MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 698 / 2011
28 SEPTEMBER 2011

Mr. Speaker,

Good morning, goeiedag, molweni.

These are difficult economic times. Though South Africa emerged stronger than other countries from the last global recession, we were still weakened.

Many jobs were lost and our economy has yet to recover them.

At present, globally, we appear to be experiencing more financial difficulties. The prospects of a double-dip recession look more likely by the day.

Given that economies take a long time to recover jobs lost in the best of times, the forecast for employment does not look particularly good at present.

Indeed, nationally, we are yet to achieve the growth rates of our leading peers in the developing world that would allow us to accelerate growth to such an extent as to reclaim jobs lost and dent overall unemployment figures.

These raise probing policy questions for us.

But we are guided in our exploration for solutions by two over-arching realities.

The first is the constitutional imperative to be the drivers of economic and social development as local government.

We know that we have the mandated legal duty to improve the lives of all the people who live in the city region.

The second is the economic realisation that the growth that leads to changes in countries is led by cities.

The economics of international trade are dominated by actors that build up a residential, industrial and financial mass.

These actors are not distributed evenly within countries. Rather, they are centres of trade that build up around existing cities.

Some cities have greater advantages than others. But in the end, those that can recognise their strengths and the dynamics of the market, both nationally and internationally, can recognise how to leverage change.

As government, we may not be able to control these forces or manufacture them. But if we can understand their variations, we can position ourselves to access them for the benefit of the city region.

Such positioning is part of our broader economic strategy of creating opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, on the council agenda today is the approval of the Economic Development Agency (EDA).

This intervention is a model of inter-governmental relations and collaboration with both the private sector and civil society.

By bringing these forces together, we can assess our strengths strategically as a region. In so doing, we can coordinate multiple economic approaches and consolidate our efforts.

Those efforts are to improve our attraction for business and enterprise.

We must not be deceived: only by increasing business and enterprise in this city do we create the vehicle for growth.

That growth is what will deliver jobs to our people who cannot expect government alone to provide.

Government has limited resources and even more limited flexibility still. To think that it is the only vehicle for job creation is to delude ourselves and to place our faith in an entity that cannot immediately respond to the market and that, furthermore, has but limited resources.

Cape Town can move ahead and we can take our place next to other mid-size cities that have been able to achieve sustained growth.

But we must give those who are the drivers of that growth the freedom in which to operate and all of the support that we can provide.

But we must be aware of certain other realities. The project of growth, the project of development and the project of opportunity are long-term objectives.

They cannot be achieved overnight. There rewards will only be felt in the years to come and it will take still longer to fully measure the impact of the measures we put into place today.

But all projects must have a starting point. We must not be intimidated by the essential truths of time.

Instead, we must have the courage to act while we have the chance with the knowledge that we govern for the people of this city in the present and the people of this city in the future.

Of course, the difficult economic realities remain. But they do not leave us powerless. We have the means to provide some relief through poverty alleviation.

If we are to be a truly caring city, then we must act with the tools at our disposal.

Mr. Speaker, in that regard, I am pleased to announce the Mayor’s Special Job Creation Project.

This project will be a community based operation and maintenance programme in historically neglected areas within the city.

In addition to all of the services the city already provides, the project will enhance our levels of delivery, over and above the extensive services that we provide at present, specifically through area cleaning, green activities and general maintenance across the city.

These projects include area cleaning; park maintenance; maintenance of services in informal settlements; maintenance of storm water systems and more.

It will also start with river cleaning, which is a project that I would like to personally pay tribute to the late Professor Kader Asmal for, as he first identified its necessity.

These tasks will be undertaken by unemployed members of our communities on a random selection basis of those who apply.

Our initial projections for this project show that we will be able to create 8000 jobs with approximately 32 000 beneficiaries benefitting annually.

This will cost us approximately R138 million in the first phase; money derived from savings in existing city budgets.

They will be tasked with improving this city and the communities within which they live, providing an additional level of revitalisation.

More importantly, they will be provided with temporary relief of their circumstances.

This is not a long-term solution. But people-intensive maintenance projects have been used elsewhere to provide alleviation.

We can do so in this city and we will help people where we can. This project will enable us to relieve some of the pressures people face while we move towards our greater project of building a city in which everyone can realise their full potential.

It will provide dignity for many of our people and the means by which we can improve our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to report that in the past week, we have resolved the tensions that existed in Hangberg.

After months of deliberations and negotiations, we have signed a peace accord with the democratically elected leaders of Hangberg, as well as the province and SanParks.

It is my sincere wish that the accord brings peace to an area that has been plagued with violence and isolation for far too long.

I would like to take this opportunity Mr. Speaker to thus appeal to this council. Let us all respect the wishes of the people of Hangberg.

I want to warn against the dangers of this community and its people being used to make political capital.

There are some who choose to exploit volatile situations for cheap political points.

I ask that we all respect the peace accord we have reached and the wishes of the people of Hangberg as expressed by their representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased that today a motion will be raised to rename Western Boulevard after Helen Suzman.

Such a move will take us one step closer to recognising our combined heritage and building the inclusive city for all.

I also have the great honour of announcing the appointment of the new chief of the metro police, Wayne Le Roux.

He has extensive experience, especially as acting head of the force.

As chief, he will be at the forefront of building a safe city for us all and we wish him well in the task he has before him. We have confidence in his abilities.

He will take the metro police to even greater heights. Our metro police have been a singular example of how well independent local police forces can operate when they use resources strategically and conduct themselves according to international best practice.

They will remain a model and an example of policing in South Africa under their new chief.

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to report that we are well under way with public consultations on the Integrated Development Plan (IDP).

We have designed the framework of the IDP to provide the City with the organisational translation of this government’s electoral mandate.

As a strategic plan, it will provide the over-arching basis on how we will govern this city for the next five years, turning the five pillars of the opportunity city, the caring city, the safe city, the inclusive city and the well-run city into a reality.


Before the IDP is finalised, we will have criss-crossed the city to reach as many citizens as possible in our smart public consultation process.

These methods of consultation include inserts in newspapers, public meetings and, for the first time in a project of this type for the city, the use of social media.

These are difficult times that we all face. Though the challenges are great, we must realise the role that we can play.

Sometimes that role is direct poverty alleviation where we can implement programmes to that effect.

But our mission remains, as articulated in the IDP to create the economic environment in which investment is increased and jobs can be created.

Only by making those choices now and putting the measures in place to give meaning to our strategy can we truly say we are doing our part as local government and becoming a city-driver of growth and change.


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT, CITY OF CAPE TOWN

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
SOLLY MALATSI, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN, PATRICIA DE LILLE,
TEL: 021 400 1382 CELL: 083 943 1449, E-MAIL: SOLLY.MALATSI@CAPETOWN.GOV.ZA