After recent flooding in the province, concerns have been raised about whether the growing population is placing stress on critical infrastructure.
The Western Cape is estimated to be the third-most populated province, with 11.9% of the national population.
It is a well-known fact that population growth meant more consumption and increased residential and commercial development.
In May, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis proposed a budget of R10.9 billion to address and improve its response to these issues.
Hill-Lewis also promised to ramp up infrastructure investment over the next three years, finally reaching R18bn.
“Looking even further down the road, over the next ten years, we will spend R120bn on infrastructure projects, the bulk of which will go towards upgrading and expanding water and sanitation infrastructure across the Metro.”
City’s Deputy Mayor and mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Eddie Andrews, said it is a well-known fact that areas such as Du Noon, Khayelitsha, Parklands, Eerste Rivier, and Kraaifontein are some of the fastest growing population areas in the city.
He explained: “Migration to Cape Town is spurred by those moving here in search of jobs and better service delivery. There is a mixture of the types of migration.”
According to Andrews, this trend was exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown, as well as the implementation of the national emergency regulations that prevented authorities from acting to prevent the unlawful occupation of land.
“This led to a significant increase in the illegal occupation of land.”
Andrews stated the unprecedented large-scale unlawful occupations created 186 new informal settlements, or more than 69 000 new structures (between March 2020 and December 2021).
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said they recently completed a 15-year water and drought plan for the province.
The report provides an overview of the probable economic and population trajectories per settlement in the province.
The report has a 15-year outlook (2020/21 – 2034/35), and based on expected economic and population growth, the bulk of new water demand will come from a handful of larger settlements. Notably these fall largely within the greater Cape Metro City-region and surrounding Cape Winelands and West Coast N7 corridors and with growth pressures in the Southern Cape in and around George and Plett showing.
“Note that under business as usual (status quo) and based on the growth scenarios, the annual growth in new water demand can be as much as 4.5% (e.g., in Stellenbosch), and around 4% for Drakenstein and Swartland, etc.”
Bredell said it remains crucial that local authorities, such as the CIty, take note of population and economic projections and then plan and budget accordingly.
“Bulk infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water systems are, by their nature, expensive, and if you fall behind, it is very difficult to catch up with demand again.”
Weekend Argus