‘There is opportunity – and reason for optimism – in this new Government of National Unity. We have already had positive engagements with several National Ministers and we are excited about turning these early waves of momentum into a tsunami of progress that will carry our country and its cities deep into the 21st century, building more prosperity and more dignified lives for our citizens along the way.
‘Now is the time for critical reforms to better the lives of Capetonians and all citizens who want to live in a country of hope for all. Our top priorities include reforms to policing, passenger rail, affordable housing, and cutting red tape to unleash economic growth,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
The City’s top advocacy agenda items include:
Powers for municipal police to investigate crime;
Devolve passenger rail to the City;
Release national mega-properties for affordable housing;
Increase social housing subsidies and stop grant cuts; and
Cut red tape to unleash economic growth
On policing, Mayor Hill-Lewis said the City was calling for the devolution of criminal investigative powers so that officers can help build prosecution-ready case dockets, and gain convictions particularly for gang, gun, drug and extortion-related crime.
‘This immediate boost for the State’s criminal investigation capacity can be achieved by a simple, but impactful amendment to the SAPS Act. Under section 64E(c), which specifies the powers of municipal police, the Act should simply state “prevention and investigation of crime”, instead of just “prevention of crime”. Two simple words that will make all the difference for Capetonians, and residents of all cities where competent municipal officers could be doing much more to help the SAPS and prosecutors.
‘I have written to the new Portfolio Chair, Mr Ian Cameron, and I have also already met with Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, to express my encouragement that we can pass this amendment to the SAPS Act in this new term to empower municipal police to help put many more criminals behind bars,’ said the Mayor.
On passenger rail, the City is calling for a clear deadline on devolving the train service for capable metros to run.
‘Minister Creecy indicated in her Budget Speech debate that the Transport Department has completed a draft National Rail Devolution Strategy. I have therefore written to the Minister asking for confirmation of when the City will be able to comment on this draft strategy, and for a clear deadline to finalise the strategy so that we can get devolution done.
‘Right now, the City is very close to finalising a Service Level Agreement with PRASA, which will set the stage for future devolution discussions. The City’s own Rail Feasibility Study is also at an advanced stage, and we expect to table its findings on various rail devolution scenarios in this Council before the end of the year. These scenarios explore how best to introduce private sector involvement in passenger rail, within an integrated transport planning and management system involving all three spheres of government.
‘This means, if we can simply establish our long-requested joint rail devolution committee with the National Minister and her department, we could fast-track devolution and be fully aligned by the end of the year,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
On affordable housing, the Mayor said he had positive engagements with National Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson regarding the release of well-located national mega-properties which could be used for an estimated 100 000 affordable units in Cape Town.
‘These properties include the expansive Wingfield, Youngsfield and Wynberg military bases, as well as the Acacia Park Parliamentary Village close to Century City, which we certainly don’t think is the best use of this land, nor the best way to house Members of Parliament. These are all massive, largely vacant properties in parts of the metro where affordable housing would be a real game changer for many thousands of Cape Town families,’ said the Mayor.
Mayor Hill-Lewis further flagged concern about ‘severe national subsidy constraints to really unleash the affordable housing sector’.
‘This is probably the single, most important issue holding up more social housing in Cape Town. Because even if the City has gone through all the hoops to release land, including the reforms we have made to discount land and maximise social housing yield, the social housing developer still struggles with project viability due to bureaucracy and limited funding available via the Social Housing Regulatory Authority.
‘Properly funding the SHRA, cutting red tape around subsidies, and protecting pro-poor grants from cuts are key priorities for Cape Town. Housing grants and Informal Settlement Upgrade grants are among the most pro-poor and progressive ways you could possibly spend your budget, and in a city like Cape Town where these grants are spent well and responsibly, it is a life-changing investment,’ he said.
Mayor Hill-Lewis further welcomed the President’s State of the Nation Address commitment to cut red tape holding back government infrastructure investment and economic growth.
‘The President’s commitment to driving growth by scaling up investment in public infrastructure in metropolitan areas was music to my ears. Cape Town is already investing a South African record of R39,5bn in infrastructure over three years, 75% of which will directly benefit lower income households. But we’d like to do more, and we welcome the President’s commitment to simplify regulations to enable better public-private partnerships in this infrastructure investment drive. This aligns with our efforts to build the first, transparent Ease of Doing Business Index for Cape Town, which we are holding ourselves publicly accountable to,’ said the Mayor.
Issued by Media Office, City of Cape Town, 25 July 2024
