A month into his new role as Mayoral Committee Member has seen Councillor Andrews hit the ground running. But his years as a rugby player have armed him with the energy and agility to tackle the job at hand.

‘There is no greater honour than being able to play for your country with the support of the thousands of fans backing you all the way to the end. I had the privilege of playing alongside some big names that I have followed closely throughout their rugby careers,’ said Councillor Andrews.

But swopping his rugby gear for a suit and tie was a smooth transition for Councillor Andrews. He believed it was time to serve the community of Mitchells Plain where he grew up by giving back through service delivery.

‘A number of people have asked me why I made the move from sport to politics. To place this in context, I felt a sense of responsibility towards the community where I grew up. I wanted more people to achieve success and access the opportunities available. Quite often people are so overwhelmed with information that they have no idea where to start to take up the opportunities or who to approach for service delivery issues. So once I retired from sport, I naturally gravitated towards becoming a councillor to serve the community I grew up in and effect change by being the link between local government and residents,’ said Councillor Andrews.

His game-plan for the Tourism, Events and Economic Development (TEED) portfolio is to take the Directorate from good to great. A quick look at his achievements over the past five years confirms that this will indeed be achievable. Subcouncil 12 was in the top three performing subcouncils in the City under his leadership for the last five years. In the previous financial year it was ranked number one with regard to spending all of its budget on approved projects.

But Councillor Andrews is quick to point out that these successes could not be achieved all on his own and neither can he map out a game plan for TEED in isolation. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience sitting within the portfolio and he plans to tap into this and, together with his management team, set out the goals for his term of office. The portfolio has three large strategic areas: tourism, events, and economic development.

According to Councillor Andrews, there are a number of successes that have been made in each of the strategic areas that can be capitalised on further. It is important that Cape Town’s image as the city to live, work, and play be maintained.

‘This image has become synonymous with Cape Town and I would like us to grow this brand. After all, tourism, and events especially, have huge economic spin-offs for the local economy. We have to expand our tourism offerings as this sector is important to sustain the current levels of employment and to create more job opportunities in this lucrative sector. Another critical employment area that presents a number of challenges is the informal sector, which needs to be constantly grown and developed further.

‘While there are many successes to celebrate, there is still a lot of work to be done. With the organisational changes being planned, there is huge opportunity to align with the move to become a more customer-centric oraganisation. This shift to customer-centricity cuts across all stakeholder groups and includes formal and informal businesses, community-based organisations, residents, our employees and, more importantly, affected stakeholders who now want to be part of the solutions by making a valuable contribution in a sustainable manner,’ added Councillor Andrews.

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