Good morning ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour for me to welcome you all on behalf of the City of Cape Town. It is always a pleasure to collaborate with sectors and stakeholders that not only significantly contribute to this city’s economy but also play an integral role in growing the economy.

My new portfolio, Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, has the potential to ensure that we continue to be the go-to city on the African continent and globally for business, trade, and tourism.

As the largest metropole in the Western Cape, we pride ourselves with having a diverse economy that is creating jobs and keeping unemployment low. This positive trend is reflected in Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2018, released in October for the third quarter where Cape Town recorded positive employment growth for the 9th consecutive quarter. Despite South Africa’s national economy experiencing several challenges, this city has shown incredible economic resilience, positive growth and the creation of employment opportunities.

The city’s tourism efforts have not only resulted in the establishment of new businesses but also the expansion of existing businesses.

I will continue to build on this success by working with industries and communities to invest in projects and programmes that will drive demand and make business sense.

I am excited about the future of tourism in our city.

My department is currently finalizing the Draft Tourism Development Framework (TDF) for Cape Town which will be out for public participation during the first quarter of this year. The TDF aims to develop more community-based offerings that will enhance the existing experience for visitors. Our focus will be to create sustainable jobs in a depressed economic climate, to create new job opportunities and to put measures in place to ensure long-term growth.

I have been working in close collaboration with strategic partners like Wegro who facilitates the Cape Town Air Access initiative.

The City of Cape Town is proud to be involved with Air Access as we have provided funding towards this initiative. With the recent approval of the adjustment budget, I have motivated for additional funding towards this project, given its significance to land more flights that will translate into more economic opportunities for our city meaning more jobs for locals. This project certainly unlocks the full potential of our aviation economy, and importantly connects our city with many more countries resulting in additional trade and investment opportunities.

Since its launch in 2015, this initiative contributed to:

• Landing 13 new routes
• Facilitated 18 route expansions
• Doubled the international seat capacity by 1,5 million seats, which in turn helped the airport reach the 10,7 million passenger mark in 2017
• Growing international passenger numbers by 20% in 2017, reaching a total of 2,4 million

There is no more opportune time for an upgrade of the Cape Town International Airport. The airport has several key infrastructural projects planned which will result in an R7 billion investment over the next five years and will include:

• A new realigned runway
• The refurbishment of the Domestic Arrivals Terminal
• Expansion of the International Terminal

The runway alone is a project worth R3,93 billion of investment and is based on the following:

• In its current position, the runway is too close to the Terminal building. Once it is realigned, it will allow for future terminal expansion
• The new runway will allow the airport to increase its per hour landing and departures from 30 to 45 aircraft movements
• It will allow the airport to handle the New Generation Large aircraft such as Boeing 747-800 or A380. It is, however, NOT, being built for the A380 specifically.
• It will ultimately facilitate greater air access into Cape Town and the Western Cape as it will enable growth of passenger and cargo traffic that is essential for tourism and economic activity
• It proves our determination to invest in infrastructure that drives demand and makes business sense. A vision shared by our partners and the City.

The tourism sector has not been without challenges, with the ever changing needs of our visitors and the need for the government to adapt and become more technologically focused.

For this reason, I welcomed the announcement at the country’s State of the Nation address by the Honorable President Cyril Ramaphosa to roll-out e-Visas that will make visa applications for visitors much easier and less stressful.

Our tourism industry is still recovering from the disastrous visa regulations debacle, which, according to the South Africa Tourism Service Association (SATSA), resulted in an estimated R7,5 billion loss to the tourism economy and thousands of associated jobs.

I am pleased with the announcement of the e-Visa system as this is in line with the recommendations by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

South Africa must follow the example set by countries with e-Visa systems where they have proven to increase border security while decreasing visa turnaround time. Initiatives like these are required to unlock the full potential of the tourist market.

With an increase in the demand for international travel worldwide, the key is to have effective systems that simplify the visa application process. By implementing an e-Visa system, government can prevent excessive hours waiting at visa centres, reduce the workload of staff working at airports, embassies and consulates, and provide easier facilitation for tourists and business travellers.

In closing, I cannot omit to speak on the significant investment opportunities Cape Town has to offer and why becoming part of this dynamic economy should be a prerequisite for you.

As a City, we are committed to creating an enabling environment for business to invest and grow. Between July and December 2018, four SPV’s secured investments to the value of over R1,8 billion and in the process created just over 2 200 employment opportunities. We also established the Invest Cape Town initiative, which demonstrates the City’s commitment to creating a platform that enables business leaders and entrepreneurs to live, work, play and invest.

Invest Cape Town works with international and local entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinationals that wish to set up a business in Cape Town. On the ground, the City’s Enterprise and Investment Department collaborates with partners from business formations, investment promotion agencies and sector support entities, and all spheres of government to encourage economic growth and investment.

Cape Town is an excellent location from which businesses can launch their operations into the rest of Africa, and we are ready to help you build your business case for investment.

While Cape Town is renowned for being a world-class tourism destination, I am pleased to confirm that increasingly more businesses identify Cape Town as a forward-looking globally competitive business city that is open for investment. Testament to this fact is that Cape Town is already home to the African headquarters of major multinationals such as Amazon, KimberlyClark, DHL, and home-grown global titans like Naspers, Shoprite and, Woolworths who use Cape Town as a base to expand across the continent and beyond.

More companies are choosing Cape Town because the city boasts first-class infrastructure, sound governance, and four of the top African universities providing a skilled workforce.

Despite South Africa’s national economy experiencing several challenges, this city has shown incredible economic resilience. This is reflected in Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2018, for the third quarter (released in October last year) that showed Cape Town recorded positive employment growth for the 9th consecutive quarter.

Cape Town is a well-run city; it is an opportunity city; it is an inclusive city, it is a city that is committed to the wellbeing of its citizens and its economy.

While I was a member of Parliament, serving as the Shadow Minister of Tourism, I had the pleasure of working with many of you. I look forward to strengthening existing relationships and to building new ones.

Thank you.

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