JOINT INITIATIVE A FIRST IN THE WESTERN CAPE

Mossel Bay Municipality and the local transport industry recently joined hands with a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Western Cape to create positive change in up scaling the quality of health and wellness services to the community. The aim is to empower communities with knowledge to address health issues caused by overcrowding and poor ventilation in living, working, public transport and congregant settings in communities that increases among other TB transmissions among the vulnerable. Mossel Bay Municipality and the local transport industry recently joined hands with a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Western Cape to create positive change in up scaling the quality of health and wellness services to the community. The aim is to empower communities with knowledge to address health issues caused by overcrowding and poor ventilation in living, working, public transport and congregant settings in communities that increases among other TB transmissions among the vulnerable.
This program will consist of quarterly workshops with taxi operators (executives) together with Health Department, Mossel Bay Municipality and the Provincial Regulating Entity. On the site workshops will also be conducted on a continuous basis at the Mossel Bay taxi rank, Mikeva taxi rank and Langeberg Mall taxi rank.
Various stakeholders including Seesig Motors, Baleng Redisa Mogo, Department of Transport and Public Works, Provincial Regulating Entity: Department of Transport, PJAAG and Mossel Bay Taxi Associations took hands with the Health Department and Mossel Bay Municipality and signed a pledge to act as gatekeepers for the vulnerable and try to bring social change to people who are disproportionately affected by HIV, TB and STIs due to their higher risk behaviours and/or legal and social issues that increase their vulnerability to health problems.
The plan for the initiative taken by the Mossel Bay Municipality and the various stakeholders is to:
• educate communities about HIV/Aids, TB, STI’s, Road Safety and the Road Traffic Act as well as the National Land Transport Act.
• engineer behavioural change of communities, because the social customs and norms of communities influence individual behaviour not only on social level, but also as drivers of taxi’s that services the community. • create capacity to identify, implement and manage more community ownership, sustainability and capacity within the community and within the different taxi associations.
• strengthen social capital in the form of increased trust and reduced stigma and strengthened positive social changes not only on health aspects, but also on the transport industry.If you would like to be more involved in your community and specially want to be part of this journey to take hands with our taxi operators, taxi drivers and the community that is making use of public transport, please contact Alma Kritzinger at akritzinger@mosselbay.gov.za  or Robert Jansen at rjansen@mosselbay.gov.za .

Some of the stakeholders who signed the pledge. 

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