| City advises of water supply disruptions in Blue Downs, Brentwood Park, Camelot, Hagley, Highgate, Malibu Village, Nuwe Begin, Silversands, Summerville, Sunbird Park, Wembley and Wesbank | The City’s Water and Sanitation Department will be doing the permanent repairs to the leaking 650mm diameter pipeline supplying Blue Downs, Brentwood Park, Camelot, Hagley, Highgate, Malibu Village, Nuwe Begin, Silversands, Summerville, Sunbird Park, Wembley and Wesbank on Monday 24 January 2022. The water supply to these areas will be shut off on Monday from 09:00 until 20:00 to enable the repairs to be done safely. | <p>The water in the vicinity of the leak will be pumped out once the pressure in the pipeline has dropped. This will allow the maintenance team to remove the leaking pipe section and replace it with the fabricated section.</p><p>Residents are kindly requested where possible to store water upfront in clean sealed containers for domestic use during this period and to ensure their taps are closed to prevent any water wastage and/or damage when the water supply is restored.</p><p>Water tankers will be roaming through the areas to provide water for domestic purposes where required. Covid-19 measures will apply when collecting water from the tankers. </p><p>The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience, but it is imperative that it maintains and upgrades its water supply infrastructure to benefit its consumers.</p><p>Please visit the City Alerts twitter page or consult your ward councillor for updates including the water trucks delivery service. </p> | 2022-01-22T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| N2 Express service back on the road next month | Yesterday afternoon, 20 January 2022, the City of Cape Town signed a new operating contract with the N2 Company. | <div>The signing of this contract is a critical milestone and the impact cannot be overstated.</div><div><br></div><div>More than 6 000 commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha will benefit from the N2 Express service once the buses are back on the road in February 2022, if all goes as planned.</div><div><br></div><div>‘This is very important progress, and great for the city. We look forward to seeing the N2 Express service up and running as soon as possible. Capetonians urgently need safe, affordable and reliable public transport. With the return of the N2 Express service thousands of commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha will be able to board the blue MyCiTi buses to the Cape Town CBD. I want to thank the N2 Company, our partners who will be operating the service. Thank you for your commitment to return the service to commuters from the metro-south east. I also want to commend the City officials for their dedication and hard work leading up to the signing of the contract. </div><div><br></div><div>‘Cape Town has a prosperous future and it includes all of us. We need our economy to grow so that we can create more jobs, and improve the lives of all who call this city their home. This is a good news moment on that journey,’ said the City’s Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis.</div><div><br></div><div>‘My vision for urban mobility is that commuters in Cape Town should have a wide range of choices in how they access opportunities. The imminent return of the N2 Express service is a vital addition to our public transport offering. Given the implosion of passenger rail commuters from the metro-south east need reliable public transport services now more than ever. The N2 Express service will provide commuters with an alternative. Before the service was suspended in May 2019 up to 6 000 passengers used it on a daily basis which underscores the demand and popularity of the service,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Councillor Rob Quintas.</div><div><br></div><div>On 15 December 2021, at its last meeting for the year, the City’s Council unanimously approved the Transport Directorate’s request to grant the N2 Company the right to use and manage the 34 City-owned buses to provide the N2 Express service.</div><div><br></div><div>‘Now that we have signed the operating contract with the N2 Company the fleet of 34 buses – a combination of 12-metre low-floor buses and 18-metre low-floor buses – will be serviced and prepared for operations, and bus drivers recruited and trained. </div><div><br></div><div>‘In the meantime, the Transport Directorate is assessing all of the bus shelters along the four routes in Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha for urgent maintenance and repairs. Sadly, many of the shelters have been vandalised or stripped by thieves during the time that the service was suspended. Given the extent of the vandalism most of the shelters will still be in a state of disrepair by the time the N2 Express operates, but I can assure commuters that we are working around the clock to get this sorted,’ said Councillor Quintas.</div><div><br></div><div>The City and the N2 Company will get the preparations for the service done as soon as possible.</div><div><br></div><div>‘I will keep commuters informed of our progress and make it public once we know the exact date on which the N2 Express service will start operating,’ said Councillor Quintas. </div><div><br></div><div><strong>Once operational, the N2 Express service will again operate along four MyCiTi routes in Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha:</strong></div><div><ul><li>D01 between Khayelitsha East and the Civic Centre</li><li>D02 between Khayelitsha West and the Civic Centre</li><li>D03 between Mitchells Plain East and the Civic Centre; and</li><li>D04 between Kapteinsklip, the Mitchells Plain Town Centre and the Civic Centre</li></ul></div><div>The buses will travel to the Civic Centre station in the Cape Town CBD via the N2 freeway.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>End</strong><br></div><p><br></p> | 2022-01-20T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| Second attempt at relocating young dispersing male baboon from Smitswinkel Bay to Da Gama troop | JOINT STATEMENT BY CAPENATURE, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE SPCA and CITY OF CAPE TOWN | <div>CapeNature, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, and the City of Cape Town made a joint decision under the leadership of CapeNature to give a young dispersing male baboon from the Smitswinkel Bay troop a second chance at integrating with the Da Gama troop. A new methodology will be applied during the capture and release of SWB12 in an effort to increase his chances of a successful integration with this troop once the situation allows.</div><div> </div><div>SWB12 left his natal troop in October 2021. Unfortunately, an attempt to relocate him on 21 December 2021 was unsuccessful. Since then he is spending all of his time in Simon’s Town and surrounds, displaying raiding behaviour. </div><div> </div><div>Attempts to keep SWB12 in his natural environment and out of town where he is exposed to many dangers, have been increasingly futile.</div><div> </div><div>CapeNature, the CGHSPCA and the City agreed that SWB12 should be given a second opportunity to integrate with the Da Gama troop before alternatives are considered, among which euthanasia. This time around a different methodology will be applied that will attempt to increase exposure of SWB12 to the troop before and after his release within their home range.</div><div> </div><div>The City’s service provider, NCC Environmental Services, will undertake the capturing by way of darting with the CGHSPCA present. </div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>The joint decision is based on the following factors, among others:</strong></div><div><ul><li>SWB12 is spending all of his time in town since the failed relocation attempt on 21 December 2021, raiding and roosting in the urban environment where he faces many dangers such as dogs, traffic, and hostility from some residents</li><li>A second attempt at relocation still provides the best possibility of survival for SWB12</li><li>The Da Gama troop currently does not have an Alpha male, meaning SWB12 will have the best possible chance of integration with this troop</li><li>It will be beneficial to the genetics of the Da Gama troop</li><li>Should SWB12 integrate, he may spend most of his time with his new troop, in the natural environment</li></ul></div><div><strong>This intervention will be done with minimum interference. Thus, SWB12 will not be collared or ear-tagged. However, the City’s service provider will monitor his movements and attempts at integration with the Da Gama troop. </strong></div><div> </div><div>CapeNature, the CGHSPCA, and the City are calling on residents, the general public, and stakeholders to please not follow, or interfere with SWB12 in any way as this will seriously hamper his efforts to integrate. </div><div> </div><div>The public is also reminded that the feeding of wild animals is prohibited by law.</div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>The second attempt at relocation may also not succeed:</strong></div><div><ul><li>It is impossible to predict how the process will unfold as baboons are wild animals</li><li>Every relocation is different, and relies on the individual animal</li><li>It may take months for SWB12 to integrate, if at all</li><li>He may display raiding behaviour in his new environment</li><li>He may return to Simon’s Town and surrounds and continue raiding behaviour in the urban setting. In such case, one of the outcomes that may need to be considered as a last resort is euthanasia.</li></ul></div><div> </div><div><strong>End</strong><br></div><p><br></p> | 2022-01-20T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
| City engaging with Transnet to help solve delays at Cape Town Harbour | STATEMENT BY THE MAYCO MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS | <div>Recent media reports of backlogs at the Transnet-owned and managed Cape Town Harbour are deeply troubling.</div><div><br></div><div>Ports are key drivers of business and urban development particularly in cities such as Cape Town, which are geographically remote from other global and national cities, while also being a major entry point into South Africa and the continent. </div><div><br></div><div>I have engaged with Transnet leadership to express, on behalf of the City of Cape Town and businesses within the metro, the urgency of this matter. Not only will the delays place further pressure on economic re-growth in the province and country as the Western Cape’s export market is affected, but South Africans will likely end up paying for the higher logistical costs. </div><div><br></div><div>I also raised concerns about Transnet’s bid to hike tariffs by up to 24% in the next financial year. South African ports are already some of the most expensive in the world, should it be hiked further, we will be punishing our exporters – and the economy - even more, while increasing the appeal of less expensive competitors. </div><div><br></div><div>I am equally aware of the complexities involved in operating the port and have had numerous engagements over the past few months with the freight forwarding association, the Exporters’ club and industries whose businesses have been affected by the challenges at the Cape Town facility. </div><div><br></div><div>Because of these pressing challenges, ranging from excessively high winds and Covid absenteeism of highly trained staff, I will be meeting with other concerned role-players in the City government in the coming days to determine our various positions and plans in the hope that we can play a constructive role in helping the port address these issues. </div><div><br></div><div>Even though the City does not have the levers or powers to solve most of these problems, we are determined to play whatever role we can in finding innovative solutions with various partners. My officials and I are also engaging with my counterparts in the provincial government and in other key structures to discuss these recommendations and lobby efforts.</div><div><br></div><div>The announcement of the corporatisation of Transnet in 2021 was a welcome development that has been accompanied by a noticeable willingness to engage with local partners to improve operations, a move which we as a City welcome and will reciprocate.</div><div><br></div><div>As the local government in which the port is located, we remain committed to building this relationship further. In many other metros around the world, the City government has major ownership and operational stake in the port, given its importance to the local economy. As such, we would therefore be open to exploring with Transnet ways in which we can gain a meaningful stake in the facility that will help us drive the innovative change necessary to turn this strategic asset into the economic driver for the local economy that it can – and needs to - be.</div><div><br></div><div>End</div><div><br><br></div><p><br></p> | 2022-01-20T22:00:00Z | | | | | | | 1 | | | |
