City of Cape Town 2011/2012 Community Satisfaction Survey

As part of our commitment to being a Well-run City and responding to the needs of our citizens, the City of Cape Town annually conducts a Community Satisfaction Survey.

The long term objectives of the surveys are to ensure that we:

• deliver a high quality of services to Cape Town's residents, to people who transact in the City and to those who visit it as tourists or holiday makers;
• are known as an efficient, effective and caring government; and
• actively contribute to the development of our human and social capital.

To do that, we need to:

• regularly identify and confirm residents' and businesses' needs;
• measure and improve satisfaction levels; and
• prioritise areas for action.

The perception survey measures in which areas the City is doing well so that we can continue our performance, and where possible, enhance levels of service delivery. It also measures areas in which the City can improve. The information that the survey provides is invaluable as it assists us to strategically identify and work to meet the needs of all our citizens.

The City of Cape Town has received the 2011/12 results of the independent survey, which was conducted by TNS. The survey was scientifically conducted to ensure a representative sample across the City. It took place in October and November 2011, and comprised 3 000 face-to-face interviews with residents of Cape Town and 700 telephonic interviews with businesses in Cape Town. It also included five focus groups with residents to probe and investigate issues in depth.

Overall performance trends over the past five years have been positive and represent a general upward trend in residents' satisfaction.

In terms of residents' and business' interaction with the City, most scores have shown significant increases both in the short- and long-term.

The results of the survey are now being presented internally and assessed with the objective of further enhancing service delivery and planning.

It is pleasing also to note that perceptions of the Mayor and of senior City management in dealing with City issues have improved.

The information below is a summary of the 2011/12 survey results.

What did residents say?

• 63% of residents said that overall, the City of Cape Town's performance was good, very good or excellent (up from 62% in 2010/11; 57% in 2009/10; 54% in 2008/9; and 50% in 2007/8).
• 62% of residents rate the City of Cape Town as good, very good or excellent in fulfilling its role as a public service provider (the same as 2010/11 and up from 58% in 2009/10; 54% in 2008/9; and 46% in 2007/8).
• 69% of residents rate their level of trust in the City of Cape Town as fairly strong, very strong or extremely strong (up from 66% in 2010/11 and 2009/10; 61% in 2008/9 and 50% in 2007/8).

The areas of strength that have emerged from the survey are as follows:

• Essential services remain a relative area of strength for the City overall, particularly water provision, sewerage and sanitation as well as refuse collection.
• Stormwater drains being regularly cleaned and prevention of stormwater flooding has shown improved ratings by residents in the past year and continue as a positive upward trend.
• In terms of Community Services, Parks have shown an improvement in both the short- and long-term, while library services continue to be rated by residents as good.
• Law enforcement scores have improved overall both in the long-term and in the past year. Illegal dumping, illegal land settlement and noise have again been identified as being important to residents.
• Environmental and conservation services have improved across most categories, with cleanliness of the urban environment in particular showing a significant improvement.
• Fire and Emergency Services continue to be a priority for residents and these services have shown improvement in response times to emergency situations.
• The provision of affordable transport has shown an improvement in the long term with all other perceptions on transport remaining stable both in the long and short term.

The areas needing improvement that have emerged from the survey are as follows:

• Roads: the maintenance thereof; the maintenance of the surrounding grass areas; and traffic congestion on the roads.
• Civic halls, recreation and community centres, swimming pools and sports fields have all shown a very small decline in rating over the past year.
• The City provides extensive health services through City clinics. Whilst this is an unfunded mandate and a service that overlaps with other spheres of government, it is in keeping with our commitment to being a Caring City. Due to the quality of care provided, City clinics are placed under pressure through greater demand for their services. As a result, areas of improvements exist particularly in terms of waiting times at clinics.
• Residents have expressed dissatisfaction in the area of human settlements. The City has a database of which around 380 000 households have expressed a need for a housing opportunity. The reasons for this are complex and include the divided historical past of the city and legislative and budgetary constraints. In our commitment to being an Inclusive City, we will continue to look for innovative solutions to the housing backlog and to ensure that we maximise the provision of housing opportunities.

What did business say?

• 84% of businesses said that overall, the City of Cape Town's performance was good, very good or excellent (up from 80% in 2010/11; 77% in both 2009/10 and 2008/9; and from 69% in 2007/8).
• 83% of businesses rate the performance of the City of Cape Town in fulfilling its role as a provider of municipal services as good, very good or excellent (up from 81% in 2010/11; 77% in 2009/10; 75% in 2008/9; and 70% in 2007/8).
• 84% of businesses rated their level of trust in the City of Cape Town as fairly strong, very strong or extremely strong (up from 81% in 2010/11; 80% in 2009/10; 78% in 2008/9; and 72% in 2007/8).

The areas of strength that have emerged from the business survey are as follows:

• The interaction of the City with business has shown a significant improvement in the past year.
• According to businesses surveyed, law enforcement has improved significantly since 2007/8 and there has also been a significant perceived improvement in the safety of the environment in which businesses operate and adequate measures being in place to address corruption in the City in the past year.

Results by district:

The results were also analysed by district.

In 2011/12, there has been an improvement in the perception of the overall performance of the City in the Khayelitsha, Klipfontein, Mitchells Plain, Southern and Western districts, with the Western district showing the biggest improvement.

The district of Klipfontein showed improvement with 52% of respondents rating the overall performance of the City as good, very good or excellent. This result needs to improve even more - and this administration will continue to work to further deliver in this area.

Although the Tygerberg and Eastern districts ratings have shown a decline in perception compared to last year, the overall trend shows significant improvement. The Northern district is still rated the highest in terms of overall perception of the City with 80% of respondents rating the overall performance of the City as good, very good or excellent.

The next steps:

"The 2011/12 survey results are encouraging. The annual Customer Satisfaction Survey will be used by the City's leadership to inform and refine the planning and implementation of municipal services. And we will continue to deliver as much as we are able to all our citizens - especially to those most in need of assistance in line with this government's commitment as expressed in the Integrated Development Plan to being a city of opportunity - which is well-run, caring, inclusive and safe," said Alderman Qually.

Statement issued by Alderman Demetri Qually, Mayoral Committee member for Corporate Services, City of Cape Town, May 7 2012

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