Cape Town residents, visitors urged to guard children at beaches

The City of Cape Town has called on residents and visitors to exercise extreme caution at beaches, especially with regards to the safety of children.

Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Zahid Badroodien, says their Identikidz project is being run at 16 beaches around the metropole and they urge parents to have their children tagged as soon as they arrive at the beach.

He says nearly 63 000 children have been tagged since the launch of the project in mid-December and 94 lost children have been reunited with their families.

“There have been several incidents that are of grave concern like children being left behind at the beach. Our staff has also noticed far too many young children arriving at the beaches without adult supervision. In a country where the exploitation and abuse of women and children are so prevalent, children being out and about on their own or left behind on the beach is simply not okay,” says Badroodien.

Are you planning on taking the kids to one of Cape Town’s beautiful beaches this week? We remind you to keep an eye on them and to be mindful of our beach safety tips. For more beach safety tips, click here: https://t.co/k5LN3EpifN #CTInfo pic.twitter.com/gZtjglP46M

— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) December 31, 2019

This year, the City’s Identikidz project will be implemented at 15 beaches to help reunite lost children on priority beach days. Read more: https://t.co/YD9MBY3QkI #CTNews pic.twitter.com/GAOpZ3QcUr

— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) December 31, 2019