Sewer spills need a short-term service improvement plan
25 November 2021
Sewer spills need a short-term service improvement plan
Colleagues, fellow councillors, city officials, members of the public and honoured guests, good morning, and welcome to the second last council meeting for 2021.
During the first week of this new administration, I have dived in to a deeper understanding of the City’s budget and expenditure, and have begun preparations for the January adjustments budget.
Along with the Deputy Mayor, we have also begun detailed briefings on policy issues, and have begun to set out our agenda for the first three and six months of the government. We have also begun a process discussion for the new Integrated Development Plan.
In all of the engagements I have had this week, I have been deeply impressed with quality, talent and commitment of City of Cape Town officials who are among the most impressive public servants I have ever seen.
I had the privilege to attend the City’s annual Staff Awards last Friday. I was inspired by the stories of the many excellent staff we have who go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver excellence, show innovation and who take obvious pride in their work. These are the individuals, and the teams that make Cape Town the most desirable City in South Africa to live in and it makes me proud to be associated with this government.
I look forward to many more, and more detailed, briefings and engagements in the days ahead.
I have also appointed the Mayoral Committee, and I congratulate each one of them on their appointments. Together with our caucus team, this is now Team Cape Town.
Every Mayco member has also agreed to undergo a lifestyle audit and be subject to a performance contract and measurable performance review. I have absolute faith in them to deliver on the goals we have set, and the mandate we have from the residents of Cape Town.
Earlier this week we attended our first joint meeting with the provincial cabinet and top management, along with our Mayoral Committee and executive management team.
I am grateful for the calls from several leaders of opposition parties in this Council, and I reiterate the commitment I made last week to an open and accessible government that respects the role of rigorous opposition.
On the first day in office after being sworn in last week I visited
the Zandvliet wastewater treatment plant and areas in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, and Phoenix in Milnerton, that have been affected by sewage spills. I know there are other areas of the City also affected, and in some cases worse than those I visited last week. I intend to also visit Wallacedene, Wesbank and Montrose Park in Mitchells Plain. I am grateful to Councillors Sawant, Witbooi, Plaatjes and others for being in constant contact with me about this.
As you already know, there is very significant capital investment in new water and sewage infrastructure. But this is a medium term effort.
After the visit to Khayelitsha, I have asked the Water and Sanitation team to produce a short-term improvement plan to reduce waiting times on sewer spills. This plan may require additional funding in the adjustments budget for machinery and manpower. I will report to the House on progress.
But let me reiterate my statement last week: Our purpose is to build a city where every person feels pride, care, respect and inclusion. This is not possible when sewer spills take weeks to resolve.
I am very grateful that every spill I have reported this week, and I have reported five or six, have been fixed within 24 or 36 hours. This should apply to everyone.
I have a great degree of confidence that Dr Zahid Badroodien will apply his caring spirit and his incisive intellect to this problem in the months ahead.
I also reiterate the call to communities to help us prevent the abuse of our sewer system. Please report this abuse when you see it. We will be discussing plans in the weeks ahead to start a proper reward system for those who help us protect the infrastructure on which everyone in our city depends.
When I stood here last week, I made it clear that we will continue to build on the good governance in this City that has been acknowledged by numerous independent bodies, including our residents, to ensure that quality services reach all of our residents. Part of good governance is of course ensuring compliance with the numerous policies and legislation that we are subjected to, but making sure that we don’t allow that necessary bureaucracy to prevent us from delivering services when we need to do so.
One such example is an item on today’s council agenda. It is a request to approve deviation from the official procurement processes in terms of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Policy. This approval is being sought for critical repair work to the value of R1,45 million, needed for the Bonteheuwel Main Substation. While we must always comply with the relevant legislation when it comes to Supply Chain matters, we must be very careful not to become complacent and forget that we are all here first and foremost to ensure our residents receive the services that they deserve. Basic provision of electricity is one such service, and while we will continue to fight to end load- shedding in Cape Town, we must look after our own infrastructure too and make sure that residents do not have to sit in candle light while they wait for repair work to be done.
One final matter of concern. In reading the Section 71 financial report at midnight one night this week, I became aware of worrying capital under-expenditure. Significant additional infrastructure investment is absolutely critical to the growth of the city, and budgets must be spent.
On investigation, there is a chunk of this figure which is explainable because of the way National Treasury budgets for the MyCiti rollout grants. This is fine and will be corrected in the adjustments budget. But there are also some other delays which are a source of concern.
I am drawing this to the explicit attention of Council now, and you have my commitment that I will seek further detailed explanation for any avoidable delays in capital programmes.
Next week is the start of the festive season. I want to thank all the city staff who will continue to work throughout the festive season, including our law enforcement staff who keep our communities safe, our solid waste staff who keep our communities clean, our traffic staff who keep our road users safe, our parks and maintenance staff who keep our parks and beaches clean, and every other city official who keeps this city running behind the scenes, thank you.
And to all the councillors here today, you are going to hear me say this again and again – this government, the City of Cape Town, and that means the administration and all councillors – we need to be committed to and feel a clear sense of higher purpose. That higher purpose is to restore hope in South Africa by turning Cape Town into living proof that we can roll back poverty, that we can overcome the long shadows of our past, and that every resident of this city feels proud to call themselves a Capetonian. We do not govern for its own sake, we govern on behalf of the people of this city, for the people of this city. I know that by working together we can build a city that every Capetonian and South African is proud of.
Thank you.
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
