Civic groups withdraw from safety agreement

FOUNDING members of the Visitor Safety Services (VSS) initiative have formally withdrawn from their Memorandum of Understanding with SANParks and Table Mountain National Park (TMNP).

- STAFF WRITER

This decision comes amid what Friends of Table Mountain have reported as one of the worst years on record for contact crimes in Table Mountain National Park.

The VSS framework, established after a proposal to senior SANParks executives in December 2023, aimed to mobilise civil society to support TMNP in addressing safety concerns in the park.

According to a statement, the founding members, all volunteers from organisations such as Love Our Trails, Table Mountain Watch, Friends of Table Mountain, and Parkscape, contributed hundreds of hours over two years to help create a safer, more welcoming park.

“Despite all efforts and SANParks’ public statements of support, the VSS team encountered ongoing resistance, poor communication, lack of urgency, and unfulfilled commitments from TMNP management.

“Repeated offers to co-create solutions — ranging from logistical and incident response support to joint patrols, safety communications, SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) frameworks, branded apparel, and volunteer recruitment — were largely ignored or indefinitely delayed,” the statement said.