The City of Cape Town has made water safety a big priority for the 2024/25 summer holidays, with over 680 lifeguards that have been deployed to beaches and swimming pools across the peninsula.
It forms part of a record festive safety deployment of over 5,000 personnel across the metro.
As part of its drowning prevention campaign, the City is deploying 340 beach lifeguards and 343 swimming pool lifeguards.
Lifeguards will be on duty between 10:00 and 18:00 daily, at 29 beaches, tidal pools, stretches of coast, and all public swimming pools.
Lifesaving Cape Town and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) have partnered with the City and are on standby for emergency deployments of rescue swimmers and vessels.
City officials are desperate to avoid drownings this festive season, having seen an improvement in drowning statistics over the past three years.
Fatal drownings were down 26% in the 2023/24 summer season when compared to the season before. Still, 14 people drowned and 80 people were rescued.
The MMC for Community Services, Patricia van der Ross, says one drowning is one too many.
‘Even more heart-breaking is that all of the fatal drownings last season happened outside designated bathing areas, or during times when lifeguards were not on duty. Our lifeguards are dedicated professionals who play a crucial role in safeguarding beachgoers, but it is a shared responsibility. Please adhere to the rules, and support our lifeguards, so that we can ensure a safe and memorable beach experience for everyone.’
In addition, the City’s Identikidz child safety project will be in full swing these holidays, providing pease of mind for parents, in case their children get lost or wander off on the beach. This initiative ‘tagged’ more than 130,000 children last summer.
The Identikidz bands, available on arrival at participating beaches, have a unique serial number matched to a registration sheet containing the contact details of a child’s caregiver.
Holiday-makers can further expect a top-up cleaning service targeting all beaches, scenic routes and central business districts.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the City is ready to welcome a record number of visitors this festive season, which will bring a welcome boost to the local economy and support tens of thousands of jobs.
‘We are excited to welcome the world to our pristine beaches, where we will be pulling out all the stops to ensure a safe and enjoyable festive season. Visitors can expect well-trained lifeguards, an extensive child safety programme to prevent lost children, vehicle checkpoints, visible policing, and bolstered area cleaning services.’
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City safety operations will be coordinated from special Beach Joint Operational Centres (JOCs), and report to the central JOC at the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) in Goodwood, as well as the SAPS Command Centre.
Vehicle checkpoints will be in place on major routes to beaches, and officers will clamp down on alcohol use and anti-social behaviour in public spaces.
The City has reminded the public of the four golden rules for water safety:
- Always swim on a beach with lifeguards on duty and between their red and yellow flags.
- Do not leave children unsupervised in or around water.
- Do not swim under the influence of alcohol.
- Beware of rip currents. If you’re caught in a current, try to stay calm and signal for help.
