Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor of the City of Cape Town, called upon Durbanville business people at a networking event of Durbanville Business last Thursday at Hussar Grill Durbanville, to invest in the city’s future and help grow the economy to address poverty, inequality and unemployment.
“We as councillors of the City of Cape Town are proud Capetonians. We get all these amazing awards and accolades bestowed upon the city, and rightly so. We have something unique in the city.
“Where else do you have 10% of the entire country’s coastline in one city? We have 24 nature reserves and three World Unesco Heritage Sites – Robben Island, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Table Mountain National Park,” he said.
Putting best foot forward
“What also makes Cape Town an amazing city to live in, is that we fare globally well. Those who travel extensively, you will see what’s happening elsewhere in the country, and globally. I think we can stand strong and we can stand bold, knowing that Cape Town is putting her best foot forward on a global scale. I’m often asked the question, why is that? The answer is political will. If I reflect on the City and the political office bearers there, we all understand the assignment. There is a level of urgency and intensity that I have not seen before.
Yes, we did amazing work in 2011, 2016 and 2016 to 2021, but there’s a level of urgency in this term of office that we have not seen before. And I think that’s important to recognise. And it’s been important because we’re really trying to showcase, first of all to exploit the fact that we have political stability. We’re one of the only metros that resembles in the country any form of stability, but most importantly, we have policy certainty.
“We have an amazing staff complement, all 35 000 of them, that are ready and able and keen and willing to implement the Cape Town long term plan for 2050.Whatever they do, they understand the assignment – to speak directly toward our overarching objective, to ensure that we have a city of hope,” he said.
“By now the population density probably has surpassed about 5 million. We saw this tsunami coming. We will remain the fastest growing city in the country. If you see this coming, you need to make a plan. I theme it urbanisation, the unstoppable force,” he said.
Future growth
“What we are trying to do as a team at Cape Town, is showcase what should be in place to accommodate the future growth that we have been anticipating. I think we also recognise, and perhaps in certain quarters, concede that we can’t do it by ourselves.
“We really can’t do it by ourselves. We see you as business sector as strong allies that are able to help. We recognise that our shared future requires all of us to put shoulder to the wheel, and for you to also invest in the city that we call home, because you are also enjoying significant return on investment within your property growth, in terms of other investments, because Cape Town works,” he said.
“But because Cape Town works, and as a consequence of that, people are flocking to Cape Town. We see that every single day, and so we have to understand where are the urban pleasures, and to recognise those, and what needs to be in place to ensure that Cape Town still stands tall and is still resilient for decades to come.
“That is the origin of Cape Town’s long term plan 2050. We recognise that in order for us to, as Cape Town, and possibly the whole of society, to respond to the triple threat of poverty, inequality, and unemployment, we need to understand our respective roles, and our respective responsibilities. Government is not required to be the primary employer of the unemployed.
“We have to ask the question, how do we help you to be a lot more productive and to scale your businesses at a rate that speaks directly to poverty, inequality and unemployment?
“I often reflect on the remark that premier Alan Winde makes, and it took me a while just to ponder on it, and he said that, nothing stops a bullet quite like a job. The fact that we are not the employer of the unemployed only, and you are the employer of the unemployed, we need to ask the question, what do we need to do to be more enabling?”
Housing deficit
“Currently, we have a housing deficit in the city. We require 50 000 units per annum, and the total yield, the combined yield between the public and the private sector, is about 20 000 units. So there’s a housing deficit of 30 000 units every single year.
“Of the 5 million people that reside in the city of Cape Town, we also understand what the combined household income is R20 000 per month for 70% of our households. They further spend 40% of their disposable income to get to their place of employment. They spend approximately three hours per day getting to work. So when they leave at some ungodly hour in the morning, they return very late at night too. Imagine the impact on the family. There’s no time to have quality time with the family. The family structure disintegrates.
The youth at risk then conform to the social rules within those communities, and that is what we face. We should never ever lose sight of the contextual realities. Yes, we’re an amazing city, but there are still pockets in the City of Cape Town that are socially vulnerable, and we need to ensure to respond to their needs.
We need to grow the economy. We need to lift that handbrake off the economy,” he said.
Cape Winelands Airport
“The Cape Winelands Airport is an amazing opportunity for Durbanville. “It is coming and it is an opportunity for Durbanville to position herself in a strategic way to ensure that you sort of tap into all those big economies that will be playing for this well and also we spoke about how they respond to those other communities that are still needing that sort of social support.
“It is the only place in the city where you can actually have a second airport and we’re fully behind it. We have also expressed support for it in our municipal spatial development framework so that you know that it’s coming and that the spatial form supports it.
“I was asked earlier is there anything that business can do. I will strongly urge you to look and identify any one of those aspects that I mentioned earlier on the contextual realities in your area of influence where the business is located and ask yourself this question: what can I do as an entity to give those socially vulnerable a hand up? How do I contribute as a business towards the city of hope. What does putting my shoulder to the wheel look like in that context and who do I need to collaborate with to ensure that we get those projects across the line? Those are sort of three questions I would leave with you. We have shovel ready project for you because we recognise that you are our partners. We put in our obligation to be able and in whatever form or shape that might take but if you have that sort of additional support and contribution that you are able to make. Come speak to us, because we want to ensure that that long-term plan for Cape Town 2050 is realised.
Urban Design Framework
Theresa Uys, councillor of ward 112, said the Urban Design Framework for Durbanville is now becoming tangible. “If you look at Heritage Square and especially at Village Square, it follows that vision and architecture,” she says.
“Durbanville is where the city and the farm meet. We want to celebrate heritage and culture. That is one of our ambitions – our heritage. Next year we have big heritage events – the church is 200 years old and the school is 200 years old. This year the wine industry celebrated 200 years. So we have a rich history.
“We have world-class wine estates, scenic cycling and a number of routes. We have excellence in education. We have to keep our children here, because we can compete with any school in the area. We have a growing business and innovation hub. And for that I have to say thank you to the businessmen.”
Uys said a plan has already been approved to develop a park at Uitspan, the open space at the Durbanville taxi rank. A fence has been sponsored by the Shuttleworth Foundation to safely fence the area in.
“I am aware of the informal trading (at the taxi rank). I am aware of the mess, but if you drive past there on a Friday or Saturday evening, then it is beautiful, the city makes it beautiful. But we hope that our additional law enforcement officers will help us to deal with the illegal informal trade.
“One of the proposals I have is that we should build beautiful kiosks on the taxi lane, so that our informal traders have a worthy place to trade, similar as those in Paarl and in Franschhoek,” she says.
About the planned Durbanville sports precinct she said she is calling a meeting soon with all the sport codes in Durbanville to discuss the concept plan for the development of the sports ground. She has also received an alternative proposal from Durbanville Hockey Club. “They want to utilise the knowledge gained from Western Cape Cricket, which is very exciting. It will be absolutely a gain for Durbanville and it will promote our sport tourism,” she says.
R300 extension
Gerhard Fourie, chair of Subcouncil 7, said it seems construction work on the extension of the R300 from the N1 to Wellington Road will start in the next two and a half years, subject to the finalisation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) being accepted.
“It will start with construction work from the N1 by Sanral in the first phase, after which the second phase by the provincial government will include among others the largest intersection at Legato Drive, which will be an flyover-bridge intersection. The City depends on Sanral and province and is awaiting feedback for clarity to be able to adjust its budget accordingly,” he said.
Unique community spirit
Pieter Koen, chair of Durbanville Business, said Durbanville has a unique community spirit.
“Durbanville is a treasure that must be developed with care and responsibility. With good strategic planning and responsible development, Durbanville can become an economic machine for the City, which in future can become a resource for the City to overcome its economic challenges. Durbanville has got so much potential. We should really take heart in how we develop Durbanville that it is responsible for the future. We are a community that stands together, that supports each other, and with businesses that support each other. We must welcome people to our town, greet each other in the street and create a winning culture,” he said.
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