New chairman for Hout Bay CPF

Hout Bay CPF members for 2018/19, from left, Heather Saunders (treasurer); Warrant Officer Tanya Lesch (vice-secretary); Vincent Sodlala (vice-chair); Lieutenant-Colonel Khuthala (Hout Bay police station commander); and Toby Adams (PRO)

Local businessman Anthony Chemaly was elected as the new chairperson of the Hout Bay Community Police Forum (CPF) last week.

After two years at the helm, Toby Adams chose not to stand for re-election at the forum’s annual general meeting on Wednesday April 25. He will, however, serve as public relations officer.

Mr Chemaly, who turned 43 last week, was in Johannesburg when his nomination was announced, but said in a statement that he accepted the position.

“I look forward to working with the CPF team, SAPS, Hout Bay Neighbourhood Watch, security service providers, NGOs, local business and particularly the residents of Hout Bay in facilitating more effective policing and crime prevention initiatives,” he said.

“Along with the CPF team, we are keen to implement and progress a number of projects targeting the youth of Hout Bay and to target preventative systems as a focus for crime reduction as well as working closely with SAPS to ensure effective service delivery to the community.”

He thanked Mr Adams and the CPF for their efforts in the past few years.

Mr Adams is a SANParks honorary ranger, and with the spike in crime on the mountains this year said he felt he did not wish to spread himself too thin.

He said that while the police remained under-resourced, Hout Bay officers were working “extremely hard” to combat crime. He also paid tribute
to SAPS victim support staff and reservists.

There will be two new faces on the 2018/19 CPF. Nosiseko Siswana becomes project co-ordinator while Heather Saunders becomes treasurer. Vincent Sodlala retains his position as vice-chairperson.

Hout Bay police station commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Khuthala Nebhisi said she was worried about what had
been happening in Hout Bay over the past year, particularly the violent protests and a murder rate that had jumped from four to 15 cases in the space of a year.

Colonel Nebhisi also appealed to NGOs and civic groups to contact the police for further information about awareness campaigns to be run in the village.

“We need to empower our community in Hout Bay.

“We also need to emphasise that no one is above the law, including police. We need to understand this, so that Hout Bay can become a better place,” she said.