​​Mr Speaker, can we have a moment of silence for veteran photographer, Sam Nzima and the former Dean of St George’s Cathedral, Father Rowan Smith and all those who lost their lives in other tragedies during this past month. 

I would like to wish all Muslim councillors and residents a blessed and fulfilling month of Ramadaan and thank them for their compassion and generosity to those in need and for helping us build a caring city.

Mr Speaker, we are marking Child Protection Week and last week I had the honour of handing over the title deed for a piece of land to the Baitul Ansaar Childcare Centre in Beacon Valley to enable expansion of this much-needed facility.

Council will be familiar with this matter which had unfortunately dragged on for many years but we were happy that we could finally hand over the deed for the land which the City disposed of for social good purposes.

The sale of this land to the centre is a testament to our commitment to building a caring city as the additional land will enable the centre’s expansion so that they can help even more children in need.

For many years the centre had the hard task of having to turn children away due to space constraints.

The centre is the area’s largest child- and youthcare centre taking in both emergency at-risk children including infants, toddlers and older kids, and providing long-term accommodation for at-risk children servicing the Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha areas.

I want to personally thank the centre and all the staff for their dedication and hard work.

During Child Protection Week there is a heightened sense around the work we still need to do to ensure that each child’s rights are respected.

The father of our nation, Tata Madiba, said it best when he said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

Sadly, the way our children are treated in Cape Town is an indictment of all of us.

Despite all the protection provided in law, many children still remain vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation.

As a society, we have to do much more to ensure that our children do not suffer abuse. This is something that must happen 365 days a year.

The Bill of Rights in the Constitution, specifically Section 28, states that every child has the right to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation.

As society we must act when we know of abuse so that we can save children’s lives and put perpetrators behind bars.

Unfortunately, there is only mass attention and outrage when a child is killed and silence thereafter, until the next murder.

Mr Speaker, another way we are helping our young people to break free of the cycle of poverty is through empowerment opportunities such as the YouthStartCT Entrepreneurial Challenge.

As we are about to celebrate Youth Month, last week we launched the third edition of this highly successful challenge with the announcement of the Top 100 finalists.

YouthStartCT is a City initiative aimed at giving young entrepreneurs a boost with their businesses.
This programme also speaks to how government, the private sector and residents can make progress possible by bringing innovative solutions to the table that will see the reduction of the unemployment rate, especially among young people.

This is in line with the City’s goal in our Organisational Development and Transformation Plan to promote economic inclusion by empowering young people with the tools and skills to be economically active. 

YouthStartCT sees young business people going head-to-head with their business ideas, receiving training and refining their businesses.

Through various rounds of elimination, we will get to the Top 10 and the Top three winners will be announced ahead of Youth Day.

Last year’s winner, Yandisa Langa, started farming at his home in Fish Hoek and soon started supplying vegetables to large retailers such as Pick ‘n Pay and Food Lover’s Market.

His business continues to grow as he is now also supplying his products to six restaurants and individual households who place orders with his company.

By growing their businesses and employing more people, young entrepreneurs can also help other young people break free from the shackles of unemployment and hopelessness.

Mr Speaker, we are also making great progress through attracting investment and creating jobs for our young people. 

The City has through its support of Wesgro and special purpose vehicles, facilitated R1,2 billion worth of investment during the first few months of 2018.

The City’s support of sector-specific interventions ensured that 1 380 job opportunities were created and 274 people were trained between January and March 2018.

Cape Town is steadfast in its commitment to build an opportunity city where the economy thrives and employment grows each year.

The City has identified priority sectors with the potential to grow and develop the city’s economy. These sectors include information communication and technology (ICT); business process outsourcing (BPO); craft and design; clothing, textiles and fashion; and renewable energy, among others.

It is encouraging to see sector bodies like the Business Process Enabling South Africa – Western Cape (BPESA WC) facilitating investment worth R262 million during the first three months of 2018.

This investment resulted in 1 095 new job opportunities in the BPO sector.

Six of the special purpose vehicles supported 335 different small to medium enterprises, with some 160 SMEs supported through the Craft and Design Institute (CDI).

GreenCape supported 87 SMEs to develop businesses in the green economy.

With these latest results, Cape Town has shown that we are a resilient city, and that we are committed to good governance and creating opportunities for all.

Mr Speaker, at this point I have to turn to the violent protests and land invasions which have occurred across the city.

I’m deeply disturbed by the spate of land invasions which at times have been accompanied by violence and destruction of property around Cape Town.

I want to place it on record that the City will not tolerate land invasions as they are illegal and pose fire, health and flood risks to our communities.

The seriousness of the matter requires all of us to pull together to find solutions that will be beneficial to residents.

I together with Area-based Mayco Members, ward councillors and subcouncil chairs are embarking on a series of discussions with the affected communities.

On Tuesday, I had a meeting with the residents of Vrygrond in my office to discuss possible proposals. This was our fourth meeting with the residents. We are still waiting for their feedback.

I have also requested Executive Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson to hold discussions with representatives of Parkwood.

In Gugulethu and Philippi we are continuously having engagements with private land owners.

We are continuing engagements with all communities and it is important for residents to ensure that land earmarked for development is protected from land invaders.

I am appealing to all communities to work with the City in a peaceful manner so that we can make progress possible together.

This past month we also highlighted some wonderful successes in our communities of Uitsig, Fisantekraal and Morkel’s Cottage.

Last week I visited Uitsig to inspect the progress of the installation of water and sanitation services to backyarders.

The City is installing taps with running water to 232 backyard dwellings in Uitsig. These taps are connected to a smart box that enables a family living in the backyard to access 200 litres of water per day.

Previously, backyard dwellers were dependent on the water allocations of residents living in the main house on the property.

With the smart box, each tap only releases water when a special key is inserted.

Contractors are also busy upgrading infrastructure in the community to enable the City to install flushing toilets in each of the 232 backyards. 

The City is expected to spend R5,4 million to provide water and sanitation services to backyarders in Uitsig.

During the current financial year, the City allocated R233,4 million for the installation and maintenance of sanitation facilities to residents living in backyards or informal settlements in areas across the city.

Mr Speaker, the housing development in Morkel’s Cottage is also progressing well since construction began in March 2018.

This R146 million project will provide 547 semi-detached, detached single-storey houses and serviced sites for beneficiaries from three informal settlements as well as beneficiaries from the City’s housing database.

So far, the construction team has completed 102 foundations, 94 floor levels and 70 concrete house frames.

The aim is to complete 45 units by the end of June but many more units will be in an advanced stage of completion by then and we can have beneficiaries – who have already been processed – move into their new homes as soon as they are completed.

It is anticipated that the project will be completed in 2019.

The project is one of many which speak to the goal of the City’s Organisational Development and Transformation Plan to bring about excellence in service delivery to residents.

Mr Speaker, I am also pleased to report that we are making good progress in Nomzamo and Lwandle in Strand.

City officials, working with a contractor, are currently in the process of finalising the electrification of 2 148 structures in Siyanyanzele, a section of Pholile and Simanyene.

We are working to complete this work by the end of July 2018. Work on the six other areas will start in the new financial year.   

This will take the total number of connections to 4 255 when the project is concluded. The full project is due for completion at the end of the year.

There will also be training for 52 residents in the Installation of Electricity project in Nomzamo under the EPWP programme.

Mr Speaker, we also had a fruitful meeting with residents of Dunoon this past weekend about the exciting plans for the area.

Our Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) is planning two major infrastructure projects that will transform Dunoon into a well-developed neighbourhood where residents will have access to a first-class public transport facility.

The City will commence with the upgrade of the minibus-taxi facility within the next two months. We expect the new public transport hub to be fully operational within the next two years.

The TDA will spend over R42 million on the upgrade of the Dunoon minibus-taxi facility.

The City has recently acquired open land in the area where we intend to create a new neighbourhood complete with housing opportunities, supported by a range of community facilities and amenities.

The development will include State-subsidised houses; and sites for retail and light industrial uses will be considered during the planning process so that those living in the area will have access to job opportunities.

Mr Speaker, in closing, we are also happy to celebrate with the first-time property owners who are settling into their new homes in Fisantekraal.

To date, 700 beneficiaries have already moved into their homes which were built during the first phase of the Greenville Garden City development.

The final 168 houses for this phase will be handed over by October this year.

The first phase of this project, which will boast 868 BNG houses, is costing approximately R152 million.

Overall, the cost of the 4 000 units will amount to approximately R700 million over six years.

Finally, I am also pleased to report back to Council on the process where we started to release 11 parcels of City-owned land in Woodstock, Salt River and the city centre for affordable housing.

A request for proposals was issued for 5 of the 11 sites and we received 14 submissions to the call for proposals.

The City has started the process of evaluating the proposals to release the sites.

The Pine Road and Dillon Lane sites are already allocated to SOHCO for social housing with about 250 social housing units to be built there.

To unlock the Pine Road site, we currently have our first Transitional Housing project under construction.

This is in Pickwick Street in Salt River, our first inner city temporary housing site.

People living on the Pine Road site will be housed at this Pickwick Street Transitional Housing project.

This precinct-scale approach to the development of social and affordable housing will allow the City to provide more housing, and a wider range of housing options, for our residents closer to work opportunities.

The City is working on the next set of land parcels in Parow, Claremont, Wynberg and additional sites in the inner city and these will be announced in due course.

End