SPEECH BY THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN, ALDERMAN PATRICIA DE LILLE, AT THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING, September 27 2012

Good morning, goeiedag, molweni.

On Monday 24 September 2012, I had the chance to reflect on the kind of city we are building in Cape Town. I had the honour of renaming a former so-called ‘Native Yard' in Gugulethu after Steve Biko - one of the heroes of this country and a political and personal icon of mine. That naming ceremony was the first to mark many occasions where we will be creating new names for shared spaces within our city, starting with Gugulethu.

As I have said many times, the process of recognising a shared history does not mean disrespecting some cultures in favour of others. We cannot destroy history. What we can do is recognise the history of all the people of this great city and make a new and Inclusive City that worries more about the great future that lies before us, and not the painful past behind us.

It is this lesson that has informed our naming and renaming processes every step of the way.

And it is the reason why Capetonians are coming together, unlike any other city, in shared respect and with the realisation that strong societies are built on compromise and understanding. But that occasion on Monday was also to mark Heritage Day and all that it means for us as a country in the process of searching for unity.

And in my reflection with the people of Gugulethu, I knew that the secret to building a city was in a powerful combination of the symbolic gesture with the gesture of direct action. We must not make the mistake of under-estimating the powerful psychological effect of owning and recognising our suppressed history.

We should not under-value the power of a cultural transition that serves to break down the barriers that have created a ‘theirs' and ‘ours' sense of cultural recognition. And we must never allow some people in our society to tell us that the divisions between us cannot be overcome.

But I believe that one of the reasons why reconciliation has stalled in South Africa is that we have not matched the power of the symbolic with the power of action. And Mr Speaker, the action I mean is giving people the independence and dignity to enjoy our society by providing them with economic opportunity and thus freedom.

In the modern world, freedom has at its root the idea of ownership. This is not just an academic or philosophical construct. As we have seen in recent decades in other developing countries, especially in India and Brazil, freedom and equality increase as more people become owners of their own homes, plots, or micro-financed businesses, for example.

That sense of ownership motivates people not only with a new sense of personal place in the world, but also with some basis to begin leveraging a better place in society.

Most human industry has humble beginnings. Given these lessons, I am pleased to make an announcement directly impacting on the economic freedom of thousands of our citizens.

I have requested the Directorate of Human Settlements to accelerate and intensify their programmes to ensure that the City transfers the outstanding title deeds to recipients of City-provided subsidy housing as quickly as possible. This amounts to approximately 30 00 outstanding title deeds. 

This process is already underway in some areas in the following pilot sites: Thambo Square 2, Old Wallacedene Phase 10, Nyanga, Mfuleni 3 and 4, Bloekombos Phase 2, Masiphumelele, Lwandle, Nomzamo and Pumlani.

I believe that this policy action will start to address Apartheid's legacy of depriving individuals' basic ownership rights. Indeed, South Africa's history is littered with land deprivation, decades-long ‘leases' and the like, to entrench spatial divisions and reinforce the toxic notion that cities did not belong to the majority of the population. And by extending personal ownership, we will create a new sense of personal investment in our city, where as many residents as possible know that they have a definite place in this metro.

This is a process that will take time. However, with renewed focus and the necessary resources, I am confident we can make this redress initiative a success. Cape Town is again leading the rest of the country and showing that we are prepared to make a real difference to the quality of life of the poor and the vulnerable.

Given that the vast majority of recipients of subsidy housing in the rest of country do not have title, I would challenge other local governments in the rest of South Africa to pursue a similar strategy. To succeed, it will require full subscription to the law to make sure that we make no mistakes.

I make an appeal to all Councillors to respect this project and help us where necessary. And that respect also entails an understanding of what is possible for the City. It is not possible, for instance, for the City to realise everyone's ambitions towards ownership, especially when it concerns land that the City does not own.

Where people do not have homes, we are doing our best to build them in integrated communities. Indeed, the City is developing mixed housing developments. Two such large-scale developments include Scottsdene and Pelican Park, where there is provision for subsidy, GAP and bonded housing.

Even with a high-priced market of privately-owned land parcels, we are proactively trying to create integrated communities of owners. As this Council knows, we spend between R100 - R120 million annually purchasing suitable and available land for human settlements.

We also will not settle for the design short-comings of the past and are looking into the possibility of retrofitting RDP houses with ceilings. This effort will bring enormous benefits in terms of health and energy savings.

Indeed, we have already completed a pilot project in Mamre that has seen 250 houses retrofitted and are exploring additional means of financing this project. And in our drive to find suitable land within economically active areas, we approach other spheres of government to release land.

We have been lobbying the National Government for years to release land in Wingfield, Youngsfield and land owned by Denel which could be used for large human settlements close to economic opportunities and public transport. If Councillors really want to help us in our broader ownership efforts, especially those in the opposition, they can appeal to their national political leaders to release state-owned land to the City, which would greatly enhance our housing delivery and other programmes.

Just this year, for instance, an initiative by the Provincial Government and the City to upgrade the Dunoon Clinic was delayed due to a failure of the National Department of Public Works to release the land required. And given the importance of these issues, let me update this Council by saying that the forensic investigation into Aurecon, which I undertook to initiate, has not been completed but the findings will be shared with this Council once available.

In understanding the virtue of creating ownership in our communities, we must consider the other element of opportunity, which is fostering the economic environment in which jobs can be created.We are doing all that we can to ensure that Cape Town reaches its investment potential.

Just last week, I led a delegation to Turkey to expand on the potential for greater economic linkages, especially in the tourism sector. Indeed, we have set the ambitious target of increasing the number of visitors travelling via Turkish Airlines to Cape Town to 16 000 per year during this term of office, and all the revenue benefits that such tourists bring.

This new drive, announced today on World Tourism Day, confirms one of our focal points on strategic international tourism, led by the City and its partners.

With new direct flights between South Africa and Turkey, the time is ripe to attract a new market to our shores for business and lifestyle purposes.

I am pleased to report to this Council that we will already be seeing the benefits of the delegation when 150 businessmen and women arrive here in the coming months to explore opportunities for investment in the IT sector.

And domestically, we continue to position this city as South Africa's creative and business capital through such strategic events, such as hosting the Loerie Awards, which brings businesses around the country to our city to experience everything that we have to offer. I am reminded of the impact of this event by a sign I saw at the Awards last year that read ‘The only thing that I don't like about Cape Town is leaving.'

This strategic event also helps position Cape Town, along with the World Design Capital 2014, as the creative centre of South Africa - with all the job creation and revenue streams that flow from there. But as I continually remind people, the drive towards opportunity must take account of the need for immediate relief of those in desperate circumstances.

We have positioned this city to be the national leader in providing services to the poor as we give life to our long-term economic strategy.

Mr Speaker, of the R18 billion City budget spent on direct service delivery, just under R11 billion is spent on poor people.

That is just over 57 percent of the budget.

This is definitive proof of our commitment to ensuring that we prioritise the needs of the poor and the vulnerable.

It further exposes the empty statements of our political opponents, who have either chosen to ignore this reality, or simply don't understand how City finances work.

This expenditure sees the City provide:

• R681 million on City Health Services for the poor;
• R1,5 billion that is allocated to the poor by Human Settlements;
• R2,6 billion of Transport, Roads and Stormwater as examples of targeted pro-poor expenditure.

The Leader of the Opposition should note in particular that R1,6 billion of the R2,5 billion total for Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) is targeted at service provision to the poor.

This expenditure will see the development of the N2 Express service to the South-East of the city, including Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.

It is also important for this Council to note that the City has made significant strides in the last five years with investments in utilities in informal settlements, far more than by previous administrations.

These improved levels of service delivery have seen the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency confirm that we lead the country in the provision of sanitation.

We are aware that there is a still a great deal more than we need to do; that is why we are continuing with the provision of programmes to improve quality of life of these communities even further.

These programmes include the provision of janitorial services, which we review and assess to ensure that we improve on the quality of services provided.

These are just a few examples of how everything we do is positioned towards a layered strategy of creating long-term economic development, while providing short-term relief.

To assist us with our efforts of social relief, I am pleased to introduce to the Council the new Mayoral Committee Member for Social Development and Early Childhood Development, Councillor Suzette Little, who replaces Beverley Cortje-Alcock, who is longer a member of this Council.

During her tenure as a Subcouncil Chairperson, Cllr Little has shown a relentless drive to help her community and get things done.

Her managerial and leadership experience will help us take the work of Social Development and Early Childhood Development forward in the coming years.

In conclusion, perhaps we all need to reflect on what is needed to take this city forward.

Every day, we should ask ourselves, as individual Councillors: what am I doing to bring people closer together?

What am I doing to build a more Inclusive City?

What am I doing to assist in the roll-out of opportunity to the people of Cape Town?

And what do I need to do to remove the blockages to the social change that we all need to work towards?

I believe that if we ask ourselves those questions, and interrogate every action, then we shall truly be working towards that goal of creating a shared society that everyone owns, not just a privileged few.

And in so doing, we will make a new heritage for future generations.

Thank you.

Issued by the City of Cape Town, September 27 2012

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