SPEECH BY THE CITY’S EXECUTIVE MAYOR, PATRICIA DE LILLE, AT THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING ON 19 AUGUST 2015

19 AUGUST 2015
SPEECH BY THE CITY’S EXECUTIVE MAYOR, PATRICIA DE LILLE, AT THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING ON 19 AUGUST 2015

I would like to ask for a moment’s silence for the people who lost their lives in the plane crash this past Sunday.

Thank you.

Good morning, goeie môre, molweni, as-salaam alaikum, shalom.

Mr Speaker, as you know, we have placed a great emphasis on building communities that are fully integrated into the city.

Like every other South African city, we have a difficult spatial legacy to overcome, including the legacy of apartheid housing projects, such as our housing rental stock.

We have reconsidered the future of housing rental stock and the role that people can play in our society as property owners who are fully empowered with assets at their disposal.

At the same time, we must consider our own role in the provision of housing rental stock and how best we can serve the need for rental space in Cape Town.

Even amidst all of these considerations, we undertook the upgrade of many housing rental units in the city – a first for the country.

It is thus with much pride that the City of Cape Town has been lauded by the National Department of Human Settlements for its continual efforts to improve the lives of its vulnerable residents.

The City’s Community Residential Unit Refurbishment Project in Kewtown, in the Athlone area, has received a Govan Mbeki Award in the category for the Best Community Residential Unit Project in the country.

The Kewtown project forms part of the City’s Community Residential Unit (CRU) Refurbishment Programme which has been implemented across the city in an effort to improve the living conditions of residents.

This programme has been the first in South Africa to be implemented on such a large scale and has comprised the upgrade of more than 7 500 CRUs which are situated in some of the most volatile areas in the city.

The Kewtown project itself has entailed the upgrade of 320 units.

I think that this is cause for celebration.

I must especially commend the National Minister for Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu.

Last year, she accused the City of not spending our Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) funds sufficiently.

We ended up spending nearly 90% of our USDG funds.

She accused us of not being ready for assignment.

We have adopted an Integrated Human Settlements Framework that will reshape the way we deliver housing opportunities.

And she accused us of not delivering effectively.

Moreover, she has placed every obstacle in our path.

She has conspired with MECs to delay housing assignment. She has exceeded her authority in withholding municipal grants.

And she has ignored the need to shift housing opportunities away from replicating apartheid-era spatial planning with mass settlements at the edge of urban spaces.

It takes a big person, and a brave politician, to admit when they are wrong, especially as an election looms.

As such, this award from the National Department is deeply gratifying.

I look forward to Lindiwe Sisulu congratulating us in the National Assembly when she gets the chance.

Mr Speaker, I would also like to draw this Council’s attention to the good work we are doing in the realm of social development.

As you know, the cause of social development is close to my heart.

When I served as the Minister of Social Development, I made it a priority to forge strong links between the metro and the province in the quest to achieve meaningful change in people’s lives – especially for our city’s children.

The Constitution, of which I am so proud, provides for access to certain socio-economic rights within the context of relevant limitations that are normally tested judicially.

Exceptions for access are contained in the Children’s Act of 2005.

It sought to enshrine the rights of the child and express these within the Constitutional framework in ways that afforded children a new rights regime that protected them as individuals.

I think it is one of the signature legislative achievements of the past decade.

My drive as the Minister was to see the rights of the child defended and promoted.

Since signing a protocol agreement with the City in 2010 as the Minister, I can truly say, as the Executive Mayor, that we are living up to our side of the bargain.

The City of Cape Town’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate is spending just over R13 million on early childhood development (ECD) in this financial year.

The funds will be split between infrastructure projects, training for ECD practitioners on national norms and standards, as well as resources and support for ECD centres that have yet to become registered facilities.

Currently, the Directorate owns 24 fully operational ECD facilities that are leased to ECD non-profit organisations, including one in Fisantekraal built in partnership with private funders.

A total of R10,5 million has been set aside for the construction of three more Centres of Excellence in Delft, Golden Gate in Netreg, and the Nantes in Athlone.

In addition, a partnership with private donors will see the construction of two Centres of Excellence in Masiphumelele.

There is a dire need for quality infrastructure that conforms with the standards set out in the Children’s Act. In fact, this is one of the reasons why so many ECDs struggle to become registered – they simply cannot meet the health, fire safety and planning requirements.

It is for this reason that we have stepped in to close the gap through the construction of ECD facilities that we then lease to private operators.

The Directorate is also spending R2,5 million on capacity building programmes for ECDs and their staff.

This includes training for 120 ECD practitioners on aspects like child care, first-aid and outcomes-based education.

These are real-world outcomes that will have real-world positive effects on the lives of our children.

It is just one of the ways in which we are becoming a more caring and inclusive city.

Considerations such as these have a special resonance in August, which is Women’s Month.

Since the start of this month, we have engaged in numerous activities to celebrate women in our city and to draw attention to gender-related issues.

While it has almost become a cliché, it is worth saying again: we shouldn’t just focus on these issues in August.

We shouldn’t just convince ourselves that a few exhibitions and a few speeches is enough to tackle gender inequality.

I think we are all aware of this imperative but it is our commitment to make the fight for women’s rights meaningful and daily.

And you don’t have to be a woman to be concerned with these issues.

All of us should be concerned with salary discrepancies between genders when a woman and a man earn differently for similar work.

We should all be concerned about the way our girls grow up in society and the kind of opportunities they are exposed to.

And gender-based violence should not be hidden in our communities.

We shouldn’t keep quiet because we think that domestic abuse is a private matter best swept under the carpet, waiting to resolve itself.

In an age of slogans, we should beware of action by gimmick.

Tweeting about something doesn’t equate to activism.

All of us in this chamber are part of a small selection of community leaders.

There are others like us in our communities.

But the question we should ask ourselves is what we can do to make fighting against gender discrimination part of our daily lives.

This is a challenge I would like you all to think about with your ward committees and with your community structures.

In conclusion, this Council also has before it an Adjustments Budget.

In terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), councils may approve adjustment budgets during the financial year.

The August Adjustments Budget has only one purpose and that is in terms of Section 28(e) of the MFMA, which stipulates that Council may authorise the carrying over of unspent capital project funds.

This is part of the overall system of financial management and controls in the City.

Indeed, budgets are instruments of planning and are separate instruments from financial statements.

Of course, Mr Speaker, as this Council knows, we will finalise the financial statements with the annual report, at which time we will ensure that rolled-over balances that were brought forward during budgeting are correct.

The finalisation of the annual financial statements is a process covered by Section 126 and Section 127 of the MFMA and will be included in the annual report as a separate section.

The cycle of financial controls for a fiscal period, including the variety of mechanisms we use to release funds and track organisational finances, will be complete with the adoption of the annual report and once our statements are properly audited and considered by Council.

As the Council considers the Adjustments Budget, it should do so in the knowledge that our financial management system is transparent, legally compliant, and indeed praised as demonstrated by our clean audits from the Auditor-General.

As councillors, as we debate these matters, let us take our legislative roles seriously, having applied our minds to our duties and responsibilities as custodians of the public’s trust and finances.

Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi.


End

Issued by: City of Cape Town

Media enquiries: Pierrinne Leukes, Spokesperson for the Executive Mayor – Patricia de Lille, City of Cape Town, Tel: 021 400 1382 or Cell: 084 272 7614, E-mail: Pierrinne.leukes@capetown.gov.za