The Trust is audited by Nolands Inc. Financial statements of the Trust are available on request from Mark Myerson (Trustee) at [email protected]. Decisions of the Trust are made through regular trustee meetings and close workings with our Operational Command and other stakeholders.

Cameras, radios, equipment, IT infrastructure and WachCon add up to a hefty capital investment. It is important to note that this capital, running into the millions, comes from the donations of a few individuals in our community, who don’t want any public recognition. Without their generosity, CBCSI wouldn’t exist.

Because the time spent by the Trustees is provided without remuneration, what is left for the community to cover is the monthly operating budget to run CBCSI and provide the operational services. This budget is approximately R150,000 per month, funded from the recurring donations of about 650 members. Currently, the minimum donation is R350 per month or R4,200 per annum, although some members of the community donate much more, in some cases running into hundreds of thousands per annum.

Prior to 2016, the CBCSI donations were paid to the armed response companies (either Bay Response or ADT) on behalf of CBCSI. This hasn’t been an ideal situation for a number of reasons, so from April 2016, we converted these payments so that they are made directly to the Trust, which allows better control and more reliable member information, in addition to a VAT saving on each contribution. Payments directly to the Trust do not attract VAT, allowing the full amount to be used for security services. We encourage all members to convert their payments directly to the Trust.

It is worth re-emphasizing that the monthly budget for CBCSI takes no account of the hundreds of hours of unpaid input of the Trustees, and a number of other volunteers, including Camps Bay Watch Sector Heads and patrollers. Given the worsening security situation in South Africa and the imperative to maintain the hard won reputation of Camps Bay as a low crime area, the monthly spend for the services provided by CBCSI should be much higher, bearing in mind that members haven’t contributed any capital and continue to benefit freely from the time of the Trustees and other volunteers.

It should also be noted that CBCSI is stretched financially. We run things as tightly as possible. Every rand is used wisely. Financially, we are a very efficient non-profit organization. But we could provide even better security, improve our technology and member services, and secure our sustainability if more people contributed. Considering the value of homes in our privileged community, R350 is really a very small price to pay.

The 650 members of CBCSI comprise less than 22% of the estimated households in Camps Bay, Clifton and Bakoven. If this number was raised to 60%, we would be able to expand our program and effectively rid Camps Bay of the niggling crime that still exists and which is sometimes still serious. In reality, perhaps taking aside our general political environment, crime is the only real barrier to Camps Bay becoming one of the most desirable places in the world to live and to holiday.