Speech by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town,
Alderman Patricia de Lille, at the Council meeting
on 26 April 2012
Mr Speaker,
Good morning, goeie môre, molweni.
This week is an important one for us in South Africa. Tomorrow marks the
eighteenth celebration of Freedom Day, the anniversary of that historic
day in 1994 when all South Africans went to the polls for the very first
time.
We are constantly reminded of the importance of the right to vote and the
dignity that right represents for the individual. Many of us fought hard for
an open and free society and we sit here today thanks to the sacrifices of
those brave men and women who fought for democracy.
Though politics can sometimes be fierce, I believe it is because there is so
much at stake: our society’s future.
This Council is a symbol of our democracy at work and I am proud to
head it.
But the work of democracies is not limited to Election Day. Democracies
are dynamic systems that, through negotiation and compromise, try and
deliver opportunities to people with full transparency and accountability.
And so Speaker, I believe that Freedom Day forces us to ask the
question: are we delivering on the promise of 1994? Are we realising the
kind of society that was fought for by the father of our nation, former
president Nelson Mandela?
I believe that in this sphere of government, in the City of Cape Town, we
are working towards the promise of 1994 on the basis of our five pillars:
the Opportunity City, the Safe City, the Caring City, the Inclusive City,
and the Well-run City.
We are physically transforming the spaces of this city to change it as a
place for all its citizens.
While the processes of naming and renaming new and old public spaces
has been controversial elsewhere, I believe that we have initiated the kind
of street naming process that brings everyone on board in recognition of
our common history and identity.
The Native Yards designations in Cape Town are changing. The Naming
Committee now includes two smaller parties on it and Capetonians can
rest assured that everyone’s voice will be heard and every public
submission will be considered as we go forward.
I am confident that this will be a non-divisive and truly inclusive process.
We are working to address the need for housing, one of the major
legacies of our unjust past.
Last week, we opened a new Contact Centre in Manenberg that will help
people access the services of this City in general and the services of the
Human Settlements Directorate in particular.
I was proud to announce at that opening that where people qualified, we
would begin the transfer of rental stock to residents so that they could
take complete ownership of their homes.
I was also proud to tell people to come forward to see if they qualified for
our Rates Rebate Policy, just one feature of our comprehensive pro-poor
approach to service delivery, the most pro-poor approach in the country.
But that opening also had additional significance in that we invited Mario
Wanza, an individual who had previously mobilised against the City, to be
part of the celebrations.
That partnership was part of our broader process of engagement with
people because we have learnt the lesson of 1994: those enemies can
become allies when you can agree on a common goal.
It is that lesson of compromise for a better future that informs all of our
work.
In that spirit, we also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with the Informal Settlements Network (ISN), bringing yet another NGO
on board to our broad strategy for delivery and including other partners
such as the Social Justice Coalition (SJC).
That broad strategy is the realisation from 1994 that everyone has a
stake in determining the future of society, not just the government of the
day.
But where government must take the lead is in assisting those most in
need.
We will soon take the lead again when we announce the details of our
annual Winter Plan.
A comprehensive, multi-Directorate programme, the Plan will coordinate
the City’s efforts to fight off the worst effects of the wet winter season. It
is certainly true that the floods that come with the rainy season can
adversely affect the poor as well as general infrastructure in the city.
Our plan helps to minimise those effects. And our plans have improved
from year to year. In 2009, over 11 000 structures were affected by
floods as opposed to just under 3 000 last year.
Coordinated by our excellent Disaster Risk Management Centre, we will
ensure that we are as ready as we can be for winter, on behalf of all the
people of this city.
In 1994, we also realised that to deliver to everyone, our governments
would have to operate with maximum efficiency and modern management
strategies.
I believe that the City of Cape Town remains the leader when it comes to
modern governance strategies.
It is this principle of working towards being a Well-run City that has
allowed us to maintain the confidence of financial markets, having
recently had our Double A credit approved by the International Credit
Agency, Moody’s.
And it is our commitment to being a Well-run City that has informed the
decision to propose the formation of a Strategic Policy Unit (SPU) today.
This Unit will have as its primary function strategic policy planning,
performance monitoring and evaluation.
The Unit will act as a strategic coordinating point that ensures that the
mandate that this government was elected on is implemented throughout
the city.
It will identify how that mandate is being delivered on and where there
are shortcomings that need to be addressed.
This Unit’s functions will be the practices of modern government at work.
It will be an expression of our drive to build this city on the five pillars,
especially the pillar of being a Well-run City.
I believe that there has been an organisational gap that requires the
establishment of this kind of unit.
We know that we are not the only metro to experience this need. Our
fellow metro, Johannesburg, has established a similar unit. It thus is
consistent with national best practice.
This is made especially true by the fact that the National Government has
a similar function in the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Ministry.
Furthermore, this unit is consistent with international best practice, where
leading City and National Governments have the organisational tools at
their disposal to ensure that electoral mandates are given life in
government.
This unit will help enhance the legislative duties of a range of
stakeholders.
Indeed, this unit will give life to the proper policy and legislative powers
of City leaders as determined by the Constitution and the Municipal
Systems Act.
With it, I am confident that we are moving the City to the next level of
government.
And in so doing, we will improve our level of service delivery to the people
of Cape Town.
Mr. Speaker, the well-run government has also compelled us to make our
position on hosting the African Cup of Nations known as a matter of
principle. The City remains committed to hosting this centrepiece of
African events in principle.
However, we have raised our very serious concerns regarding legal and
financial implications. These concerns are shared by other municipalities
and relate to what we are able to commit to in terms of our obligations
under the Municipal Finance Management Act(MFMA). It is a stance that
has been endorsed by the National Minister of Sport as well and so we will
await the outcome of these processes, hopeful that we will be able to join
in in staging a tournament that would be the source of great national
pride.
And through you Mr. Speaker, I must reassure this Council that the work
of the SPELUM Committee will resume once all necessary changes have
been made.
That is, there is a review underway of the SPELUM Committee’s operation
due to the fact that we are currently engaged in a process of minimising
red tape and easing planning regulations. This includes a review of all
planning regulations in the City as well as a new consideration of our
consolidated Spatial Development Framework.
Once all these processes are sufficiently in line, SPELUM will resume with
new effectiveness and will help us accelerate development in Cape Town.
That is but one review under way.
We constantly review our policies, practices and plans to ensure that all
citizens are on board. We obviously cannot satisfy everyone. But we can
consult and change plans where necessary and give life to the principle of
broad-based democracy, another lesson from 1994.
In that regard, I urge all Councillors to view our development plans and
obligations as parts of a larger whole working together. I believe this
clarity is necessary as we engage in numerous public participation
processes.
We have consulted on the IDP for instance. The IDP will remain a
strategic document. But inputs given in various forums, including on the
budget and the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans
(SDBIPS) is where the detail of local changes must reside.
Thus, it is at the level of engaging on the actual plans for delivery at the
Sub-council level and in Portfolio Committees where Councillors must
advocate for the local changes they want to see in our delivery strategies.
Mr. Speaker, I must apologise through you to this Council because I have
to leave these deliberations early.
But the reason for my absence is in fact a source of great pride.
Today, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Provincial Government
and a range of stakeholders from across society, will be launching the
Economic Development Partnership (EDP). Working with a strategic focus,
the EDP will work to create opportunity for all the people of Cape Town.
I have confidence in its success and I am proud that the City is a founding
partner. I hope that, in time, all organisations that are committed to
giving our people dignity and opportunity join it and work to make it
successful.
Because if we truly learnt something in 1994, it was that we must not
always remain stuck in old ways of thinking. Times change, as do the
challenges we face. We have to adapt to them to meet them head on.
That is what we and our partners are attempting to do. And in adapting
this city to be a caring place of opportunity and dignity, we will give real
meaning to the spirit and promise of 1994.