| Mayor Plato wishes Cape Town’s Jewish community a safe and prosperous Rosh Hashanah | To all our Jewish residents, I want to say Shanah Tova Umetuka. | <p>This past year has been challenging, where all our communities have been pushed to their limits. It is with hope that the coming year will be better that I start this letter with the words: May we all merit to be written and sealed for a good year.</p><p>As South Africa moves to Alert Level 1 of the national lockdown, I am sure our Jewish community will be thankful that they can celebrate the Jewish New Year today with friends, family and loved ones.</p><p>Alert Level 1 also means that our economic recovery can now move full steam ahead. Many of our residents have been hard hit by the lockdown and I am sure the move to Alert Level 1 will bring a sense of optimism as job opportunities start to open up with businesses looking to fire on all cylinders again.</p><p>As we enjoy these new beginnings, let us also take the time to be thankful for what we have, to think toward the future and how we can all play our part to help those in need.</p><p>Please remember to enjoy the festivities responsibly so that we can continue to limit the spread of the coronavirus. <br>To all our Jewish residents, I want to say Shanah Tova Umetuka.</p><p><br><strong>End</strong><br></p> | 2020-09-17T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| Reserve visitor fined for making fire on a dune | Reserve visitor fined for making fire on a dune | <p>A visitor to the Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve near Atlantis was fined for making an open fire on the dunes. He was issued a R500 fine for lighting the fire. </p><p>Making an open fire within a nature reserve is prohibited, and this is also indicated on signboards at the entrance to the nature reserve. The visitor was fined in terms of the Public Parks By-law, which states that a person entering a public park must observe and comply with all notices displayed.</p><span>
<figure class="subtopic-fullsize-img">
<img class="responsive" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Centre/dunes5.jpg" alt="" style="width:1069px;" /> </figure></span><p>The incident happened on Sunday, 6 September 2020, when nature conservation rangers from the City’s Biodiversity Management Branch noticed a group of 4x4 drivers parked on the dunes in the nature reserve. </p><p>They were making an open fire for a braai. </p><p>The rangers called the Marine and Environmental Law Enforcement Unit for assistance who fined the person responsible for lighting the fire.</p><p>The visitors were instructed to extinguish the fire, and to put the braai equipment away. They were reminded that open fires were not permitted. They were allowed to stay on in the reserve after they removed their braai apparatus.</p><p>‘It is only recently that the Marine and Environmental Law Enforcement Unit started operating within our nature reserves and this is the very first fine the unit has issued within the Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve. The unit will be working in the City’s nature reserves so that we can improve compliance with the Nature Reserve Regulations and all applicable by-laws.</p><p>‘We welcome all residents and visitors to our nature reserves, but entry is conditional, and they are required to follow the rules and to obey special instructions on signboards. The City is responsible for conserving Cape Town’s unique biodiversity, and also to ensure that visitors can enjoy our natural environment and reserves in a safe and responsible manner,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.</p><p>Residents can report illegal activities to the City’s Emergency Call Centre on 021 480 7700.<br></p> | 2020-09-17T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| Cape Town is open for business and ready to welcome all visitors | Statement by the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos | <p>From my various site visits this morning, I can confirm Cape Town is bouncing back. The airport is ready to welcome back all visitors safely, our iconic attractions are welcoming tourists and our restaurants are back in business. </p><span>
<figure class="subtopic-fullsize-img">
<img class="responsive" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Centre/veee.jpg" alt="" style="width:1069px;" /> </figure></span><p>This morning I met with officials at our award winning Cape Town International Airport, together with MEC David Maynier, for a high level meeting on safety innovations and protocols as well as our plans to boost travel and trade to help get our economy back to business. I was very pleased to hear that the three airlines currently flying to Cape Town, Airlink, FlySafair and Mango, now have a combined 314 domestic flights a week, which is an increase of 74% month on month. </p><p>According to information from TravelStart, bookings on the route between Johannesburg and Cape Town has increased by an impressive 190% over the last month. Wesgro’s Air Access, which the City funds to boost flight connections to Cape Town, has also found that traveller confidence is returning as load factors (i.e. the number of passengers divided by capacity of aircraft) have increased from 59% in June to 87% by the first week of September.</p><p>This will be a lifeline for the tourism and related industries such as food, beverage, accommodation and transport services. To ensure we keep our destination open, safe and healthy, I remind all visitors to wash their hands regularly, wear a mask in public and maintain social distance.</p><p>Cape Town has so much to offer and there is a reason that it has been voted the best city in the world seven times in a row. My next stop was to the iconic and stunning Cape Point, where I was joined by the City’s official destination marketing organisation’s CEO, Enver Duminy and Brett Hendricks, the chairperson of the Cape Town Tourism Board. We had the great pleasure of officiating at the reopening of the Cape Point Funicular (Flying Dutchman) and its restaurant and retail facilities.<br>I then headed to the most visited attraction in Africa, the V&A Waterfront, together with officials from the City’s Enterprise and Investment Department (E&I). To support local SMMEs in the craft and design space, the City provides funding to the Craft and Design Institute (CDI). At the V&A, I had the opportunity to visit the CDI’s shop in the Watershed to have a look at how they provide vital exposure, shop space and visibility to products made by our local crafts-people.</p><p><br>At the end of the day, the visitor economy is everyone’s business. That is why I will continue to implement proven strategies to help get our economy back to businesses and thriving.</p><p> </p> | 2020-09-17T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| It's time to bounce back, Cape Town! | I welcome the President’s announcement of the reopening of our international borders | <p></p><p>I welcome the President’s announcement of the reopening of our international borders, albeit under certain conditions. Cape Town is ready to implement the recovery plans we have put in place to breathe life back into the tourism sector and related industries. </p><p>The City is ready to implement various recovery plans we have designed to get Cape Town back to business safely and in time for our city’s peak season. </p><p>Our focus is on getting all sectors back to business because our economy relies on visitors for who visit Cape Town for events, conferences, leisure and business. At the end of the day, these industries are all dependent on travel and trade to thrive and grow.</p><p>The City’s Tourism Task Team’s Bounce Back strategy is designed to plot a sustainable and inclusive future for this vital and vibrant sector. A cornerstone of this strategy is our marketing and communications approach to reimagine and reignite visitor demand to Visit, Live, Work, Study, Play & Invest in Cape Town.</p><p>Our local businesses are vital for job creation, job retention and investment. Local business accounts for 70% of new investments in our local economy and the growth of existing business also creates opportunities for more jobs and start-ups.</p><p>Our Economic Action Plan includes enhancing business retention efforts, making it easier for expansion and investment to resume again; equipping businesses for new ways of working; and using the City’s sectoral support approach to identify and exploit new sectoral opportunities emerging from the crisis.</p><p>I have been impressed by the resilience and innovation that I have seen in my extensive engagements with stakeholders across the spectrum in the tourism and related industries, from the Cape Town International Airport to the accommodation sector, the food and beverage sector, and our iconic attractions. </p><p>Our travel economy is everyone's business, so as a City, we are looking forward to implementing our recovery plans and working even harder to ensure that Cape Town bounces back stronger than before.</p><p><br><strong>End</strong></p> | 2020-09-16T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
