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Mayoral Minute 2024: Momentum towards building a City of HopeMayoral Minute 2024: Momentum towards building a City of Hope<img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/Cape%20Town%20Competitive%20Advantage%20Factors%20Headers.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /><p>​MEDIA STATEMENT BY MAYOR GEORDIN HILL-LEWIS </p><p>In the third Mayoral Minute of this term of office, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis reflects on progress made in the last year and what this means for Cape Town’s future.</p><p>​Around this time two years ago, at the end of my first full year in office, I revived the tradition of publishing a Mayoral Minute – a personal reflection on the year in Cape Town, from the vantage point of the Mayor’s Office. For reasons I have yet to understand, this long-standing tradition was halted somewhere in the 1980’s. But I feel it is an important document – both as a more personal account of the past year from the Mayor, and as a piece of record keeping for the future.<br> <br>So here is my third annual Mayoral Minute. Thank you for reading it. And thank you for your interest in our city. I remain incredibly honoured and happy to be serving in this office, and enjoy it immensely – both the satisfaction of making steady forward progress, and even all the ‘slings and arrows’ that are an occupational hazard. <br> <br>If you’re reading this in Cape Town – well done – you’ve either already arrived in the best city on earth or were lucky enough to be born here. You’re ahead in life. If you’re reading this from somewhere else, allow me to propose an early New Year’s resolution for you - come and check out Cape Town in 2025, you won’t be disappointed. <br> <br>Before reflecting on the year, let me recap what we’re trying to achieve in Cape Town. It is not just about working robots (traffic lights) and running water. Those basics are all too often absent in South Africa, and so we take them seriously here. But it is about more than that -  it is about what it will take to build a successful society in South Africa: a growing economy; a government that invests rather than consumes; a focus on the rule of law and safety; a meritocracy; and government that genuinely cares about lifting up the poorest. These are the things we collect under the banner of being the “City of Hope”. We don’t accept the pitifully low standards in the public sector that South Africa has become inured to over the years. We want to be on a totally different and more ambitious track. <br> <br>Our thesis is pretty simple. A city that invests in the things that make all cities work well will reap social returns on that investment in the form of a growing economy, raised standards of living for all, and better personal safety. <br> <br>And so we are investing in a big way. I was pleased to read NinetyOne asset managers, one of the biggest infrastructure funders in Africa, say this week that Cape Town has found a “winning formula” for infrastructure. This is hard-won recognition!<br> <br>Our mega-investments in the city’s public infrastructure are often in projects that take a long time to plan and then construct, and they’re not always immediately visible. This is particularly true of our big sanitation projects, our energy procurements and some of our large roads and public transport investments. But three years into this term, we are now seeing many of these projects and investments become real and visible, and they are starting to make a difference in people’s lives.<br> <br>Nowhere is this impact greater than the work we’re doing to upgrade and replace our strained sewer network. Few things rob a community of dignity more than sewer spills or poor access to sanitation, and so the bulk of the record R9,7bn (I was aiming for the R10bn threshold, the first time any city would have crossed it – but we will get there this year!) we spent on infrastructure in 2024 went towards these projects, and chiefly in Cape Town poorest neighbourhoods across the Cape Flats. <br> <br>This year we made excellent progress on the Cape Flats Bulk Sewer upgrade – at R715m, the largest sanitation project of its kind in South Africa, benefitting 300 000 households in largely lower income communities. We are on track to complete the full project next year. And we met our very ambitious target of quadrupling our sewer pipe replacement to 100kms a year. Our Water and Sanitation directorate is doing the kind of work that changes lives in a way that many more fortunate Capetonians will never truly understand.<br> <br>It is perhaps best expressed by the residents of these affected areas themselves. One such resident, a nurse from Wesbank, Sister Maree, wrote to her councillor recently to thank the City for the ongoing work to improve Wesbank’s sewer infrastructure. This is one of several areas of the City that has long been plagued by sewer spills. There is still much work to be done, but if Sister Maree’s experience is anything to go by, our efforts to improve these conditions are certainly reaping rewards. She says, “Thank you Councillor. On behalf of Wesbank clinic staff, thank you. Even though there are still many problems, we can see what the City is doing and we can see the improvement.”<br> <br>Those words mean a lot to us, and to me personally. It tells me that our progress is being seen and felt. Three years ago, some of these sanitation infrastructure challenges in parts of Cape Town that had been historically under-invested seemed so big, but the only way to solve them is to chip away at them project by project. Our ambition is for all the people of Wesbank and Eerste River and Samora Machel and Nomzamo – and all the other Cape Town neighbourhoods where sewer spills still detract from quality of life – to experience the progress Sister Maree speaks of.<br> <br>Of course, one of the very important spin offs of so much investment is the shot in the arm this gives to the local construction industry. We estimate that the almost R40bn we’re spending on infrastructure projects over the next three years will add around 130,000 construction jobs alone.<br> <br>Any year that ends with more people in jobs and fewer people unemployed than when the year started is a good year. And that’s exactly what happened in Cape Town in 2024. Since the start of this term of office at the end of 2021, Cape Town’s economy has added more than 300,000 new jobs. We expect this trend will continue over the coming two years. <br> <br>Our ambitions for Cape Town, and indeed our prospects as a country, got a big boost this year as our politics underwent a seismic shift, with an ANC government making way for a national coalition government. The implications of this for Cape Town are significant, and we’ve already seen the first green shoots of reform across several ministries on issues that directly affect the lives of Capetonians.<br> <br>After years of stubborn refusal by the national government and SAPS to engage with the City on the devolution of certain policing powers – essentially the empowerment of our own local officers with investigative powers so that they can help build winnable case dockets – we finally have a memorandum signed by the President that opens the door to the granting of these powers. This is a big deal for policing in Cape Town, and a very important step towards making our crime-ravaged communities safer.<br> <br>But even without these broader powers of investigation, our investments in Metro Police, LEAP officers and safety technology are making a real difference in these communities. Deploying LEAP officers to high-crime areas, along with the incredible ShotSpotter technology we rolled out there, is proving to be making a positive difference in the fight against gangsterism, drugs and violent crime. The most recent crime stats show that our officers are playing a noticeable role in helping SAPS take guns and drugs off the streets and arrest the perpetrators. <br> <br>The most recent quarterly crime stats show how our gunshot detection cameras and rapid response units are making a difference, with 114 illegal firearms in Manenberg, Hanover Park and Philippi in just three months. Gun arrests are up by 31,7% in Manenberg, 93,5% in Phillippi and Hanover Park and 80% in Gugulethu for the same period. Importantly, the City’s incremental efforts to get illegal guns off the streets in partnership with SAPS is helping to bring down the province’s overall murder rate, with a decline of 8% in the latest quarter. We are making undeniable progress.<br> <br>Another area of progress under the Government of National Unity is the important visa changes we had long asked for, which will really open up the Chinese and Indian tourism markets for the first time. This is excellent news for everyone working in our tourism sector, and for Cape Town’s economy as a whole. And, of course, there is also the GNU’s commitment to finally take action on the many derelict and problem buildings they own throughout the city.<br> <br>On that topic, 2024 was a very good year for the restoration of our city’s public spaces. After long and arduous court processes (unnecessarily so, it must be said), several of the largest homeless tented encampments in the city were restored to public use. This was achieved while still offering dignified alternative accommodation to all of those moved off of the street, along with a suite of care interventions to help each of them to reintegrate and get back on their feet. <br> <br>I am very proud of how our Team Cape Town – across several directorates in the City – managed to lead in this area by extending a caring hand, while still restoring each of these public spaces for public use. Our city, and particularly our CBD, is looking much cleaner and healthier than it has in years, and we have greatly expanded our Safe Space shelter offering to homeless Capetonians.<br> <br>But not everything we set out to achieve this year has been about big issues with major economic ramifications. Many of the successes I am proudest of and that have been the most satisfying are the smaller things that make a difference to a particular little part of Cape Town, or a very specific cause. A few months ago we re-introduced the rare Cape Water Lily, which had become extinct on the Cape Flats a century ago, to the wetlands of the Rondevlei nature reserve. How lovely to see this beautiful blue lily back in the place that gave the name to Lotus River and I can’t wait to see it spread across Cape Town’s wetlands once more.<br> <br>And I will end on a personal passion project that gives me much joy, and that is the opening of 37 of the City’s 38 public swimming pools for the festive season. This is the first time in 15 years that so many of our pools will be open at the same time. I am still working out why things were allowed to slip like that, but we’ve worked very hard to effect major repairs to many of them these last two years. We are now at the point where only one pool – ironically named Vulindlela (which means ‘open the way’) remains closed for major reconstruction. <br> <br>I don’t see these pools as a luxury, or a nice-to-have. Particularly for those young children growing up on the drier parts of the Cape Flats where trees are scarce and the summer heat can be inescapable, a clean and safe public swimming pool is a wonderful public service. <br> <br>I am delighted so many Capetonians from all walks of life will get to use them over the coming months.<br> <br>I made a point of visiting as many of these swimming pools as I could – mostly with my swimming shorts and towel so I could jump in the blue, sparkling water along with the community.<br> <br>Some of these pools that were repaired and opened in time for high summer had been closed for years. Our Observatory pool is now open for the first time in eight years. Our Emthonjeni pool in Gugulethu hasn’t been open in five years. It was such a wonderful sight to see the excitement on the faces of the children waiting to use the Emthonjeni pool when I swam there last week. Children barely five or six years old, meaning they’d never seen that pool open before.<br> <br>This Mayoral Minute is not an exhaustive list of what we achieved in the City in 2024, but I hope I have given you a flavour of the year that was, and what we can look forward to in 2025. I also hope you get a sense of the momentum we are experiencing as we build our City of Hope. <br> <br>I am certainly looking forward to 2025 with much optimism, both for our city and for our country. There is an undeniable buzz around South Africa’s potential once more, and I have a feeling that next year is going to bring many good things for us.<br> <br>To every Capetonian, thank you for making 2024 such a wonderful year in our city. The way the people of Cape Town look out for each other and care for their communities is truly inspiring, and I cannot wait to work alongside all of you again in the new year.<br> <br>I wish you a safe and blessed festive season, and a very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.<br> <br>Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis<br> <br> <br><strong>End</strong><br> <br></p>2024-12-16T22:00:00ZGP0|#1d539e44-7c8c-4646-887d-386dc1d95d70;L0|#01d539e44-7c8c-4646-887d-386dc1d95d70|City news;GTSet|#62efe227-07aa-45e7-944c-ceebacca891d;GP0|#904f8ac3-ad18-4896-a9a8-86feb1d4a1b7;L0|#0904f8ac3-ad18-4896-a9a8-86feb1d4a1b7|StatementsGP0|#90b49a62-96e2-436a-9c68-187c9ab33534;L0|#090b49a62-96e2-436a-9c68-187c9ab33534|Mayor;GTSet|#2e3de6c1-9951-4747-8f53-470629a399bb;GP0|#6516fa5e-93e3-4953-9f54-0f246e1d7556;L0|#06516fa5e-93e3-4953-9f54-0f246e1d7556|City of Cape Town;GTSet|#2e3de6c1-9951-4747-8f53-470629a399bb10

 

 

Cape Town’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2017 - 2022​​​​​​​Cape Town’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2017 - 2022​​​​​​​An overview of the City’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP).<img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/Integrated-Development-Plan-Header.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" />GP0|#ff1f5b5a-f062-4989-b7f8-b57ada05f70a;L0|#0ff1f5b5a-f062-4989-b7f8-b57ada05f70a|The City’s IDP 2017-2022;GTSet|#ef3a64a2-d764-44bc-9d69-3a63d3fadea1;GPP|#58f302a7-f7df-4ca8-a4cc-c321f4c57e0d;GPP|#2ad5ede6-473c-4550-a932-aabda12143b1;GPP|#245ec7aa-a528-4cd3-bcac-597c292db711;GP0|#1ad9a657-d09a-49fe-9c0a-c948b3a5e5ad;L0|#01ad9a657-d09a-49fe-9c0a-c948b3a5e5ad|The City's IDP 2017-2022;GPP|#0fa98455-3bf7-4738-b07c-8db7b211a6df;GPP|#d3f3e0bd-5b83-4c1f-845c-7e13f8f4e17d;GPP|#af370586-9ba3-404a-9d6e-02066ca42752;GP0|#57be5e69-9793-4ad1-9850-2ff8186556b6;L0|#057be5e69-9793-4ad1-9850-2ff8186556b6|The City’s IDP 2017-2022;GPP|#47b2d3de-463f-44d1-a1f7-1c0ae7779b1d;GPP|#fdaaa5aa-bac4-497d-b6ea-347f228ec59d;GPP|#e88ff549-973f-4e3c-a46c-cfbe61bd6a24;GP0|#4ce9eb03-5745-4cdc-8697-248215f2e57a;L0|#04ce9eb03-5745-4cdc-8697-248215f2e57a|The City’s IDP 2017-2022;GPP|#4d609f4b-5ef8-4d26-a00e-98d854d00a11;GPP|#117084d9-e07b-4e3c-a6aa-d2badf907d64;GP0|#bd46fc95-91e2-4109-ac19-25adcb77c70f;L0|#0bd46fc95-91e2-4109-ac19-25adcb77c70f|The City’s IDP 2017-2022;GPP|#df990a42-3326-459e-96a2-55728312bc61;GPP|#8e28a3fa-1ff1-4fbd-ada3-4befc9119617;GP0|#019c0637-c26d-4db9-9127-6d5abed0949b;L0|#0019c0637-c26d-4db9-9127-6d5abed0949b|The City’s IDP 2017-2022;GPP|#680cbe13-3334-40b6-9ef6-8f126e3a71b2;GPP|#d01efebf-2396-4714-ace2-b0ada5ba6962
Heritage information and resourcesHeritage information and resourcesOur well-maintained heritage database and preserved heritage records are available to the public in a number of ways.<img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/Heritage%20Information%20Resources%2c%20Maps%20And%20Displays%20Header.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" />GP0|#f9a1afbf-0c3e-41ba-ae20-94f6f15a9403;L0|#0f9a1afbf-0c3e-41ba-ae20-94f6f15a9403|Heritage information and resources;GTSet|#ef3a64a2-d764-44bc-9d69-3a63d3fadea1;GPP|#b0285696-285a-478d-9edd-44cbd43c6cc1;GPP|#b9188e62-cf1a-433d-a10c-06e34a7d1593;GPP|#c529c1ac-1f8d-48ae-8079-d34f4dae9c57;GP0|#86dd7391-47ad-4a12-8a14-a3f7819efed6;L0|#086dd7391-47ad-4a12-8a14-a3f7819efed6|Heritage information and resources;GPP|#c33557cc-ff47-42c3-a36e-c87bd87776e6;GPP|#b61ba3b6-e2ed-4500-bee7-e523686ba8bf;GPP|#af370586-9ba3-404a-9d6e-02066ca42752
Walking heritage tours of the cityWalking heritage tours of the cityTips and resources for you to walk and explore our beautiful city and its unique natural and cultural heritage.<img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/Walking%20Heritage%20Tours%20Of%20The%20City%20Header.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" />GP0|#4a4256ce-c7cc-46e5-ab7b-70b8165e866a;L0|#04a4256ce-c7cc-46e5-ab7b-70b8165e866a|Walking heritage tours of the city;GTSet|#ef3a64a2-d764-44bc-9d69-3a63d3fadea1;GPP|#18e3b27f-e26a-409d-a7d2-460e88db0868;GPP|#b9188e62-cf1a-433d-a10c-06e34a7d1593;GPP|#c529c1ac-1f8d-48ae-8079-d34f4dae9c57;GP0|#bd035180-fb82-4722-9bbe-5edccbcf30b1;L0|#0bd035180-fb82-4722-9bbe-5edccbcf30b1|Walking heritage tours of the city;GPP|#b2147315-03b2-467a-9465-7fa1f64011be;GPP|#b61ba3b6-e2ed-4500-bee7-e523686ba8bf;GPP|#af370586-9ba3-404a-9d6e-02066ca42752
Keep our public places clean Keep our public places clean The City provides a number of public cleaning services that you can contact to help keep our public places clean.<img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/Keep%20our%20public%20places%20clean%20Header.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" />GP0|#aa2e8ab1-9bfe-47e1-9f46-ad40744a8a10;L0|#0aa2e8ab1-9bfe-47e1-9f46-ad40744a8a10|Keep our public places clean;GTSet|#ef3a64a2-d764-44bc-9d69-3a63d3fadea1;GPP|#69af3a35-ae90-45eb-8557-9dcd3cb9880b;GPP|#36dcb5fe-6bfc-4ae9-92d7-8bd08d1f6414;GPP|#af370586-9ba3-404a-9d6e-02066ca42752;GP0|#2df1aee9-5456-437c-98fd-f962fe5ac954;L0|#02df1aee9-5456-437c-98fd-f962fe5ac954|Keep our public places clean;GPP|#298f5623-1943-427a-bf3d-e9ccff072bec;GPP|#4a553a67-2cba-4911-9745-a724e38b645a

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