SPEECH BY HELEN ZILLE MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN
 
CITY OF CAPE TOWN CORPORATE MEDAL CEREMONY FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGINEERING
 
CAPE TOWN CIVIC CENTRE – 23 MAY 2007
 
Dean of the UCT Engineering Faculty, Professor O’ Connor, Executive Director of Service Delivery Integration, Mr Mike Marsden, students of the University of Cape Town.
 
I am happy to have this opportunity to present outstanding students in the UCT Faculty of Engineering with medals from the City of Cape Town.
 
This used to be an annual ceremony between the City Council and the University of Cape Town, but it has not happened for six years.
 
I hope that we can restore the tradition.
 
I have spoken in the past about the need for more engagement between the City of Cape Town and the Higher Education institutions in this region.
 
It would be a waste, for us in government, not to do all we can to promote and encourage this resource.
 
Universities and Technikons contain massive research and information processing capacity. Skilled engineering students such as those present here today will help to keep this capacity in place.
 
As the Chronicle of Higher Education put it, economically speaking tertiary institutions can ‘replace industry, in some cities’, and as such, they are key drivers of economic growth.
 
We recognise this role, and we want to promote it, because our number one goal as government is sustained rapid economic growth and job creation.
 
We can learn a lot from the legacy left by people such as Kodak founder George Eastman, who left millions of Dollars to the university in the town of Rochester, where he started his globally successful camera business.
 
His foresight ensured that when Kodak’s fortunes waned due to the rise of new digital camera technology, the university became Rochester’s new economic backbone, and prevented the small town from sliding into recession.
 
The economically uplifting effect of universities on cities has also been well documented in a Newsweek article on emerging cities such as Dubai and Las Vegas.
 
The article listed Cape Town as one of these ‘rising urban stars’ because it has tech parks and universities that ‘turn out the kind of talent that populates “growth” industries’.
 
So even though the municipality does not have a role in governing education, it still has a real interest in encouraging the universities in its region.
 
Of course, the City is also committed to doing everything it can to encourage more young people to study and excel in the various engineering fields that the contemporary knowledge economy demands.
 
We in government can work as hard as we like on well thought out programs of action in order to promote economic growth.
 
But in the end we need a skilled workforce in a globally competitive private sector to create the necessary level of economic growth to reduce poverty and lead development.
 
We want to do everything we can to promote and sustain the development of world class urban professionals by UCT and other academic institutions.
 
These newly trained professionals will shape our City and the rest of the country in the years to come.
 
This is especially true given that we are now entering a phase of rapid infrastructure investment ahead of 2010.
 
This is a prestigious project for aspiring engineers from all disciplines, and one that should leave a legacy of further major developments and investments in the city.
 
In this regard, we must also be frank about our own vested interest in encouraging students in the engineering faculty.
 
In this Municipality we have experienced, first hand, the consequences of engineering skills shortages in South Africa.
 
Up until recently, Mr Marsden was the only remaining transport engineer in our administration. This is especially alarming when we consider that we have about R5 billion worth of work to do on our transport systems ahead of 2010.
 
We also have serious shortages of civil and electrical engineers.
 
With 2010 approaching, and with huge backlogs in infrastructure maintenance and provision in the City due to years of neglect, our Human Resources Department has had to make an exceptional effort to fill these gaps.
 
As some of the students here today are probably aware, the City has also made bursaries and internships available for students of UCT’s engineering department as a part of its drive to bring more skills into our organisation.
 
I hope that we will be able to welcome some of you into the City’s staff in the near future.