Level 2 means Cape Town can get back to business

20 August 2020

Good morning speaker, colleagues, fellow councillors, members of the public, and the media.

I sense a certain level of relief and a renewed energy as we enter Level 2 of the national lockdown this week. For months, we have been lobbying national government to allow more business sectors who were able to take the necessary safety precautions to get back to business and to relax some of the more stringent regulations.

We are very pleased that the President has now agreed that we have done what we needed to in preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic, and that businesses have to get back to work, without any further delay. We need to channel our energy towards rebuilding, towards reigniting the economic engine room, and getting back on track of creating employment opportunities.

Speaker, today I table the adjustment budget. Alderman Ian Neilson will cover this in more detail later, but I want to touch on some of the main highlights.

The budget has primarily two purposes. 

The first is to deal with rollovers of funding for projects that were committed in the previous financial year but were not completed by the end of June.  The rollovers ensure that these projects can be completed.  A total of R520m is to be rolled over, compared to the completed capital budget of R6 billion.

The second purpose is to deal with the substantial changes in national grant funding, mostly reductions due to the tightening of the national budget.  The capital budget for grant funded work is to be reduced by R1,48 billion, while the internally funded capital budget is to be increased by R537 million.

Municipalities across the country have been subject to budget cuts from National Government, largely as a result of National Treasury having to address the costs related to the impact of COVID-19 interventions. One example is our Human Settlements directorate, which sees a cut of R117 million to USDG and HSDG funding.

A number of programmes and projects will have to be put on hold to accommodate the cut in funding, but our basic service delivery will remain unaffected and I am sure residents will take comfort in this.

One thing that we will not be able to do is to keep replacing the infrastructure that is damaged during illegal protest action and illegal land invasions.  Our budget has adapted to accommodate the COVID-19 crisis and ensure we deliver our core services and essential capital projects. Sadly, for those communities who bear the brunt of these destructive and illegal actions, we cannot deviate from our core mandate to replace what has been destroyed.

I want to applaud Alderman Neilson and his team for making sure the right measures are in place, which allowed us to spend 96% of our total operating budget and close to 90% of our capital budget despite being severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and extended lockdown period.

The confirmation from the Auditor General in awarding us an unqualified audit and Ratings Afrika, having assessed our operating performance, liquidity management, debt governance, budget practices, affordability and infrastructure development, and naming the City of Cape Town as the most sustainable metro in South Africa, is testament to our good governance.

As far as I’m aware, we were the only metro to keep the doors of our planning department open, which allowed us to approve more than 4 500 building plans with a total value of R5,2 billion throughout the lockdown. These approvals have resulted in critical construction work that creates thousands of jobs and stimulates our economy.

Cape Town’s good governance is endorsed by consistent unqualified audits and the recent independent finding that we are the most financially sustainable metro in SA.

We have seen the devastating impact of the national lockdown, especially on the tourism and hospitality industry. I want to applaud the local chefs, restaurant owners, and hospitality sector fraternity, who staged peaceful protests in recent weeks to draw attention to their plight. I am sure local councillors will also be doing whatever they can to help their communities during this time.

The Mayor’s Special Fund continues to support over 200 soup kitchens, and we have reached many thousands with food relief because councillors pooled ward allocation savings.

While doing what we can on the ground, we have also been hard at work behind the scenes, drawing up plans to revitalise our tourism sector, and to adapt our way of working so we can continue to serve the residents of Cape Town.

I know that many have lost jobs, and many businesses have suffered. I do believe that these tough times also present us with opportunities. New services are required that were not in demand before. New products that were not even considered before this global pandemic have become essentials. Thousands of residents will continue to work from home and are in need of new, emerging services. Now is the time for innovation and for creativity.

Cape Town holds the title of Start Up Capital of Africa and we are also the official Tech Capital of Africa. We are home to almost 60% of South African start-ups. This is clearly a city of entrepreneurs, so if any City can bounce back from this global pandemic, it is Cape Town.

We have world class infrastructure and hardworking residents that allow us to achieve these titles, so I want to assure our residents that we will keep standing up for you and fighting against the daily illegal land invasions while some organisations continue to encourage these illegal activities.

I have been informed by several members of the public that the land invaders are ‘selling plots’ of land that doesn’t belong to them. I am also aware of ANC and EFF councillors actively promoting land invasions in some areas. This is a criminal offence and they will be held accountable by both this Council and the South African Police Service (SAPS). I am also offering a monetary reward for information regarding those who are selling plots.

As Mayor, I have met with the National Police Commissioner to call for more Public Order Policing support. I have further written to the President calling for an urgent coordinated response of the three levels of government to curb the national crisis of illegal land invasions.

We urge political parties, activist organisations and community leaders to please consider the bigger picture and to stop driving or condoning land invasions for short-term gain as the long-term impacts are immense.

Speaker, it is good news that our councillors will finally, for the first time, have access to quarterly crime statistics thanks to some changes made by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

We have been calling for the release of regular crime statistics for many years and now that they are being made available we must use them. I think these will be extremely helpful to better plan when it comes to crime prevention activities and identifying shifting trends.

You will need to work with your local police, your residents, local businesses and your neighbourhood watches to tackle the crimes that are affecting our communities. We all know what can be achieved when we work together. As councillors in your communities, you need to be actively involved in making our communities safer for all.

While the latest crime statistics show a decrease in gender-based violence, this is not the time to think there isn’t work to do. Women’s Month might only be one month of the year, but it gives us an opportunity to draw attention to what we need to be doing all year around to address gender-based violence. The boys of today need to be brought up the right way so that when they are the men of tomorrow, they know how to respect and protect the women in our lives. The girls and women in our lives need to know that they should never tolerate any form of abuse, be it verbal or physical. 

Speaker, with the heavy rains we have received in recent weeks, I want to thank all the City staff who have been working overtime to clear the drains, remove the trees that have fallen over, and clean up after the storms. Your efforts are always appreciated.

In closing, I want to draw attention to some good news - our tourist season is around the corner and with the opening of inter provincial travel, I want to encourage all the businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector to start preparing for an increase in business. South Africans have been stuck at home for five months now, and are itching to travel again.

Cape Town has beautiful beaches, easily accessible hiking trails, inviting wine lands, some of the world’s best restaurants, adventure sports activities, the friendliest people and world class shopping – so where do you think South Africans are going to come first? Let’s make sure we are ready to welcome the rest of the country to Cape Town, and let us make sure we do so safely.

Thank you 

Issued by Media Officer, 20 August 2020