Lisa Isaacs
RACISM dominated the discussion at a City of Cape Town council sitting yesterday, with opposition parties criticising the city’s launch of their Inclusive City anti-racism campaign.
“We in Cape Town want to promote reconciliation and fight racism while also instilling in people a sense of the rights that they have access to in the democratic dispensation,” mayor Patricia de Lille said.
But the PAC’s Anwar Adams said: “It is disappointing that you didn’t include on that podium (where the campaign was launched) leaders in this council.”
He said while open discourse meant facing the past, instead there were people within the DA “pretending” to fight racism.
The ANC’s Tony Ehrenreich said the city should allocate funds to people affected by racism to access legal means to take action. He poked fun at the blue background of an Inclusive City campaign banner.
“That banner points out to us who the racists are, because… it’s the blue party who is racist, and we see that in the council. Black members of the DA get second-class positions. Can you see how quiet your white masters are because they know how they treat you,” he said, addressing DA councillors. “We are the leading city in racism.”
The legality of the last council meeting also came into question as opposition parties challenged the accuracy of minutes taken and the fact that no media or members of the public were allowed to attend, when the meeting moved to another venue after the sitting descended into chaos.
Speaker Dirk Smit said according to his advisers, the meeting was legal.
Meanwhile, De Lille said the city’s proposed budget would see 67 percent of its spending targeted towards the poor in the city.
Key priorities include public transport for the further roll-out of the MyCiti bus service, safety and security, project management and supply management resources, and fixing budget shortfalls.
Utility services take up the biggest slice of the proposed pie with an allocation for the 2015/2016 financial year with R2.9 billion. Transport will receive R1.3 bn.
The city proposed the following increases: rates by 10.83 percent, electricity by 10.82 percent and water by 11 percent.
De Lille said Eskom last week applied for a 9.58 percent tariff increase, in addition to the announced 12.69 percent for the 2015/16 financial year, throwing a spanner into the already planned budget.
“If Eskom’s application is approved, this will result in a staggering 22.27 percent increase in bulk electricity tariffs in just one financial year, which the city will have no option but to pass on to our own customers,” she said.
Cape Town yesterday became the first municipality to adopt a municipal planning by-law.
“The city is… implementing a single planning system with equal application across the entire metro. The by-law allows the city to consider all planning applications within a locally suited context,” Mayco member for energy, environmental and spatial planning Johan van der Merwe said.