The City of Cape Town has achieved 74 percent of the objectives outlined in its Integrated Development Plan for the past five years – but the opposition says there’s no cause to celebrate.
The IDP, developed in 2007 and ending at the end of next month, outlines the city’s plans and objectives from economic processes to housing.
Discussing the achievements, deputy mayor Ian Neilson said the city met 17 of its 23 goals in areas such as water, sanitation and the creation of dedicated bus lanes. It did not reach four targets, including an 80 percent im-provement in cleansing, and a 27.5 percent reduction in the demand for water from sources considered unsafe.
Two sectors – reducing commuter times and the upgrading and creation of infrastructure – could not be measured.
“We will continue to work hard at achieving and exceeding our targets, and are committed to improving services where there is a need,” said Neilson. “The targets are but a means to an end, which is to work towards our vision of Cape Town” being an opportunity city, caring, inclusive, safe and well-run.
Tony Ehrenreich, leader of the opposition in the city council and Cosatu provincial secretary, said the statistics ig-nored the living conditions of Cape Town’s poorest residents.
“The cleanliness levels in townships are still atrocious. Basic service provision and refuse refusal are inadequate in informal areas, along with safety and security as more deaths and injuries due to gang violence take place.” It appeared that informal areas had not been factored into the figures at all, he said. Neither, did the figures reflect the true nature of how the city was run.
“Infrastructure is the biggest spender in the budget, yet it is not measured – probably because the rollout has been below par in the past financial year.”
He also accused the city of using figures from random years, questioning whether they picked good years because the aggregate figures did not look great.
“For example, they have 2011 capital budget figures available, which show only around 57 percent spent. So they don’t use that. The other figures are a thumbsuck.”
The targets and achievements detailed by the city include:
* In shared economic growth and development, the city exceeded its target of creating between 10 600 to 15 400 jobs a year, directly and indirectly, and created an average 10 613 jobs a year. The city also exceeded its goal of raising R1.5 billion in direct investment in 2008, reaching R1.7bn. Cape Town Stadium was com-pleted by its 2009 deadline.
* In basic services, the city provided water to all residents and achieved a 100 percent sanitation level. The city also provided 92.18 percent of households with basic electricity, exceeding its target by 1.35 percent. It also removed 99 percent of solid waste.
* In the public transport sector, the city created 53km of dedicated transport, such as buses and taxi lanes, higher than the target of 35km. The reduction of commuter travel time from 45 to 35 minutes could not be measured.
* In integrated human settlements, the city failed to develop 9 900 new housing opportunities for 2009, achieving 8 950. It however exceeded by 3 percent its goal of having 90 percent of community facilities meet the required standards.
l In safety and security, the city reached its target of 100 percent compliance with city law enforcement and disaster plans.
* In health, social and community development, the city achieved its goal of removing 300 people from the street by 2009, reaching 1 045 people. It failed to reduce the infant mortality rate to its target of 19 per 1 000 live births, achieving a rate of 20.76. For 2009 specifically, it also failed to reduce TB to 877 cases per 100 000 people, achieving a target of 1 040. It also set up four substance abuse centres in 2009.
* In financial management, the city exceeded its goal of spending 95 percent of its capital budget, reaching 96 percent.
* The city also had problems hitting its targets in the area of the conservation of natural resources, although it wasn’t far behind its 27 percent target for reducing demand for water from sources considered unsafe, achieving 26.8 percent. The 78 percent target of recreational water meeting applicable standards was also not met, with a current success rate of 69.4 percent, while the 80 percent cleanliness target fell short by 10 percent.
l In terms of energy consumption, the city aimed for a 10 percent yearly reduction, but reached only 6.7 percent.
Weekend Argus