There is a moral and regulatory obligation on me to be the mayor for all, and I will honour that obligation.
But I should be honest and say that drug lords should not look to me to be a friendly mayor for them. Neither should the idle super-rich, black and white, who try to stop our integration as a nation, by keeping poor black people out of their areas, because they see them as undermining property prices.
These are the type of people who want to perpetuate the apartheid value system. They want to advance their dreams at the cost of the dreams of others, just like apartheid advanced the dreams of white people at the cost of the dreams of black people. When I am mayor the original sin of South Africa, started in Cape Town [apartheid] and its consequences will be consciously undone, as a precondition for uniting in our diversity.
There is an urgent need for a new direction in Cape Town as it is the most unequal city in the country and the city with the reputation of being the most unfriendly to non-White citizens. This new direction will be in the interests of all CapeTONYans, as our interests are inter-related and best served when served together.
The previous DA administration has been biased to the rich old white areas, and this is shown by the fact that security cameras are installed in those areas first. The comprehensive bicycle and dedicated bus routes are also built in these areas first, when there is a more urgent need for improved public transport for workers who travel on dangerously overcrowded trains every day. While the DA panders to the areas that may be the rates base, it underestimates the sense of goodwill among most people in those areas to do the right thing. To show some patience to their legitimate but less urgent needs. To contribute to the notion of building a Cape Town that accommodates all and reinforces the notion that our interests are tied together and reinforced by solidarity and ubuntu.
The middle class has an important role in rebuilding this city. It is the entrepreneurial base of the economy. It contributes to the charities that fill the growing social void, and play a huge role in curing social injury in our communities. I would do all I can to encourage and enhance this group’s contribution to the city and would want to partner with them to realise a new vision and new direction for the city. There are some in the middle class who are convinced they can realise their dreams at the cost of the dreams of others. If I do not win their vote I hope they will work with me after May 18.
My priority will be to working families, as they have been most neglected by the previous administration, and bear the real brunt of apartheid. They have the greatest need for jobs, housing, basic services, and the restoration of their social fabric. I will build a partnership with them to help them be the drivers of transformation in their communities. I will never use the police against people protesting legitimate ambitions in disciplined ways, but I would use the police and army against drug dealers and gangsters who undermine our communities’ desire to rebuild their social fabric. There will be support for people caught up in drugs and gangsterism, so they can find a sense of belonging in communities, and break the cycles of poverty and crime.
No government can overcome all the immense challenges on its own, so I won’t only ask people to vote for me, but to partner with me on a journey that won’t be easy, but will be the most rewarding.
I will not so much lead as serve, which is why I will not take the million-rand mayoral salary. Service is its own reward, as it reconnects us as a community and reinstates the values in the Freedom Charter. This partnership will extend to other levels of government, as it is in co-operation that we best serve the needs of our people. We need to synchronise our efforts with the efforts of the government nationally and internationally, so that we benefit from the New Growth Path. This does not mean we will not criticise national or provincial government if there are fundamental differences. But it will not be the toxic cynicism of the previous administration, which is designed to undermine confidence in other levels of government for short-term party political gains.
Our priorities will be to build vibrant integrated communities, grow the economy, deliver improved health care and equalised education between Constantia, Gugulethu and Elsies River. The new administration will be hostile to any form of corruption and will re-examine the escalations in the World Cup stadiums, as some parties have used this to get kick-backs from business. The public transport system will be reprioritised so we buy trains before new planes and MyCiTi buses, and have a system that links different communities. I will close the apartheid wage gap so that public servants feel valued, and stop consultants from getting the bulk of the wage bill. Housing and basic service delivery will be fast-tracked, as will regulation for backyarders that gives them services, rights and dignity, while the housing build programme unfolds. - Cape Argus
* Tony Ehrenreich is the ANC’s mayoral candidate.