By Simon Nare
President Cyril Ramaphosa has accused the City of Cape Town of perpetuating apartheid-era inequalities by directing municipal resources toward affluent, predominantly white areas while neglecting poor black communities in townships and informal settlements.
Responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday, Ramaphosa acknowledged that while the municipality excelled in financial management, it was the worst-performing metro in ensuring equitable service delivery.
“Census data shows that in the decade between 2011 and 2022, Cape Town performed worse than the average of all metros in expanding access to services such as refuse removal, piped water, electricity and flush toilets,” he said.
He added that an analysis of the city’s budget suggested that the per capita investment in infrastructure and service delivery was significantly lower in townships and informal settlements than in the suburbs.
The president’s response was in sharp contrast to what he told African National Congress councillors at a roll call meeting last month, where he said they should look to the DA for examples of good governance at municipal level.
But on Tuesday, he sang a different tune.
The president said that like all metros across the country, the City of Cape Town was facing challenges fueled by urbanisation, but it was lagging behind in addressing inequality.
Responding to push back by DA delegates who reminded him about his roll call remarks, Ramaphosa insisted that he was merely saying what the available statistics were revealing.
He added that he was working off official statistics from Statistics South Africa and a budget analysis of the city.
“So, this is not my information, it is data that is derived from the census. So, [the City of Cape Town] has performed worse than the average metro. You may well say on the audited financial statements it has done well, but in the end, what really matters is the impact on the life of the people,” he said.
He said he has been in townships such as Gugulethu and Langa and was “horrified” by the lack of services.
Ramaphosa shot down suggestions that the District Development Model was not working and therefore should be abandoned, saying the system was indeed delivering.
He said eThekwini municipality was an example which, working together with the Presidential Working Group, was experiencing a turnaround.
He added that in Johannesburg, the model was also facilitating a turnaround, with the city doing upgrades in Soweto.
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