Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille took a swipe at people who repeatedly accuse the City of Cape Town of not working for black people over what she referred to as a lack of vision and understanding of how the City works.
She made the remarks at an Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP) roadshow at the Khayelitsha Resource Centre on Tuesday April 25.
She said all of the City’s 116 wards formed part of the budget. She also condemned people who disrupt service delivery.
Ms De Lille told residents that billions of rands would be spent on service delivery. “We will not allow anyone to mess with the City of Cape Town. We will not not be disrupted. We have work to do. We as councillors need to show the community that we are working together irrespective of what political party we come from. Poverty knows no political party,” she said, when someone in the audience tried to interrupt her presentation.
Ms De Lille told residents to ask questions and demand accountability from their councillors and that councillors should know that they were servants of people not the other way round. She said leaders must have integrity, must be trusted by the community and be accessible.
She also used the platform to explain to residents the City’s ODTP values, explaining that it would work as a guide for the City’s intent, actions and behaviour to help shape the working culture and encourage excellent service delivery among all the councillors.
Ms De Lille said Anda Ntsodo, who is the Mayco member for the area, should ensure that all the services were delivered in a well co-ordinated manner. She urged him to ensure parity between his area and more affluent areas in the metro. For that to happen, she said, he must work with all the ward councillors.
“The ODTP is about taking service delivery to the next level. One of the priorities of this plan is to achieve excellence in basic service delivery. This is achieved when residents believe that their needs are being met and there is an improvement your living conditions,” Ms De Lille said.
She added that the City did not want to wait for people to come to it with problems. Instead, the City should go to people to prevent major issues.
She also appealed for patience, adding that the City’s budget covered 116 wards.
“I am sick and tired of people who says the City of Cape Town does not care about black people. It is not true. If you know my background you will know where I come from. I am a caring person and the City cares about all its people, irrespective of where they come from,” she said.
She said in the proposed budget of R709.5 million had been set aside to spend in Khayelitsha.
Mr Ntsodo urged people to register their service delivery complaints with their councillors, municipal managers and himself. When residents had the opportunity to raise their concerns with the mayor, some said they hoped the roadshow would not be just another talk-shop.
Vulani Mdekazi said he was worried that the City seemed not have a plan focused on unemployed graduates.
