| MyCiTi bus driver goes the extra mile to reunite resident with her purse and diamond wedding ring | MyCiTi bus driver Siphelo Maqubela is Sea Point resident Sharon Russak’s ‘hero’ for finding and returning her purse which contained her jewellery | <p></p><p>MyCiTi bus driver Siphelo Maqubela is Sea Point resident Sharon Russak’s ‘hero’ for finding and returning her purse which contained her jewellery including her diamond wedding ring and earrings, as well as cash, credit cards, her driver’s licence and her identity document.</p><p>Mrs Russak had accidentally dropped her purse when she got out of her car on Main Road in Sea Point at about 17:00 on Monday 11 June 2018.</p><span><p>Mr Maqubela, who was on duty driving the 108 route from Hout Bay along Sea Point Main Road to the CBD, noticed the purse lying on the ground next to a parked car.</p>
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<img class="responsive" src="http://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Centre/MyCiti%20bus%20driver.jpg" alt="" style="width:946px;" /> </figure></span><p>He decided to stop the bus and pick up the purse.</p><p>‘I didn’t open the purse immediately. I continued with my route. When I eventually opened the purse and saw the jewellery, I actually became scared. I knew I had to return it to the owner.</p><p>‘I don’t have Facebook so I asked one of my passengers to try and find Sharon on Facebook using her name from the ID. The passenger then messaged her via Facebook to let her know that I found her purse and to give her my cell number,’ explained Mr Maqubela.</p><p>When Mrs Russak received the message, she had not realised that her purse was gone.<br> <br>‘After my appointment, I saw a Facebook message to please contact someone with regard to my purse. At first I thought maybe I was somehow pick-pocketed because how could a bus driver have my purse,’ she said.</p><p>Mrs Russak’s husband Steve then made contact with Mr Maqubela. They arranged to meet each other at the MyCiTi bus stop in Camps Bay, as Mr Maqubela was making his way back to Hout Bay. </p><p>‘He returned the full contents of my purse but most importantly my diamond wedding ring, another ring and valuable earrings, which are of sentimental value to me. Siphelo, thank you, thank you and bless you for your honesty. You are a credit to MyCiTi and you have restored my faith that there are good, honest people out there,’ said Mrs Russak.</p><p>On Wednesday 20 June 2018 Councillor Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development, handed over a certificate of gratitude to Mr Maqubela.</p><p>‘This certificate is a token of our appreciation for being an outstanding ambassador for MyCiTi. You have gone the extra mile and we commend you for your honesty, integrity and your efforts in reuniting Mrs Russak with her belongings. You are an asset to our team,’ said Councillor Herron. </p><p>At the handover, Mrs Russak said her husband was initially upset when he heard that she had lost her purse because it contained her wedding ring. </p><p>Mr Maqubela jokingly replied: ‘Yes, I saved the marriage.’</p><p>The couple, who have been married for 23 years, laughed.</p><p>Mr Maqubela, father of two children, said he appreciated the certificate.</p><p>‘I like to help people. I always ensure that I return people’s belongings to them and that is what we are taught here at MyCiTi. I love my job because I love driving. Our passengers need to believe in MyCiTi. They need to know they can trust us,’ said Mr Maqubela.</p><p><br><strong>End</strong></p><p> </p> | 2018-06-21T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| City’s action committee addresses social ills in Delft South | Dedicated and experienced professionals from social development and policing backgrounds form part of the Focus Table including Law Enforcement staff | <p>‘This Focus Table is not an advisory committee. All members take responsibility for various tasks, and interventions are supported by 15 fieldworkers,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith. </p><p>The fieldworkers are employed by the City’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development Department (SDECD) through the Expanded Public Works Programme.</p><p>‘The Focus Table forms part of various interventions by the City to address crime in vulnerable areas. They meet on a fortnightly basis and deal with individual cases of harm and anti-social behaviour. Taking into account the psycho-social and economic context of each case, they decide upon appropriate remedial intervention. Going the enforcement route is regarded as a last resort,’ explained Alderman Smith.</p><p>Dedicated and experienced professionals from social development and policing backgrounds form part of the Focus Table including Law Enforcement staff, school resource officers, neighbourhood safety officers, representatives from the City’s SDECD, representatives from the Western Cape Department of Social Development and Professor John Cartwright.</p><p>Some of the recommended interventions to date include:</p><ul><li><div style="text-align:left;">Strengthening Families Programme</div></li><li><div style="text-align:left;">Young Learner’s programme </div></li><li><div style="text-align:left;">Direct interventions with families and referrals </div></li><li><div style="text-align:left;">Support for identity documents, passports and social grant applications </div></li><li><div style="text-align:left;">Medication collection</div></li><li><div style="text-align:left;">Pre-teens at risk intervention </div></li></ul><p>At the official launch of the Focus Table earlier this week, departments, organisations and beneficiaries of programmes reflected on the positive impact that the NST and Focus Table have had on crime prevention and reduction, neighbourhood safety and dealing with social problems in Delft.</p><p>Stakeholders made recommendations, such as interventions for younger children and skills training for young people, and all these will be reviewed by the Focus Table. Professor Cartwright serves as the coordinator of the Focus Table and works closely with the NST in Delft.</p><p>‘The work of the NST is aimed at building an effective model of broad-based neighbourhood safety that can be rolled out to other areas of the City that are suffering from social disruption, violence and urban decay. The Focus Table is an excellent way of mobilising different kinds of knowledge in order to resolve serious issues in the daily lives of a community,’ said Professor Cartwright. </p><p><br><strong>End</strong></p> | 2018-06-20T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| City online services unavailable – 21 June 2018 | The City’s website (www.capetown.gov.za) and various online applications will be unavailable for a short period | <p>The following applications will be affected:</p><ul><li>Cape Town Stadium booking forms</li><li>Community Organisation Database (COD)</li><li>Economic Areas Management Programme (ECAMP)</li><li>Film permit applications</li><li>General Valuations (GV2012 and GV2015)</li><li>Housing Waiting List (HWL)</li><li>Integrated Waste Exchange (IWEX)</li><li>Let's Name It</li><li>Lost Pets Online</li><li>Monitoring of Approved Research System (MARS)</li><li>OATS</li><li>Open Data Portal</li><li>Procurement Portal</li><li>Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA)</li><li>Smartcape</li><li>Tender Portal</li>
<li>Waste Recyclers</li></ul><p>We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time.</p> | 2018-06-20T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| YouthStartCT Entrepreneurial Challenge winners announced | We have come to the end of yet another exciting and successful #YouthStartCT entrepreneurial challenge for 2018. | <p>We have come to the end of yet another exciting and successful #YouthStartCT entrepreneurial challenge for 2018. </p><p>The City of Cape Town hosted an awards ceremony at the Civic Centre last night where we announced the overall winner and the rest of the top 13 finalists. </p><p>When the competition started three months ago, we began with more than 100 talented young entrepreneurs who have shown the potential to succeed in the business world with the proper support.</p><p>#YouthStartCT is about providing a platform for the abundance of creative business ideas our young people possess. By growing their businesses and employing more people, young entrepreneurs can also help other young people break free from the shackles of unemployment and hopelessness.</p><p>This innovative programme is a clear example of the goals in the City’s Organisational Development and Transformation Plan to promote economic inclusion. </p><p>Over the last month, the 100 finalists have been put through their paces by the False Bay College Centre of Entrepreneurship – Rapid Incubator to hone their business development skills and participants went through various rounds of pitching innovative ideas to determine the overall winner. </p><p>After yet another exciting edition, I am happy to announce the following young business owners as the winners of the 2018 #YouthStartCT:</p><p>First place: Thabiso Eroll Mokomele from Gugulethu - owner of T-Squared Clothing.</p><p>This home-grown clothing brand carries slogans that encourage people to push past the limitations of poverty. The sign above the door of his garage in Gugulethu, where he hand crafts the garments, says it all: ‘There is no success without hardship’. What started as Thabiso’s hobby back in high school and a way to support his studies 10 years ago has become a rising brand that is making an impact and serves as an inspiration to young people in the country. The business has grown to a point where he employs other young people to work with him. He has also opened a store in Johannesburg. </p><p>Thabiso has won a R10 000 cash prize, a laptop and further business training support. <br> <br>Second Place: Nomfundo Mabaso from Burgundy Estate - owner of Grey Pepper </p><p>Grey Pepper is a promotional and marketing material supplier.<br>They brand items for organizations to use for marketing. This is where their client’s ideas become tangible, creating unforgettable practical marketing materials that will create a long-lasting good impression for the intended customers.</p><p>Grey Pepper provides services to private companies, government organisations, schools, entertainment companies, promotions companies and any industry that requires their services.</p><p>Nomfundo wins a laptop, a printer and targeted business support. </p><p>Third place: Khuliso Stanley Muthige from Tokai, founder of Educate</p><p>Educate provides educational services to South African youth and adults who are attending various learning institutions. They offer tutoring and mentorship programmes through a digital online platform. The company takes full advantage of the ever-expanding technological arena. It also creates employment by working with graduates and students who are interested in nurturing fellow students, sourced from its database of screened students across all subjects. <br>Khuliso’s prize includes a printer, access to Innovation Hub which has boardroom facilities, internet and workspace/office desk space and targeted business support.<br>The top three have made it through various play-off rounds over the past three months. </p><span><div class="image-gallery-slider img-gal-1" id="img-gal-1" data-slides="3" data-slide="1" style="height:493.5px;"><div class="image-gallery-content" style="height:414px;">
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<i class="icon arrow-white-prev"></i></div></div></div></div></span><p> </p><p>We have been really impressed by the growth shown by the 100 finalists, in particular the overall winners. </p><p>The top three have shown great development over the last month of the competition. Every week they have applied the new information and skills learned in training and have adjusted their ideas and business practice in order to achieve growth.</p><p>This will serve them very well for the future and what they want to achieve with their businesses, particularly around creating employment in their communities, which is at the heart of the competition.</p><p>My message to all contestants was that they were all winners by having the courage to step out and pursue their own ideas and make it a reality. I encourage all the contestants to use the training going forward to constantly improve and grow their businesses. </p><p>The City of Cape Town is grateful to its partners, the Raymond Ackerman Academy at the University of Cape Town; the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Entrepreneurship; Standard Bank; and the Small Enterprise Development Agency for assisting us to be able to host this competition for a third year.</p><p>It is through their support for this initiative that we see the success achieved by Thabiso, Nomfudo and Khuliso. This is an example of how government and the private sector can come together to push for economic growth that will lead to employment opportunities, especially for the youth. </p><p>This challenge is an accelerator programme for start-up entrepreneurs where the overarching aim is to contribute to skills development, innovation, and the development of entrepreneurship in Cape Town.</p><p>We hope more young entrepreneurs in Cape Town will be on the lookout for the #YouthStartCT challenge and take up the opportunity to grow in 2019. </p><p><br><strong>End</strong><br></p> | 2018-06-20T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
