Statement by the Executive Mayor, Alderman Patricia de
Lille, at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
between the City of Cape Town and the Greater
Tygerberg Partnership to revitalise Tygerberg
The City of Cape Town is committed to urban regeneration to unlock the
full economic potential of 10 business districts throughout the metro.
This is in line with our aim of building an Opportunity City that creates
local centres of economic opportunity.
To this end, the City established the Mayoral Urban Regeneration
Programme to revitalise the following areas: Manenberg; Hanover Park;
Lotus Park; Bishop Lavis; Valhalla Park; Bonteheuwel; Nigeria Way;
Harare Safe Node Area; Kuyasa Interchange Precinct; Bellville Transport
Interchange Precinct and Voortrekker Road Corridor; Westfleur Business
Node; Athlone CBD; Ocean View; and the Mitchells Plain Town Centre.
Today we are formalising our collaborative relationship with the Greater
Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) to specifically revitalise the Tygerberg area
which forms part of the Voortrekker Road Corridor.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we are signing today will
provide direction regarding the intentions of both parties in reviving the
economic prospects of that area.
This relationship is a direct result of collaboration between the City, the
University of Stellenbosch, local businesses and civil society.
The University of Stellenbosch’s Public Leadership Forum initiated and
facilitated discussions between all stakeholders culminating in the
establishment of the GTP, a not-for-profit company, to spearhead the
regeneration of the Tygerberg area.
The GTP has set itself a number of objectives to achieve this and will be
working closely with the City in the Voortrekker Road Corridor and the
Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme. To this end it will be finalising
detailed short-, medium- and longer-term objectives which will be aligned
with the City’s priorities.
Its immediate objectives are:
 To assist in the planning, development of strategies and plans, and
the execution of improvements in the Voortrekker Road Corridor
district as integrated part of and into the Northern Urban Areas;
 To develop an integrated business and strategic plan for the
Partnership.
Its medium- and long-term objectives include:
 To interact with and develop grassroots level participative initiatives
into inclusive and innovative development actions and investment,
and to support this participation appropriately;
 To actively improve the business and investment climate as well as
the business reputation of the Northern Urban Areas;
 To achieve higher levels of investment, development, growth and
employment in the Northern Urban Areas;
The envisaged GTP alliance partnership and structure will aspire to be the
innovative, creative, learning and ideas-generating body for the area and
will initiate, plan, manage, coordinate and oversee the implementation of
strategies and actions together with the partners.
It intends to achieve its mandate through the following approach:
 facilitating coordination and cooperation between all of the relevant
and significant sectors and role players;
 jointly and collectively stimulating, facilitating and promoting
investment, and local social and economic development;
 creating, disseminating and overseeing the implementation of
innovative ideas, plans and projects within the scope and capacity
of the alliance partnership;
 creating an enduring legally-constituted alliance partnership with
clear and visionary goals and objectives to fulfil the purpose of the
alliance partnership;
 mobilising local, Provincial, National and international support from
the public, government and business for the actions of the alliance
partnership;
 assisting, supporting and overseeing the realignment of the local
economic and structural governance and service delivery systems to
improve local delivery as well as local economic performance;
 developing and supporting grassroots level participative initiatives
into inclusive and innovative development actions and investment;
 introducing a strategy of development, social enhancement and
investment and local economic growth that will link with that of the
City and the Western Cape Government;
 actively improving the business and investment climate as well as
the business reputation of the area;

and achieving higher levels of investment, development, growth
and employment in the greater Tygerberg area.
Local centres of economic activity like the Tygerberg area are the
lifeblood of our local economy. By revitalising these areas we are creating
a more enabling environment for much-needed investment and job
creation in local communities. This will, in turn, boost our ongoing efforts
to build the Opportunity City that we want Cape Town to be.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding today heralds the
beginning of these processes and a bright future for the greater
Tygerberg area.