Council Address - Acting Mayor Eddie Andrews
30 April 2026
Council Address - Acting Mayor Eddie Andrews
Thursday, 30 April 2026
Madam Speaker,
Honourable Councillors,
Members of the Public,
Molweni, Goeiemôre, Assalaamu Alaykum, Good Morning, Shalom
The promise of freedom is not measured in history.
It is measured in whether that freedom is upheld by capable institutions, accountable leadership, and outcomes that people can see and feel.
And just days after Freedom Day, that is the standard we must hold ourselves to.
As I stand here in City Hall - I am acutely aware that this is a space that, not too long ago, was never meant for people like me.
A place where decisions were taken about us - without us.
A place that once stood as a symbol of exclusion.
And yet today, I stand here freely in the Nelson Mandela Exhibition – a reminder of what it took to get here.
Because Freedom Day is not only a date on our calendar.
It is a responsibility on all of us.
A responsibility we cannot meet in words alone,
but in the lives of the people we serve.
Madam Speaker, 32 years into our democracy, that responsibility is clear:
What does freedom look like today?
Is it safety in our communities?
Is it a job that sustains families?
Is it a roof over your head?
OR Is it clean water, working infrastructure, and a government you can trust?
If we are to answer these questions honestly, we must confront what is unfolding across our country - where cities like Johannesburg are struggling to provide reliable water, and where too many residents are without basic services.
We have seen the President convene a national task team on water.
But the crisis facing many municipalities is simple.
A sustained failure to invest in infrastructure.
Water systems do not collapse overnight.
They fail when maintenance is neglected, when infrastructure is not expanded, and when public funds are mismanaged.
Madam Speaker, This is where Cape Town is different.
We have remained disciplined in the fundamentals.
We appoint principled and capable councillors, well at least 58% of them, who uphold the duties, standards, and public trust of their office
We invest in infrastructure.
We maintain what we build.
And we plan ahead.
So President Ramaphosa, the lesson is simple:
That is the CAPE TOWN Difference.
And that is freedom in practice.
NAMING COMMITTEE
Colleagues, Freedom is also about memory.
About who we choose to honour, and how we recognise the histories that have shaped our city.
The Naming Committee is considering a number of proposals, and among these are two that will come before Council, each carrying particular significance for our diverse city.
Firstly, the proposed renaming of Belhar Drive to John van der Rheede Drive.
This is a recognition of a man whose life was defined by service.
An educator, a community organiser, and a civic leader who worked across decades to uplift communities.
This re-naming ensures that his contribution is not only acknowledged - but permanently embedded in the fabric of the community he served.
Secondly, the proposed renaming of Ben Friedman Square to Strand Moslem Square.
This is a decision grounded in both history and reconciliation.
Ben Friedman Square stands in an area shaped by the long-standing presence of the Strand Moslem community - whose heritage stretches back over two centuries.
Importantly, this process has been characterised by cooperation - supported by the Muslim community, endorsed by civic and faith-based organisations, and undertaken with the support of the Friedman family themselves.
That matters.
Because this is Cape Town.
A city where Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and other faith and cultural communities do not simply coexist - but have, over generations, built relationships of respect, partnership, and shared belonging.
This re-naming reflects that reality.
Madam Speaker, these re-naming’s are a deliberate act of recognition.
And in making them, we affirm that freedom is not only about the future we are building,
But about the history we choose to honour, and the dignity we restore in doing so.
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Colleagues, If we are to give real meaning to freedom, then we must confront one of its most pressing challenges - Housing.
Before this Council today, is the 2026/27 review of the Integrated Human Settlements Sector Plan.
This is not a new strategy. It is a legislated review - grounded in updated data, reflecting our delivery progress, and responding to the realities on the ground.
The data tells us clearly that:
Housing demand in Cape Town continues to grow.
Informal settlements are expanding.
And the pressure on land, infrastructure, and affordability is intensifying.
This is the context within which we must govern.
Because housing demand, at this scale, cannot be met by state delivery alone.
And it is why our work is anchored in a long-term vision.
One that recognises that by 2050, our city will need to accommodate up to 600,000 additional households, requiring as many as 50,000 housing opportunities every year.
That is why this plan reflects a full, multi-programme approach to human settlements.
AFFORDABLE RENTAL UNITS
AND It is precisely within this system-wide approach that Affordable Rental Units become critical.
Let us also be clear about what this is - and what it is not.
Because there has been a lot of peddling of misinformation
This is not the City building on private property.
It is not a policy to turn neighbourhoods into slums.
And it is not unmanaged densification.
Across our city, this is already happening.
Residents are building backyard units, second dwellings, and small-scale rental flats - as a practical response to demand.
Colleagues – this is economics 101 – The local market has responded to demand.
And it is serving a very real segment of our population.
The teacher who needs to live closer to work.
The nurse who cannot access formal finance.
The young professional who earns too much to qualify for a subsidy, but not enough to enter the property market.
The family that can afford rent but is excluded by credit records or blacklisting.
This is the missing middle… and I’m confident that many of our colleagues have family members who live this reality every day.
And whether we acknowledge it or not - this is where a significant portion of housing demand now sits.
Madam Speaker, the question before us is not whether this should exist.
It already does.
The question is whether it happens in an unregulated, unsafe and informal way.
Or whether we step in to enable, guide and formalise it.
Because when properly supported, Affordable Rental Units do more than increase supply - They reshape how our city works.
• They unlock additional housing along existing transport corridors.
• They allow residents to remain within their communities, while improving their living conditions.
• They respond directly to informality.
• And critically, they create a pathway for unemployed property owners to generate income and build generational wealth.
This is not a departure from housing delivery. It is an extension of it.
Our role as a City is clear:
To remove unnecessary barriers.
To provide clear rules and support.
And to ensure that what is already happening becomes safer, more dignified, and more sustainable.
That is why we are advancing the Affordable Rental Units programme.
And that is why we launched the Local Planning Support Office – because it provides direct, on-the-ground support to residents, turning informal activity into compliant, bankable development.
RATES REBATES
Madam Speaker,
Freedom must also be felt in people’s pockets.
At a time when households across our country are under real financial pressure, the City of Cape Town has provided over R2.1 billion in rates relief through exemptions, rebates and reductions.
Who benefits?
• It is the gogo, the oupa, the working-class household, the family supporting more than one generation, and the community organisation.
This is how policy meets people.
Through a rates system that recognises that not all households carry the same burden.
This is not revenue forgone. This is pressure removed.
But let us be equally clear - if this support is not accessed, it does not reach the people it is meant to serve.
So, I want to say this directly to our residents:
If you are a pensioner - or if you have a parent or grandparent who qualifies come forward.
And if you do not know if you qualify
SPEAK TO YOUR WARD COUNCILLOR.
Engage with the City.
Apply for the rebate.
Because this support is there for you.
WINTER READINESS
Colleagues, as we approach winter, our responsibility intensifies.
Because for many residents, winter is not simply a season.
It is exposure. Exposure to flooding. Exposure to the cold, And Exposure to unsafe living conditions.
And if freedom is to be real, it must mean protection from these conditions.
That is precisely why the City of Cape Town does not prepare for winter when it arrives.
We prepare well in advance.
Across the city, that preparation is already under way.
Our sewer network is being proactively cleaned - removing sand, debris, fats and foreign objects before increased winter rains place pressure on the system. This is a critical intervention to prevent blockages, sewer overflows, and localised flooding, particularly in vulnerable communities.
At the same time, our stormwater systems are being cleared in flood-prone areas to ensure that water can move efficiently during heavy rainfall.
In high-risk informal settlements, Disaster Risk Management teams are already on the ground - engaging communities, issuing early warnings, and ensuring that residents are better prepared for severe weather.
And where impact is expected, support is coordinated - with materials such as sandbags and flood sheeting ready to be deployed to assist affected households.
But preparedness is not only about infrastructure.
It is also about how residents are able to reach the City when it matters most.
Our Public Emergency Communication Centre - available 24 hours a day on 107 - remains the primary point of contact for life and property-threatening emergencies.
This is supported by the Disaster Operations Centre, which coordinates real-time responses to flooding and severe weather incidents.
And alongside this, our Customer Relations Centre ensures that non-emergency service delivery continues - even during adverse conditions.
And when our communities need more support, the City does not act alone.
We work with provincial and national government, alongside NGOs, to ensure support reaches those who need it most.
This includes immediate social support, and the activation of donation drives to respond to increased demand during the winter period.
Colleagues, during the recent period of rainfall between the 19th and 23rd of April, City teams were already on the ground - responding across communities including Dunoon, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Tafelsig and Wallacedene - deploying sandbags, clearing drains, and supporting affected residents.
And across the city, vegetation management and tree-trimming programmes are under way to protect critical infrastructure, including power lines, from storm-related damage.
This is what readiness looks like in practice.
And that is the Cape Town difference.
BELVILLE VELODROME
Now, let’s talk Bellville.
Colleagues, how we use and renew our public assets matters.
In Bellville, we have a facility that has served generations - a place of sport, of gathering, of community.
The planned upgrade of the Bellville Velodrome speaks directly to this.
A significant private sector investment that will revitalise the facility, retain the athletics track, reposition it as a modern events precinct in the north of our city - and ensure that communities have access to it.
But this is about more than a single facility.
It is about more than infrastructure.
It is about people.
It is about the young athlete who needs a place to train.
It is about Capetonians gaining access to a world-class venue, AND
The small businesses that benefits when activity returns to the area.
Madam Speaker, A growing city cannot rely on the public purse alone to renew every asset at the scale required.
But where we create the right conditions, we unlock investment that allows us to go further, faster.
Not instead of the public good – But in service of it.
MITCHELLS PLAIN
Madam Speaker, Freedom is not something we inherit once.
It is something we build, every single day.
And nowhere is that more evident than in Mitchells Plain.
This year marks 50 years of Mitchells Plain.
A place shaped by apartheid spatial planning, where families were pushed to the periphery, far from jobs, far from opportunity, and far from the economic life of the city.
Mitchells Plain was built to keep people on the outside.
But Mitchells Plain did not stay on the outside.
It is a community that has produced excellence -
from the sports field, with athletes like Springbok Nizaam Carr, Proteas Netball Captain, Bronwyn Bock Jonathan, and Bafana Bafana Player Nasief Morris;
to academia, with voices like Dr. Athol Williams;
to public life, with leaders such as former Mayor, the late Theresa Solomon.
And it does not end there.
It is a community that continues to produce business leaders like Rozario Brown, and professionals across every field - quietly building, contributing, and shaping the life of this city.
And at its core - it is a community of families who have built stable homes, raised generations, and carried themselves with dignity.
A place where the sound of church bells, and the athaan from the mosques form part of the same rhythm of daily life.
Where Aunty Yumna and Aunty Jenny stand at their gates in the late afternoon, sharing a word, keeping an eye on the children playing in the street - each one looking out, not only for their own, but for the whole block.
This is the tapestry of our city - rich in history, rooted in resilience, and woven together through everyday acts of care and belonging.
The City of Cape Town is actively supporting the 50-year commemoration of Mitchells Plain - through a programme of events that bring communities together and give expression to its history and identity.
But Mitchells Plain does not stand alone in this moment.
Across our city, communities are reaching these milestones -
with Mfuleni and Atlantis having marked 50 years over the past year.
ENDING
Madam Speaker,
When we speak about freedom, we must resist the temptation to speak only about the past.
Because freedom is not only what we inherited in 1994.
Freedom is what we build today.
It is built in Mitchells Plain - 50 years on, in the homes we enable, in the infrastructure we maintain, and in the opportunities we unlock.
And ultimately - in the lives of the people we serve.
So the question before us is not whether we are free.
The question is whether we are doing enough with that freedom.
In Cape Town, we believe the answer must be yes.
Not because everything is perfect - but because we are committed.
Committed to delivery.
Committed to dignity.
Committed to building a city where freedom is not an idea - but a lived reality.
Because freedom demands more than remembrance.
It demands resolve.
Consistency.
And the courage to act - every single day.
That is the work before us.
That is the responsibility of leadership.
And that is the standard by which we will be judged -
Not by our words,
but by our actions.
I thank you.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
