Speech by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, at
the full Council meeting on 23 July 2014
Good morning, goeie môre, molweni, as-salaam alaikum, shalom.
Mr Speaker,
Recently I was invited by the World Bank to address a summit of global
decision-makers in risk mitigation strategies in recognition of Cape Town’s
outstanding undertaking to make our city resilient against risk.
Understanding risk, and planning for it, is one of the major responsibilities of
city governments.
Indeed, risk planning is one of the most crucial elements of development
plans and strategies for managing city resources.
There is little point in mapping out detailed service delivery or development
plans if we do not take adequate consideration of the challenges that are
posed to our city’s infrastructure and population by a scale of risk factors.
We have a slight advantage, in fact, as cities.
We know about the future challenges posed by climate change.
We know about those challenges combined with social forces like
urbanisation.
We know about the compound effect when you consider their combination
with the internal structures of cities and their design and also the
environments in which they exist.
We know about the socio-economic pressures that are especially prevalent
in the developing world.
All of these combined amount to a total risk package that becomes a crucial
factor in our planning processes as a developing world city.
The City of Cape Town has faced these challenges head on and, in many
ways, is setting an example for risk planning in the developing world that
aligns with international best practice.
We have had an extensive risk assessment done which has identified major
risks as floods and fires, especially in informal settlements, and the possibilities
of drought in the medium- to long-term.
What is notable about the city’s challenges as a metro in a developing
country is the emphasis that needs to be afforded to vulnerable groups who
are more at risk and adversely affected by disasters.
And combined, our Disaster Risk Management (DRM) framework mandates
our Disaster Services to be involved in all development processes so that we
cater for these events in the design and approval phase.
Indeed, DRM effectively works across the silos of the institutional environment
of the City, coordinating all relevant departments in responding to disasters
and in working to mitigate risks.
This approach includes preparedness, relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction,
broad mitigation and prevention.
One of the key components of our resilience measures is our winter
preparedness plan.
As a result of measures implemented by the City, a number of areas that
were prone to flooding in the winter months are more resilient, including
Fisantekraal and the Kosovo informal settlement.
Our 81 DRM staff members and 400 volunteers across the city have worked
closely with other government departments and civic organisations in helping
our communities to withstand the harshness of Cape winter conditions.
Indeed, in the financial year that has just concluded, we have distributed
over 61 000 blankets, 3 300 food parcels and just this year, over R20 million has
been spent on social relief aid.
I think that these efforts, which demonstrate both proactive and reactive risk
strategies that have compassion and resilience as their twin informants,
demonstrate our commitment to being a caring city.
And it is just part of the reason why global development leaders such as the
World Bank consider Cape Town to be a study in excellent government
practices, especially in the developing world.
And that excellence has not only been recognised by external parties; it has
been recognised by the residents we serve as well.
The City of Cape Town recently concluded its Customer Satisfaction Survey
where we assessed our residents’ views on the standard of services we
provide.
70% of residents said that overall the City’s performance was good, very
good or excellent – which is an increase from the previous year.
75% of residents placed their trust in the city – a figure which is also up from
the previous year.
It is important to note that these figures are drawn from samples across all
communities in the city, proving that the City does in fact deliver to all.
Indeed, over the last five years, the level of trust and satisfaction has
improved across the entire city, which disproves the falsehood peddled by
the intellectually challenged that we only provide services to some people in
Cape Town.
Areas in which we truly excelled included our perceptions among business,
which rated our service provision and billing services as significantly higher
than the previous year.
Furthermore, our residents have endorsed our efforts in creating a safe and
reliable public transportation service available across the city.
Mr Speaker, in reflecting on these outcomes, I think it is important that we
acknowledge the voices of the residents who we all serve and their
endorsement of this government.
Their acknowledgement of our efforts shows that a partnership in which we
make progress possible together is achievable if we all have the courage to
work towards a common future.
Sadly, not everyone in the city believes in bringing people together in
reconciliation for a joint future.
Indeed, some people believe that the only future for Cape Town is a divided
one where communities are torn apart and the hope of a better tomorrow is
forever forestalled.
This is most certainly the policy of the ANC in the Western Cape.
Having realised that they are not in a position to win fair and square at the
ballot box, they have decided to try and win by hook or by crook with
violence and disruption.
People ask me when the 2016 campaign will begin.
I tell them that it has already begun in earnest, at least on the part of the
ANC.
And people then ask how I know this.
I tell them to look at the damaged City property; the burning tyres; the violent
demonstrations.
Those are the hallmarks of the modern ANC in the Western Cape.
Where once the ANC used diplomacy and negotiation to make a new South
Africa, today it uses force and violence to break what it cannot control and
corrupt by using coordinated groups as part of their ungovernability
campaign.
And this is not just our opinion; it is the intelligence provided by the State
Security Agency.
Indeed, the people involved in the recent protests in Langa did not actually
know what they were protesting against according to intelligence reports.
Mr Speaker, we know this behaviour.
These are the actions of a spoilt child that does not get their own way.
Listen to them now on the opposition benches – they scream and cry foul;
and when you try to reason with them, they throw their documents on the
floor and raise their voices even louder.
While I make no judgement on how to discipline a child in this chamber, I can
give thanks that the people of the Western Cape and Cape Town are willing
to give this child that is the ANC a smack at the ballot box.
Indeed, as far as Councillor Ehrenreich is concerned, I am reminded of the
saying: there are some things money just cannot buy, like manners, morals
and intelligence.
But what makes me truly upset about the ANC’s behaviour is how they are
willing to use any means necessary to disrupt progress in this city.
Look at their front organisation, Ses’Khona.
Ses’Khona glories in chaos and disruption – indeed they actively foster this
and then cry foul to the press when it occurs.
They took responsibility for the unprecedented violence in Kosovo and
Philippi in which 5 500 households were left without electricity.
Of course, that is nothing to Ses’Khona who use the poor like cannon fodder
to advance their political agendas and are now trying to farm the people of
Lwandle.
And yet their so-called leaders, Mr Lili and Mr Nkohla want an apology from
their City.
I will never apologise to ANC thugs and liars.
Their integrity is worth about as much as the poo they throw to make their
point – also the actions of spoilt brats.
And make no mistake, those poo protests have cost the city millions.
Mr Speaker, I mentioned earlier that we have spent R20 million on natural
disasters this year.
Well we have spent almost the same amount on vandalism caused by the
ANC when they destroy property.
But vandalism is not enough for them.
They cannot rest after destroying basic services desperately needed by the
poor.
No, they will take State institutions and twist them to suit their purposes.
Look at the ministerial inquiry into the Lwandle evictions.
After the Minister of Human Settlements exceeded herself by trying to set up
a Commission of Inquiry, which she has no power to do, she settled on a
political hit squad instead.
These spent forces of mostly former ANC MPs have one mission and one
mission only: to discredit the City. Each of the five members serving on this
Commission receives R2 500 a day, and the Chairperson, Advocate
Potgieter, earns up to R20 000 per day to run this political hit squad.
We were not consulted on this commission’s composition, nor were we
consulted on its terms of reference – a clear violation of national
government’s obligations to intergovernmental cooperation.
These spent forces of the disaffected will not fail Minister Sisulu.
They know how cold it is without ANC patronage and they are desperate to
get back into the good books of Luthuli House.
The conduct of the chairperson a few days ago tells me all I need to know
about this farce.
When an objection was raised to Premier Helen Zille being referred to as a
‘racist girl’, the chairperson expelled the objector on the grounds that he was
being disrespectful.
Of course, we expect this kind of sexist and racist behaviour from an ANC
committee – after all, it is an organisation that appears to be allergic to the
idea of female premiers.
But let us not be distracted that the airing of these twisted views are exactly
what this hit squad is for.
And while these spent forces are keeping themselves busy, the Human Rights
Commission (HRC) is deployed to weigh in on Cape Town and Cape Town
alone.
Let me make it clear Mr Speaker: we respect constitutional authority and we
respect the role of Chapter 9 institutions.
But our respect must never preclude us from criticising when those institutions
are undermined for the sake of politics.
Indeed, it is our duty to do so.
The HRC displayed an unbelievable lack of understanding of the legislative,
financial and administrative factors involved in service delivery provision in its
recent report on sanitation in Khayelitsha.
The HRC criticised us for our 1:5 target for toilet provision.
This is the highest provision target for any municipality in the country and is
self-imposed by us because the national guidelines do not provide any ratios.
Indeed, 94% of our households meet this ratio – far more than any other
metro in the country.
In order to meet our higher standards, we use a range of sanitation types in
consultation with communities.
Indeed, the HRC’s argument that there is discrimination based on the
provision of chemical toilets is completely exposed when we consider that
there are four times the number of flush toilets than chemical toilets in
Khayelitsha.
The City only provides chemical toilets as a last resort, when it is physically
impossible to provide other sanitation types.
This is due to the typology of the land, usually where high water tables or land
densities prevent engineering construction.
This is the situation around South Africa and the solutions we employ are the
same as those employed by other metros in trying to solve this problem.
In Durban, the City of eThekwini uses chemical toilets in hostels; Johannesburg
pays R19 million a month for their use in informal settlements; every major
event uses chemical toilets; while Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay still
have 23 000 bucket toilets.
Are all of these cities and institutions inherently racist?
Our campaign to drastically ramp up services in informal settlements, which
has led to the provision of 44 500 toilets this year over the 14 000 provided by
the ANC in 2006, has led to a recognition of 100% access to sanitation in the
city by the national government.
These realities, ignored by the HRC, can only mean one of two things.
Either the HRC does not understand the realities of government in South
Africa or it chooses to ignore these to make political points.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, it is true that the City is under attack from the ANC
and its cohorts.
The ANC does not believe in democratic debate that departs from the
premise of trying to do what is in the best interests of the people of Cape
Town.
Instead, it will lie, cheat, break things, and shout to make its voice heard.
This conduct would be reprehensible enough, were it not for the fact that the
ANC uses the unsuspecting poor to wage its campaigns against reason and
decency.
We will stay the course in order to defend the mandate we have received
and thereby uphold the democratic will of the people of this city.
We know that we are serving our residents by the judgement of international
bodies that applaud us for our efforts, and most importantly from the opinion
of our residents themselves.
The ANC will do what it can to create havoc.
In the meantime, we will work with the people of Cape Town to make
progress possible, together.
Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi.