Cape Town - Patricia de Lille has big plans for a second term as the mayor of South Africa’s fastest growing city, including putting Cape Town on the road to energy security by 2020.
She’s even prepared to defy the national energy minister or declare an inter-governmental dispute, to realise that goal.
De Lille said the city wanted to buy at least 20 percent of its energy from independent producers.
It came as little surprise on Monday, when DA leader Mmusi Maimane announced that De Lille would be the party’s mayoral candidate for this year’s local government elections.
De Lille beat little-known candidates Guy Andrews, Daniel Jacobs, Peter Meakin and Ursula Schenker in what Maimane termed a “rigorous, democratic process”.
“We want to give the city the best person for the job and to serve the people, and she has shown that she has the competence to lead the city,’’ said Maimane.
If the DA is successful in securing another term governing the Western Cape metropole, De Lille will be entering the history books not only as the first person since democracy to serve a full five-year term as Cape Town mayor, but also to stand for a second one.
But Cape Town’s longest-serving mayor said there is still more to achieve.
“The wheels of government grind too slowly.
“The legislation is designed to speed-up delivery, but somehow we always find a way to make an excuse.”
De Lille said the city was still grappling with clearing service delivery backlogs and that five years was not enough time to achieve the desired effect.
“People waiting on the housing list the longest must be helped first.”
De Lille would also like to see changes to the city’s budgeting process so that only projects which have already undergone feasibility studies be allocated money.
She denied that the city was sidelining communities in public participation processes.
“It’s all speculation and anecdotal stuff. We’ve not been found wanting by any court that we did not consult.”
She said accusations that the city was only delivering service to affluent, former white areas, were unsubstantiated.
“Any stupid can walk in the white areas and see what they want? They pay rates to live in their own houses, some up to R30 000 a month.”
If re-elected, De Lille promised to continue the roll out of broadband projects in the city and to improve the Extended Public Works job creation programme.
She also wants to see poor people live closer to the city centre and work opportunities, but to achieve this, she said the national government had to agree to sell some of its land for housing development.
Cape Argus