Conceding that Cape Town was “by no means perfect”, DA leader and mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis has launched the strongest campaign yet seen in the run-up to the country’s November local government polls, saying Cape Town has become a torchbearer across South Africa
Addressing a DA gathering in Cape Town on Saturday after having been retained by the party as mayoral candidate for Cape Town, Hill-Lewis told residents that the city’s governance resembled the candle of hope - “a torch lighting the way from Johannesburg to Emfuleni, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Umngeni and every corner of our country”.
While poor governance at municipal level has largely been synonymous with the ANC, in his speech, Hill-Lewisunderscored the DA’s electoral pledge for Cape Town, a city the party have governed for nearly two decades, without political point-scoring.
In unveiling a grand plan for Cape Town for the next five years, calling on the electorate to gold the DA to account, Hill-Lewis said the party would prioritise stronger policing, jobs, reliable and affordable services; more affordable homes and cleaner public spaces.
In line with the DA slogan: “Taking Cape Town Forward for All”, Hill-Lewis took swipe at the SA Police Service (SAPS), whose top brass has come under scrutiny in the Madlanga Commission – a public inquiry established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of political interference, corruption and the infiltration of criminal syndicates within the country's criminal justice system.
“We refuse to accept that crime is just part of life.
“We cannot accept that mothers must listen to gunshots at night and wonder whether their children are safe during the day.
“We cannot accept that illegal guns move through our communities while the national police service fails to do its job properly.
“We know the truth: SAPS is failing too many communities.
“It is under-resourced, badly led and in many places, corrupt SAPS officers are in corrupt relationships with gangs.
“While national government fails in its policing mandate, Capetonians pay the price,” he said.
Cape Town, said Hill-Lewis, had “no choice but to keep building Cape Town’s own policing capacity”.
He said: “No longer will we be beholden to others to keep our people safe.
“We will fight for more policing powers, so that we can do it ourselves.
“An arrest means little if the case collapses.
“A confiscated gun means little if the criminal is back on the street.
“To take Cape Town forward, we will build a Metro Police Detective Unit, so that we can investigate cases ourselves.
“This will help ensure that criminals do not just get arrested, but actually go to jail.
“Cape Town needs a full chain of accountability: detection, investigation, prosecution and conviction.
“We cannot wait for SAPS to beat crime.
“The only way we will live without fear is if we build our own policing capacity.
“I will not stop fighting until we have the powers we need, the tools we need, and the officers we need, to make Cape Town safer for all.”
On creating more jobs, he said in DA’s first term in power “Cape Town created more jobs than any other city in South Africa”.
“We created 480 000 new jobs in four and a half years.
“In the same period, only 70 000 new jobs were created in Johannesburg.
“In all three Gauteng metros combined, there were just 348 000 new jobs.
“Yet, in Cape Town, 480 000 new jobs were created - morethan all of them put together.
“Put another way, for every one job created in Joburg, nearly seven new jobs are created in Cape Town,” maintained Hill-Lewis.
He added: “That did not happen by accident.
“It happened because the DA governs in Cape Town,
“Where we govern, we create the conditions for businesses to invest and grow.
“That means cutting red tape that blocks growth.
“It means eliminating unnecessary fees.
“It means streamlining licensing procedures.
“It means saying to entrepreneurs, investors, builders, traders, innovators and small business owners: Cape Town wants you to succeed.
“Cape Town understands that when you grow, our economy grows and jobs are created.
“In this term, we invested more in infrastructure than any other city in South Africa - more than many of the other cities combined.
“This investment has made Cape Town the most functional and successful city in the country.
“We will continue to invest more in essential infrastructure than any other metro in South Africa - because when cities work, people work.”
On achieving reliable and affordable services, Hill-Lewisconceded that “every household knows that the cost of living is too high”.
“That is why Cape Town must remain a city that delivers reliable services – while keeping costs as affordable as possible.
“We must continue to reduce our reliance on Eskom so we can get cheaper electricity.
“We will take Cape Town forward by buying hundreds more megawatts of cheaper electricity from independent producers, - passing those savings on to residents.
“In this term, we quadrupled sewer pipe replacements to bring better, more dignified sanitation to more people.
“We doubled water pipe replacements to bring down water pipe bursts.
“To take Cape Town forward for all, we will double fresh water pipe replacement again.
“We will replace 100 kilometres of fresh-water pipe and 100 kilometres of sewer pipe every year,” he said.
While installing piping was “not glamorous work”, he described it as “the work that brings dignity to more people”.
“It is the work that brings better services to all.
“We have a moral obligation to improve the basic living conditions of our neighbours and fellow Capetonians who live in extreme poverty.
“And I will not shy away from this duty.
“We will do it by spending public money efficiently and effectively and, in so doing, we will keep our property rates the lowest of all of South Africa’s cities.
“Clean, functional and reliable government must also be affordable government.”
On more affordable homes, he said Cape Town was growing “because people see hope here”.
“People come to Cape Town because they believe they can build a better life here.
“That is a strength.
“But it also places pressure on housing, transport and services.
“We must meet that growth with bold, practical action.
“I’m proud that we have delivered more homes than any other city in the country and we have released more city-owned land than ever before in Cape Town for affordable and social housing.
“Just last week we handed over one of the largest sites in the heart of the city, Salt River Market, for construction to begin on 970 new affordable homes.
“We have pioneered a first in South Africa – a programme to work with the private sector to allow for many more affordable rental units.
“While this programme is a first in SA, now we need to ramp it up.
“To take Cape Town forward, we will ramp up our affordable rental units programme by working with the private sector.”
On creating cleaner public spaces, he said: “You’ve seen how much I love picking up litter.
“It is a passion or even an obsession of mine.
“We’ve invested so much more in cleaning up.
“We’ve supported wonderful residents who organise their own clean ups. “And we’ve rolled out a programme with our new mascot, Bingo, in every school in the city, to change public behaviour over time.
“We want everyone to live in a clean city and a clean community.”