Speech by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman
Patricia de Lille, on the occasion of the opening of the
New Manenberg Human Settlement Contact Centre
18 April 2012
Honoured guests,
Councillors,
City Officials,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning, goeiemore, molweni,
I believe that we are taking great strides to come together as a city.
We know that sometimes, we are not able to do everything that we want
to do.
But I think that as a people, we know that there are limits to all of our
actions and we plan accordingly.
We know that we face problems of a housing backlog.
We know that we face problems of providing services to backyarders.
We are working with our limited resources to come up with innovative
solutions to housing problems.
And we are rolling-out services to backyarders in the meantime to ensure
that dignity and service delivery are universal realities in the City of Cape
Town.
We are constantly asking ourselves how we can improve and adjust our
policies accordingly.
And so we know that we have to stay motivated; that our victories come
in stages; and that our successes are achieved over the long term.
Following that path only makes our victories sweeter.
There are sometimes milestones that are true reasons for celebration.
Today is such a day.
The City of Cape Town is proud to open the New Manenberg Human
Settlements Contact Centre today.
This centre will manage the City’s rental stock and dwellings purchased
through the City as well as providing administrative support to
ratepayers.
Part of that service is to assist people to become homeowners with the
transfer of rental stock, which I announce today.
Due to sectional title difficulties as a result of national legislation, we can
only currently transfer 267 units.
I urge you to come forward to see if you qualify.
If you do qualify, you may receive your unit for free or at a considerable
discount under the enhanced extended discount benefit scheme from
national government.
I urge you to come forward.
Because this is a centre to serve the people of Manenberg, as our clients;
our partners; and our friends.
It is a centre to foster inclusion, opportunity and efficiency.
It is a centre that acts as a beacon of our commitment to leading Cape
Town’s social development.
It is a centre for everyone.
In addition to its primary function as a centre for housing administration,
residents will also be able to access the City’s hotline to register
complaints.
They will be able to make enquiries regarding the housing database,
matters concerning tenants and all service and rental accounts.
As a municipal centre they will also be able to pay municipal accounts and
traffic fines as well as purchase prepaid electricity.
And as a centre for the Caring City, people will be able to apply for
services and rates rebates as well as benefits as indigents.
It will be a place that helps put the needs of the poor at the forefront of
our service delivery programmes.
Considering that, I want all of you with rental arrears to come forward
today.
This centre will help those in arrears become part of the City’s greater
debt management scheme.
Under that scheme, those who meet criteria can qualify for rates rebates
as part of our indigent policy.
People just have to come forward.
And as much as we can help you, you can also help us.
We need you to use this centre to report where drug activities are
occurring.
We need to clear out drug-dealers from our rental stock.
But we need the help of everyone in the community to do it.
So we need people to report those activities to the centre and we need
the SAPS to take strong action.
This is not just another municipal office.
It is a centre that aims to be part of the heart of the community.
It has taken some time to build.
Despite the previous centre’s central location, problems of crime and
vandalism meant that we had to shift our strategy.
And so we have come up with this holistic design.
It acts as a safe centre that embodies the principles of twenty-first
century design, using as its primary design poles the principles of being
green and sustainable.
This modernity is a representation of Cape Town projecting itself as the
African city of tomorrow, today.
Manenberg is therefore at the heart of our efforts to take the city forward
into this future.
We know that we face many challenges.
We know that social problems remain an obstacle for many.
We are doing all that we can go work with people to overcome those
challenges.
Let this centre be a physical reminder of that commitment and of our
bond with the people of Manenberg.