As this affects all those who live in Cape Town; Professor Dewar has some words of advice I advise you to read in full.
The desire to promote Cape Town as a “world-class city” is frequently expressed, often as a justification for promoting iconic events and projects, such as the Olympic Games, rugby and soccer World Cups, and “showcase” housing (such as the N2 Gateway Project). But what does the term mean and how close are we to achieving it?
To answer this it is necessary to review how well we have been doing in managing inevitable processes of urbanisation in Cape Town. Africa 2007
The short answer to this question is, not very well at all.
The magnificent natural and heritage legacy of the Western Cape - its greatest assets - are being desecrated daily on the altar of short-term greed and a desire on the part of the (increasing national and international) rich to privatise nature and history’s most desirable assets.
Despite the fact that Cape Town lies in a water scarce region, approximately 95% of water entering the city drains into the sea after having been used only once.
The capacity to deal with sewage has been exceeded in a number of parts of the city to the extent that new development projects, however desirable, can no longer be considered and that untreated sewage is polluting water courses and bodies.
Wide-ranging power cuts, which periodically affect and paralyse large parts of the city, are not uncommon. More seriously, many citizens still have no access to electricity and the alternatives they are forced to use - particularly paraffin - are a primary cause of fire, the scourge of informal settlements.
Despite lip service being paid to it, the public transportation system is a mess and almost nothing is being done about it. Statements claiming that the city will have an integrated public transportation system by 2010 are ludicrous.
The situation has a number of serious implications.
It makes the city dependent on fossil fuels which, internationally, are in a depletion stage: this is the very opposite of sustainability.
It contributes directly to high levels of poverty, since many people who cannot afford to own a car are forced to do so. The alternative, which describes the reality of many people, is that they are trapped and effectively unable to access the opportunities of the city.
Excessive car movement is a primary contributor to serious, and increasing, air pollution.
Existing road networks are deteriorating as backlogs in maintenance build.
The housing backlog, estimated to be between 250 000 and 400 000 units (although no one really knows), is escalating steadily. I do not believe it is the responsibility of central or local government to supply people with housing, but it certainly is their function to facilitate delivery, and this is not occurring at anything like an adequate rate.
As a consequence, the phenomena of informal settlements, which many politicians view as a symptom of under-development, are increasing rapidly.
The quality of the public spatial environment which exists in large parts of the city is appalling. One only has to take a drive across the Cape Flats to see how desperate the situation is. This is an issue of considerable significance…
The causes underpinning this worrying situation are complex. One of the primary ones, however, is the political instability which has faced the city since 1994. The lack of a clear political majority, the waxing and waning of political alliances, and the adoption of the US system of making top officials party political appointments has had a number of negative impacts.
It has created a climate of ongoing asset stripping: a lack of necessary maintenance of existing assets in favour of “sexy” or vote-catching projects.
It has led to an unstable bureaucracy: every time political leadership changes, bureaucratic leadership changes as well. Restructuring has become the norm, not the exception. This has contributed to a climate of uncertainty and to an unwillingness to take control of the problem. The civil service is massively demotivated.
It has contributed to huge problems of human capacity, both quantitative and qualitative.
Qualitatively, there are simply too few professionals and other suitably qualified people, and the public sector finds it increasingly difficult to attract skilled and motivated people in the face of competition from the private sector. This is particularly, although not exclusively, true of black professionals.
Qualitatively, in terms of BEE policies, many people are being promoted to jobs which are beyond their expertise and experience. Paralleling this, people (particularly white people) with skills and experience do not see a future for themselves in the public sector and are either taking early retirement or seeking employment in the private sector.
It leads to fluctuations of decision-makers. This prevents the emergence of a strong institutional culture and a reservoir of experiential knowledge…
If Cape Town wishes to become more competitive internationally (as indeed it must), the path to pursue rests on four pillars:
Bringing stability to the public sector and appointing and retaining skilled and committed people to the right positions. Cities are complex institutions: they cannot be run by amateurs;
Fiercely protecting the natural environmental assets of the city, for these are truly internationally competitive;
Doing the basics of urban management really well: concentrating on making the city more equitable, integrated, sustainable and efficient; and finding innovative, creative ways of meeting the unique challenges of Cape Town. Cape Argus
The desire to promote Cape Town as a “world-class city” is frequently expressed, often as a justification for promoting iconic events and projects, such as the Olympic Games, rugby and soccer World Cups, and “showcase” housing (such as the N2 Gateway Project). But what does the term mean and how close are we to achieving it?
To answer this it is necessary to review how well we have been doing in managing inevitable processes of urbanisation in Cape Town. Africa 2007
The short answer to this question is, not very well at all.
The magnificent natural and heritage legacy of the Western Cape - its greatest assets - are being desecrated daily on the altar of short-term greed and a desire on the part of the (increasing national and international) rich to privatise nature and history’s most desirable assets.
Despite the fact that Cape Town lies in a water scarce region, approximately 95% of water entering the city drains into the sea after having been used only once.
The capacity to deal with sewage has been exceeded in a number of parts of the city to the extent that new development projects, however desirable, can no longer be considered and that untreated sewage is polluting water courses and bodies.
Wide-ranging power cuts, which periodically affect and paralyse large parts of the city, are not uncommon. More seriously, many citizens still have no access to electricity and the alternatives they are forced to use - particularly paraffin - are a primary cause of fire, the scourge of informal settlements.
Despite lip service being paid to it, the public transportation system is a mess and almost nothing is being done about it. Statements claiming that the city will have an integrated public transportation system by 2010 are ludicrous.
The situation has a number of serious implications.
It makes the city dependent on fossil fuels which, internationally, are in a depletion stage: this is the very opposite of sustainability.
It contributes directly to high levels of poverty, since many people who cannot afford to own a car are forced to do so. The alternative, which describes the reality of many people, is that they are trapped and effectively unable to access the opportunities of the city.
Excessive car movement is a primary contributor to serious, and increasing, air pollution.
Existing road networks are deteriorating as backlogs in maintenance build.
The housing backlog, estimated to be between 250 000 and 400 000 units (although no one really knows), is escalating steadily. I do not believe it is the responsibility of central or local government to supply people with housing, but it certainly is their function to facilitate delivery, and this is not occurring at anything like an adequate rate.
As a consequence, the phenomena of informal settlements, which many politicians view as a symptom of under-development, are increasing rapidly.
The quality of the public spatial environment which exists in large parts of the city is appalling. One only has to take a drive across the Cape Flats to see how desperate the situation is. This is an issue of considerable significance…
The causes underpinning this worrying situation are complex. One of the primary ones, however, is the political instability which has faced the city since 1994. The lack of a clear political majority, the waxing and waning of political alliances, and the adoption of the US system of making top officials party political appointments has had a number of negative impacts.
It has created a climate of ongoing asset stripping: a lack of necessary maintenance of existing assets in favour of “sexy” or vote-catching projects.
It has led to an unstable bureaucracy: every time political leadership changes, bureaucratic leadership changes as well. Restructuring has become the norm, not the exception. This has contributed to a climate of uncertainty and to an unwillingness to take control of the problem. The civil service is massively demotivated.
It has contributed to huge problems of human capacity, both quantitative and qualitative.
Qualitatively, there are simply too few professionals and other suitably qualified people, and the public sector finds it increasingly difficult to attract skilled and motivated people in the face of competition from the private sector. This is particularly, although not exclusively, true of black professionals.
Qualitatively, in terms of BEE policies, many people are being promoted to jobs which are beyond their expertise and experience. Paralleling this, people (particularly white people) with skills and experience do not see a future for themselves in the public sector and are either taking early retirement or seeking employment in the private sector.
It leads to fluctuations of decision-makers. This prevents the emergence of a strong institutional culture and a reservoir of experiential knowledge…
If Cape Town wishes to become more competitive internationally (as indeed it must), the path to pursue rests on four pillars:
Bringing stability to the public sector and appointing and retaining skilled and committed people to the right positions. Cities are complex institutions: they cannot be run by amateurs;
Fiercely protecting the natural environmental assets of the city, for these are truly internationally competitive;
Doing the basics of urban management really well: concentrating on making the city more equitable, integrated, sustainable and efficient; and finding innovative, creative ways of meeting the unique challenges of Cape Town. Cape Argus
No comments:
Post a Comment