Speech by the City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman
Patricia de Lille, at the full Council meeting on
4 December 2013
Mr Speaker,
Before we begin, I would like to pay tribute to two heroes of our
democracy who recently passed away.
Mr Reggie September died at the age of 90, having served the cause of
freedom in our country for decades, as a trade union and political leader
and a member of parliament in democratic South Africa.
Mr Colin Eglin died at the age of 88 on Saturday, having promoted the
causes of non-racialism and liberal democracy for decades and having
served as leader of the opposition at numerous points during his long
career in parliament.
They will both be sorely missed.
I would like to ask for a moment’s silence.
Thank you.
Good morning, goeiedag, molweni, as-salaam alaikum,
Mr Speaker,
This has been a busy year – a year filled with the many challenges as is
always the case with government.
We have dealt with natural disasters, ever-increasing demands for
services, and the constraints of a slowing national economy.
Through all of these, we have worked to deliver the very best services in
the country and to do so with the highest levels of integrity and honesty.
We do not expect any reward for such work. It is the job that the people
of this city have asked us to do with their votes.
But even so, we cannot help but be pleased when we receive recognition
for our efforts.
Mr Speaker, it is my very great pleasure to announce today that the City
of Cape Town has received a clean audit from the Auditor General.
There has been an unqualified audit every year that the DA has been in
government in Cape Town – a record for a metropolitan council in South
Africa.
It is the result of a lot of hard work undertaken by the leaders of this
government and by many key officials within the administration.
To give you some idea of these processes, the Auditor General has, for
the past three to four years, been raising the leadership issue of political
accountability as a prerequisite to the achievement of a ‘clean’ audit.
Two of the primary conditions for a clean audit are: an emphasis from the
political leadership in general statutory compliance in all governance; and
secondly commitment from senior management to execute that mandate.
The Auditor General’s annual management letter plays a pivotal role in
enabling political leadership to achieve such objectives.
Our City management uses the management letter as a framework to
address the areas of internal control weaknesses identified from the
established reporting framework.
This reporting framework, which is motivated by the political leadership,
comprises the Audit Committee, Governance Executive Management
Team Subcommittee and the Executive Management Team.
Appropriate action plans are formulated to address root causes identified
with administrative strategies which are then referred to the Office of the
Auditor General, National Treasury and the Audit Committee for
comment.
Success in such processes creates the general environment that is
necessary for the achievement of a clean audit.
In the final analysis, what this boils down to is spending our money
transparently and being honest and open in everything that we do.
Mr Speaker, given these results, I wonder if the leaders of the opposition
in this Council will apologise for accusing this government of dishonest
behaviour and misleading people over the past year.
But maybe the Councillors’ memories are as weak as their grasp of the
truth.
Allow me to remind them and this Council of their words.
When we claimed a historic 92,9% spend of our capital budget earlier this
calendar year, Councillor Sotashe, Chief Whip of the ANC, said:
‘That is a big joke; the City deserves an award for that. Up until May 24,
the City was sitting on R3,6 billion spent. How on earth can you jump
from that to almost 92,9% of your budget in two months? […]De Lille
must stop trying to convince residents that the city is well run, it's a lie’.
That was Cllr. Sotashe speaking in July, as quoted by the media.
Maybe Cllr. Sotashe needs a further reminder.
‘We will not back down. They have cooked the books’.
He said that in August.
But I would hate to leave out Cllr. Tony Ehrenreich, the leader of the ANC
in Council.
Mr Ehrenreich claimed in August that ‘The DA is inept and unable to deal
with the challenges that exist’.
How hollow those words seem now.
But Mr Speaker, let us not hold our breath waiting for an apology.
The ANC in the Western Cape long ago gave up pretending that they are
a respectable political party.
They make outrageous claims about our Jewish community, engage in
race-baiting on Twitter, and destroy public property to advance their
agenda.
The ANC refers to the Western Cape as an ‘unliberated zone’ because
they do not govern here.
In that case, let us hope that the people of the Western Cape never have
to experience the ANC’s version of freedom again.
But Mr Speaker, they know they can get away with dragging our politics
through the mud.
Every absurd claim, every blatant lie, is lovingly repeated by some in the
media as if it was the absolute truth under banner headlines.
In these so-called news stories, there is no room for the actual truth or
anything as inconvenient as the facts.
There is only the thrill of the sensational and the sad apathy of some
people in our press failing in their public duty.
But it is our job to continue working, even in the face of politicallyengineered protests and violence.
As this Council knows, last week, the City was scheduled to be shut down
by protesters, supposedly in search of justice.
I respect the right to protest exercised in the framework of the law.
I fought for that right and have used it many times.
I have engaged with and listened to many communities that have been
the source of protests to get to the heart of these issues and I continue to
proactively engage in up to three meetings a week.
Where there are legitimate problems, I listen, humbly and with respect.
But I will be neither humble nor respectful when people use the concerns
of the poor as a smokescreen to re-fight battles they have already lost at
the ballot box.
And these people do not fight on principle.
They fight by destroying public and private property.
They fight by throwing human waste on our streets.
They fight by stealing the goods of vendors.
They are not fighting for justice.
They are fighting so that thuggery and violence may be the order of the
day.
In the case of the proposed protest last week, the protestors were led by
ANC councillors, both former and current.
And their violent statement had the explicit backing of the leader of the
opposition in this Council.
Cllr. Ehrenreich, in his capacity as Cosatu secretary-general in the
Western Cape, arranged that trains would be available for would-be
marchers.
And he went further to ensure that there would be Cosatu marchers
present, marshals who would actively guide protestors where to go and
break the law.
I have referred this matter to the Speaker for investigation and I will
respect the outcome of this investigation.
But it is the duty of every Councillor in this chamber to work for the best
interests of the city and to defend public property, especially those who
claim to be senior leaders.
I have previously told Cllr. Ehrenreich that the problem with wearing two
hats is that neither of them fit.
Now it seems as if both of those hats have fallen off his head and into the
gutter.
It is not our duty to climb in there with him.
It is our duty to build this city, not destroy it.
After two and a half years, I am proud to say that we have shown
evidence of living up to that duty.
When we assumed office, I said that we were compelled, more than ever,
to live up to the great trust placed in us.
The day of the election a contract was formed: a contract between the
people of Cape Town and its chosen leadership.
The terms for that contract had already been laid out in our 2011
manifesto for Cape Town: The next five years.
We had clearly set out what we hoped to achieve in our term of office and
aimed to build a government on five pillars: the opportunity city; the safe
city; the caring city; the inclusive city; and the well-run city.
We set out to start building the Cape Town of tomorrow today, a Cape
Town where an economic enabling environment attracted investment and
created jobs; a Cape Town where a compassionate government helped
our residents, especially those who needed help the most.
Like any major project, it is necessary to review our progress at key
milestones and map the work needed to achieve our desired goals.
I would like to mention a few highlights that directly pertain to the
manifesto that the people of Cape Town endorsed two and a half years
ago.
At the level of direct job creation, we have helped those most in need to
find work opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme
(EPWP).
To date the EPWP has provided over 37 000 work opportunities created
from 228 projects, and has been recognised as the best-run EPWP
programme in the country, winning two out of three national Kamosa
awards.
And we have worked to provide the infrastructure that supports economic
growth in the private sector by spending R10,8 billion on our capital
budget over the past two and a half years.
The last financial year alone saw a capital spend of 92,4% – the largest
spend recorded by any metro in the country.
Indeed, in terms of our Information and Communications Technology
infrastructure, we have completed Phase 1 of the project to expand the
fibre-optic network throughout the city, with a total of 350km of fibreoptic cable having been installed in the City’s own network.
Phase 2 of the project will see spare data capacity leased out to private
sector clients, which will partly fund further expansion of the network.
This is in addition to a Proof of Concept (POC) phase, set to begin in
December 2013 and run for six months, during which the City will
experiment with different technologies in providing Wi-Fi to underserviced
areas in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.
We have established a single transport authority, Transport for Cape
Town, which has been formed to govern all public transport modes in the
metro.
It is guided by a Vision of Ones: one plan, one network, one management
system, one contracting authority, one ticket and timetable, one unified
enforcement system, and one fare.
This is a first for South Africa and its establishment has been matched by
the most nationally successful roll-out of the bus rapid transport system.
The Council has adopted the Cape Town Spatial Development Framework,
which provides a more effective set of guidelines for development.
This is in addition to improved regulation as well as policy rationalisation
and alignment.
Towards the end of last year, 27 separate outdated legacy zoning
schemes were integrated into a single Cape Town Zoning Scheme,
reducing 1 507 pages of regulation to 185.
This new single zoning scheme has significantly simplified development
rules and introduced much more flexible regulations, which in many
instances has obviated the need for time-consuming departure
applications and enabled building plan applications to be finalised more
quickly.
The City of Cape Town has the best record of any metro in the country for
providing basic services, and providing financial relief to the poor.
Over the past two years the City has increased the rates rebates offered
to its most vulnerable citizens – in particular the poor, the elderly and the
disabled – thus raising the number of people benefitting from our indigent
programmes.
Indeed, the City provides 10 500 litres of water and 60 kilowatts free to
indigent households per month.
We spend 64% of our service delivery budget on the provision of services
to the poor – the most extensive cross-subsidisation of the poor in the
country.
As part of our commitment to redress, the City of Cape Town has
prioritised a massive allocation of resources to improve living conditions in
informal settlements, specifically in the provision of electricity, water and
sanitation, refuse removal, area cleaning and rodent control.
In this financial year the Water and Sanitation Department has a budget
of approximately R520 million; Electricity Services R292 million; and Solid
Waste Management R141 million for direct provision to informal
settlements.
Currently the City is funding Eskom to the amount of R190 million to
connect over 20 000 households in informal settlements and temporary
relocation areas with electricity.
A number of these connections were completed in the last financial year,
with an estimated 8 000 planned for this financial year and the remaining
to be rolled out in the next year.
We have also established a janitorial service for informal settlements – a
first in the country – which sees approximately 800 cleaners providing a
cleansing service to these communities.
Full details of these and more programmes are available in an extensive
mid-term review document.
Mr Speaker, we will continue our good work into the future.
Next week, we will engage in another two historic land restitution
activities thanks to positive City action in Somerset West.
The Engelbrecht family will benefit after the City of Cape Town agreed to
release Erf 171 to the Engelbrecht family at no cost.
The City is facilitating the land transfer process.
The handover will take place on 7 December 2013.
Also on 7 December 2013, the Langenhoven family will benefit after the
City of Cape Town agreed to release Erf 724 at the municipal value of the
land.
These activities are in addition to the numerous land restitution processes
we have been involved in this year and land rights issues more broadly
speaking.
In that regard, there is a significant slum upgrading and tenure process
that UN Habitat promotes globally: the Security of Tenure to informal
dwellers.
The Human Settlements Directorate, in collaboration with the Violence
Prevention through Urban Upgrading programme, will provide over 1 000
tenure certificates in Monwabisi Park in Khayelitsha.
At this point in time, we are providing tenure certificates to each property
occupant so that they can keep this as claim to future title deeds.
Upon approval and installation of individual services, title deeds will be
issued in the near future.
And in this season of giving, I have received another donation of
wheelchairs, commodes, walkers and crutches.
I have decided to split these up between the political parties as follows:
60% to the DA; 15 % to the ANC; other parties 15%; and the other 15%
to be issued at the Mayor’s discretion.
I urge the political parties to contact Councillor Support to discuss how
these wheelchairs and other aids can be accessed so that you can
distribute them to those who need them most.
This is in keeping with our broader commitment to making the City
accessible and friendly to people with disabilities of all kinds.
Not all disabilities require a wheelchair, for instance.
Some are physical disabilities while others are mental disabilities.
People with disabilities are an integral part of our city and it is our duty to
ensure that Cape Town is accessible and welcoming to all those who live
in it, whether they are able-bodied or live with a disability.
That is our commitment to being a caring city.
As we marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities
yesterday, we renew our commitment to making our public spaces and
facilities disability-friendly, especially where we engage in new capital
projects.
In conclusion, let me thank everyone for their hard work during the year.
I hope you will all be able to enjoy some time off with your families during
this season.
Please be sure to join me as my guests on 16 December at our
Reconciliation Day Festival.
And please remember that, even though it may be recess, you remain
leaders in your communities.
As we know from our experience last year, such as the New Year’s Day
fire in Khayelitsha, our duties do not keep office hours.
This is certainly true of all of the staff who will remain on duty, especially
in our emergency and utility services.
And I will be visiting a number of depots over this festive season to thank
them for their hard work and commitment.
We need to do what we need to do whenever we need to do it. That is
what we were all elected for.
Season’s greetings to you and your families.
Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi.