Councillor Nicola Jowell's report at CBCRA AGM 2021

(Councillor Nicola Jowell's report at CBCRA AGM 2021 -As read by Richard Bendel, the chair, in Nicola's absence)

Nicola Jowell, Councillor of Ward 54

Dear Residents and members of the Camps Bay Ratepayers association

It is with great sadness that I cannot be there tonight to join your AGM and have conveyed by apologies to the committee. I am deeply grateful for the hard work and dedication shown by every member of the Camps Bay and Clifton Ratepayers Association. Having spent more than a decade as a volunteer on community groups and been on the executive of a ratepayers association myself I know the challenges that it comes with and the vast amount of volunteer time that is used in working to protect the interests of all residents in an area.

This has again been a challenging year and I look forward to a time when our reflections don’t start with this caveat! And we end the year again with the next round of the COVID-19 news of us entering the 4th wave in a couple of weeks and the discovery of Omicron both here and internationally. I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity to appeal to every single resident of Camps Bay and Clifton to please heed the call from our President to get vaccinated. It is only through vaccinations that we will be able to fully protect ourselves, our loved ones and also the economic future and viability of our city and country.

The Council is currently getting back onto full swing with the formal inaugural meeting two weeks ago, the Mayoral Committee has been reappointed and we now look forward to the announcement of the oversight Portfolio Committee Chairpersons. The Sub-Councils and ward forums will however only be reinstated in the new year.

I urge residents to have their say and input into the development of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the next 5 year term of office. The Public Participation process has started. Council does not usually allow for public participation to run over the festive season but an exemption as approved via special application in Council last week which was inevitable due to the late elections and crunch to have this approved for the next budgetary cycle. This means that the process has opened now and will close on the 7th January. The IDP is the primary strategic plan that will guide all planning and development in Cape Town over the next five years. The city needs your input on the community’s developmental needs and priorities. So I urge you to take some time to submit this. If you go to the website www.capetown.gov.za there is a link to the IDP on the main page under the “trending” section.

I would also urge you to give your input on changes to the off street parking requirements in areas that are now designated as Public transport zones. This affects Camps Bay as the MyCiti bus stops were included in the Public Transport maps earlier last year, whereas before this it only included the train stations. The inclusion in the maps means a considerable reduction or removal of the need to have off street parking provided. This came into effect last year but I challenged the issue with the Transport Department who made the changes until the process was halted but it is not off the table and they are now conducting this public participation process. It is important to understand that the rationale behind these changes are to continue to promote and encourage people away from dependence on vehicles and to use and challenge public transport but there are valid arguments around current density in this area and the need to possibly have a phased in approach to this strategy. The public participation for this closes on the 31st January and I would encourage you to ensure that you provide input on this.

I would like to thank everyone who made it out to vote on the 1st November in what was incredibly trying conditions. From the weather, COVID and the impossible situation at the Camps Bay Soccer Club where the IEC was overwhelmed due to technical issue, staff shortages and a venue far too small. I am very grateful for the support that you have given me and am ready to continue to take up and address the challenges that the community faces.

I look forward to a continued partnership with the Camps Bay and Clifton Ratepayers Association and also working with individual members of the community to tackle service delivery head on.

Many thanks 

Nicola