake.

This causes a potentially fatal collision for the pedestrian. Derails the driver’s life who is liable to criminal charges. Costs the business cleaning up the accident dearly. Most importantly, it is incalculably devastating to the passengers, drivers, and pedestrians’ families.

The solution to stopping speeding? Simple, slow down.

Every morning and afternoon, thousands of dedicated employees make their journey to work by foot, taxi, bus, and car. Here is the good news – we have a simple solution. Simply slow down, pay attention and obey our speeding laws and safer South African streets are just around the corner.

Elsies River City Improvement District – Keeping our streets free of debris

As the ERCID we are helping to stop speeding by:

  • Making sure all traffic and speeding signs are clearly visible and in good condition.
  • Continuing to develop creative ways of implementing sustainable road safety strategies. We are also working together with the Elsies River City Improvement District population to adjust these programmes to your specific needs.
  • Collaborating with the City of Cape Town to implement and maintain traffic speed enforcement measures. These include cameras, speed management obstructions and traffic officers patrolling the greater ERCID area.

As a driver, you can help us curb speeding by:

  • Slowing down. In industrial areas, the National Road Traffic Act states that drivers should not exceed 60 km/h. This ensures that you have sufficient time to react to unforeseen situations and will avoid unnecessary fines.
  • Remaining aware and vigilant. Keep your eyes on the people, other drivers, and potential obstructions in your line of sight and off your cell phone. 
  • Being aware that the ERCID is an industrial area and likely to have pockets of congestion throughout the day. Be mindful to allow yourself more time to get where you are going.
  • Being patient. We have many slow-moving vehicles carrying remarkably heavy loads that are too large to manoeuvre quickly so don’t pass when it is not 100% safe.
  • Our streets are lined with driveways, side streets and loading bays that trucks need to turn into. Please do not park in any of these zones, as this will lead to a traffic jam until you are found and move your car out the way to safety.
  • Maintain a safe following distance. If you are unsure of what this is for the different vehicle types, watch this excellent video guide on “The Time Distance Ratio”   by Arrive Alive.

As a business owner, you can:

  • Create parking zones for clients and 3rd party suppliers. This will prevent them from needing to slow down and to park either in an open employee bay or illegally on the opposite side of the road.
  • Respect the boundary markings of roads. Red lines, pavements, pedestrian walkways, and cyclist paths are carefully calculated to keep the flow of people into the area safe and swift. Please do not park vehicles in these designated areas.
  • Make provisions for pedestrians so your employees and the employees of the businesses around you are not forced to endanger themselves by walking on the road.
  • All your employees who come to work in their own vehicles should be educated on the dangers of speeding and carpool where they can to save on parking space.
  • Ensure that all employees who need parking bays are provided with a place to put their vehicles. The best time to make these alterations would be during a Facade Improvement intervention.
  • If you are a fleet manager – have multiple company cars or have an internal employee transport system – introduce a telematics system. This will allow you to target your speeding awareness interventions to the drivers who need them.

According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), traffic accidents cost our already strained South African economy a whopping R176 Billion in 2020. We also missed the target set out in the UN decade for action road safety amendment by miles, despite a months-long lockdown that restricted movement.

Traffic Enforcement 

Traffic enforcement is a last resort for the Elsies River City Improvement District. While we would prefer not to implement these measures, we are charged with the duty of making the ERCID area safer for all. Traffic enforcement to curb speeding vehicles will be a necessary consequence if we all don’t slow down.

In a time where so many of us are only just scraping by financially, we simply shouldn’t waste money paying expensive traffic fines for speeding incidents that are 100% easily avoidable.

We truly believe that together we can make the roads of the Elsies River City Improvement District a safer space for our community and would love to hear your #GoodNews and suggestions, simply mail us at info@ercid.co.za    

If you have any safety concerns to report, please contact one of the following numbers:

  • SAPS (South African Police Services) – 10111 
  • City of Cape Town Disaster Management. – 107
  • Geocentric Control Room – 021 565 0900

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ERCID AGM 2020

The Elsies River City Improvement District NPC (ERCID) will be hosting an AGM. All stakeholders are invited to a review of the year’s activities and planning for 2021/22.

Date: 28 October 2020
Time: 16h00
Venue: Emplast, 40 Sixth Avenue, Elsies River, Cape Town, 7480

Resolutions presented at the Members meeting can only be voted on by bona fide members of the ERCID (Membership List). This membership is available free of charge to all owners of non-residential property within the ERCID footprint, but they must be registered before 21 October 2020.

Please confirm your attendance by email to info@ercid.co.za to help us with seating arrangements. Due to current regulations the seating at the venue is limited and your response is important to reserve a seat.

DUE TO THE COVID-19 REGULATIONS ON PUBLIC MEETINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO URGE MEMBERS TO RESPOND AND BOOK YOUR SEAT FOR THE AGM.
IF A MEMBER CANNOT ATTEND THE AGM WE URGE YOU TO USE THE PROXY FORM AVAILABLE ON THE ELSIES RIVER CID WEBSITE – AGM PAGE TO PROVIDE FOR A REPRESENTATIVE OR MANDATE THE CHAIRPERSON BY PROXY TO REPRESENT YOU AS A MEMBER
WE NEED TO ENSURE WE HAVE A QUORUM FOR THE AGM

Please confirm your attendance / non-attendance by email to info@ercid.co.za

▪ Attendees need to print their own documents as prints will not be available at the meeting.
▪ The Minutes of the previous meeting, Annual Financial Statement will be displayed but not handled by attendees.
▪ All persons must have their hands sanitised on entering the venue.
▪ All attendees to wear a mask.
▪ Attendees must adhere to social distancing requirements during the meeting and if possible have one open chair between attendees.
▪ All attendees to bring their own pen for signing of the attendance register.

For further information, documentation and how to register go to www.ercid.co.za or e-mail info@ercid.co.za or call 021 565 0901

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS

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The Board of the Elsies River City Improvement District NPC (ERCID) invites suitably qualified and experienced service provider companies to submit proposals for the rendering of the following services:

  • Urban Cleaning and Maintenance
  • Management of the ERCID

All the relevant information and documentation is available on the links below:

Once the Board has evaluated all the proposals, a decision will be made on the short listed and thereafter the successful service provider.  The lowest, or any, or portion of any Proposal will not necessarily be accepted, and the Board does not bind itself to assign any reason for the rejection, or acceptance of a Proposal nor in terms of who was short-listed.  The decision of the Board is final and no further correspondence regarding the proposal will be entered once the successful service provider has been appointed. The Board is under no obligation to qualify its decisions to any of the applicants.

All costs related to the submission of this proposal must be borne by the relevant applicants/companies/service providers and they shall have no claim for cost recovery to the Board or its representatives whatsoever.

All correspondence will be via email and can be directed to john@emplast.co.za

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City of Cape Town COVID-19 Business Impact Survey

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Good day

At the start of lock down, the City of Cape Town engaged businesses across the City on the impact that the lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic was having on their businesses.  The inputs from that survey have been used to inform the City’s response to business support in the pandemic.  The economy is now gradually re-opening and people are returning to work.  This is not without its challenges.  In order to continue to support businesses in this time, we are undertaking another survey.

The purpose of this survey is to gather information to determine the impact of the current COVID-19 virus pandemic on businesses operating in the Cape Town/Western Cape region with the aim of directing those in distress to suitable institutions for assistance.  We would appreciate it if you could take ten minutes to complete the survey which can be found at the following web link:

https://forms.gle/pXe43oKALLH22sz37

The City of Cape Town will continue to support businesses in distress as we seek to minimize the economic impact of the pandemic.  Two useful online resources that can assist business returning to work and looking for government and private sector support can be found at:

Return2work initiative: templates, processes and requirements for businesses bring staff back into the workplace –  https://www.return2work.co.za/

If you have any queries regarding the survey or your business requires assistance please contact:

 

Gerschwin WilliamsHead: Investment Facilitation Unit (Atlantis)

Gerschwin.Williams@capetown.gov.za

Cell – 078 6733 997

 Makeya KarlieProfessional Officer: Investment Facilitation Unit (Atlantis)

Makeya.Karlie@capetown.gov.za

Cell – 079 518 0406

 

 Winston RichardsProfessional Officer: Investment Facilitation Unit (Atlantis)

Winston.Richards@capetown.gov.za

Cell – 072 902 1691

 

 

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Covid-19 – Essential services during nationwide lockdown

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Strict regulations in place

Those on the road will be required to produce a permit and proof of identification to law enforcement officers

27 March 2020 – Cape Argus – BALDWIN NDABA AND MWANGI GITHAHU

ESSENTIAL services workers who will be allowed to report for work during the 21-day nationwide lockdown will do so under strict regulations.
Yesterday police emphasised that all people classified as essential workers would have to adhere to the regulations gazetted by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma on Wednesday.
Each worker will be expected to carry a permit which they will have to present to law enforcement agencies during the execution of the lockdown.
According to the permit, under Regulation 118(3), “the person to whom this permit is issued must at all times present a form of identification to be presented together with this permit. If no identification is presented, the person to whom the permit is issued will have to return to his or her place of residence during the lockdown”.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula also announced that minibus taxis, metered taxis and e-hailing services would be limited to the public during the lockdown.
He said only staff rendering essential services and those out for essential purposes, such as buying groceries or going to work, would be allowed to leave home.
Taxis will only be allowed to transport people for these essential trips from 5am to 9am and 4pm to 8pm.
A vehicle licensed to carry up to four people will only be permitted to load one passenger. A vehicle licensed to carry up to eight passengers will only be permitted to load a maximum of three people.
Buses will also have limited operations – only transporting essential services workers and people making necessary trips.
Police Minister Bheki Cele also issued a warning to those who might want to transgress the regulations, saying law enforcement officers would act against them.
Gatherings would be banned, except for funerals, which could be attended by only 50 people or less.
Movement between provinces, metros and district areas would also be banned and roadblocks on the community, provincial and national roads would be conducted, to enforce this with health screenings to ensure movement was restricted.
With the SANDF possibly aiding the SAPS to police the lockdown, military sociologist Professor Lindy Heinecken of Stellenbosch University said sending in the army once again placed the military in a situation it might not be adequately prepared for.
“With just 10 companies (roughly 1400 soldiers), which implies less than 400 boots on the ground at any one time to allow for rotation, one wonders how much support they can render,” said Heinecken.
Meanwhile, Premier Alan Winde said staying home was the only way to save lives.
“I know what we are asking for is difficult, and it is scary, but we have overcome many, many challenges as a country. We can do it again, together. If we all do this, we will be able to go back to our lives again and start to rebuild our economy.
“If we do not, and the virus continues to spread, many people will die and the lockdown may be extended. So now is the time. We can do this together. Let us be strong now for each other,” said Winde.
He underlined that the lockdown meant: “You will be required to stay in your home unless it is to go and buy groceries, go to the pharmacy or to seek medical attention.”
He said that as of 9am yesterday morning, “the province had confirmed 181 positive cases of Covid-19. Three residents are currently in hospital as a result of this virus.”
Winde said they had put measures in place to assist victims of violence.
“Rendering services to victims of crime and violence is an essential service. The Western Cape Department of Social Development and civil society organisations will continue to provide these services through provision of shelters and psycho-social support.”
Winde said four shelters had been identified as Stage 1 shelters to admit at-risk victims of crime and violence.
“Only referrals from a social worker with safety risk assessment and SAPS referral will be accepted.
“After the initial 14 days, clients will be transferred from a Stage 1 shelter to a Stage 2 shelter with the assistance of the SAPS,” said Winde.
He said the Department of Health would assist with medical screening and the medical needs of clients.

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Guide on how to Apply for a new, lost or stolen wheelie bin.

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Apply for a new bin

The registered property owner or property managing agent must download and fill in the Supply of Services Application Form (English | Afrikaans | isiXhosa). Please ensure that you fill in all the sections related to refuse removal.

If you are renting, you will need to submit a letter of authority from the property owner or managing agent with your application form.

Replace a stolen or damaged bin

If your bin has been stolen, you will need to report the theft of your bin at the nearest SAPS office to obtain an affidavit.

Click Here to guide.

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Notice of AGM 2019

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC will be hosting a Annuall General Meeting and all stakeholders are invited to a review of the year’s activities, approval of the extension of the CID term and planning for 2020/21.

Date:     28 October 2019

Time:     16:00

Venue:   Emplast, 40 6th Avenue, Elsies River

Resolutions presented at the AGM can only be voted on by bona fide members of the ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NPC. This membership is available free of charge to all owners of commercial or industrial properties within the ELSIES RIVER CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SRA footprint, but they must be registered before 21 October 2019.

For further information  please e-mail info@ercid.co.za or call 083 255 7657

Please click here to download the relevant documentation from our AGM page