According to a recent independent survey, residents and businesses in Cape Town think that the City’s level of service delivery has improved since last year.

“This is the second year that we have conducted the survey,” says Cllr Marian Nieuwoudt, Mayoral Committee Member for Planning and Environment. “It helps us monitor trends over time and guides us in improving service delivery, allocating resources and identifying priorities”.

The survey took the form of personal interviews with 3 000 residents and was conducted by TNS Research Surveys between mid November 2008 and the end of January 2009. Five hundred businesses were also canvassed.

Major findings indicate that 54% of residents said that overall, the City of Cape Town’s performance rated as ‘good, very good or excellent’. This is an improvement from last year’s 50%. Sixty one percent of residents rated their level of trust in the City of Cape Town as ‘fairly strong, very strong or extremely strong’ (an improvement from last year’s 50%); and 54% of residents rated the City as ‘good, very good or excellent’ in fulfilling its role as a public service provider (up from 46% last year).

“We would like to thank everyone who participated in the survey. Your feedback provides pragmatic guidelines as to where the City should focus its efforts,” says Cllr Nieuwoudt.

“Overall, the provision of essential services remains a relative strength of the City; in particular, refuse removal, water, and sanitation services.

“Community facilities such as libraries, community centres and civic halls are also relatively highly rated, but parks have been identified as an area for improvement.

“The survey responses indicate that we excel in fire and emergency responses and the training of rescue workers and their quality of service are considered particular strengths.

“Winter flooding remains a concern and an area we need to prioritise. Residents would also like to see us taking a stronger line on refuse dumping and neighbourhood noise levels.

“The survey indicated that housing and healthcare are perceived as critical areas of under-delivery, although these, like transport and community safety, are not the sole responsibility of local government.

“An opportunity exists for the City to expedite responses to telephone calls and e-mails.

Results for the businesses surveyed also showed improvements. Seventy seven percent of those canvassed said that overall, the City’s performance was ‘good, very good or excellent’ (up from last year’s 69%); 75% of them rated the City’s performance in fulfilling its role as a provider of municipal services as ‘good, very good or excellent’ (an improvement from last year’s 70%); and 78% of the businesses rated their level of level of trust in the City of Cape Town as ‘fairly strong, very strong or extremely strong’ (up from last year’s 72%).

The City provides its 3.5 million strong population with roads, public health and traffic safety services, urban planning services, and water and sewerage systems. It also distributes electricity, treats wastewater, enforces by-laws and provides sites and services for housing.