On 30 May, City of Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille delivered her final 2017/18 budget speech to council where she mentioned some amendments made from the draft budget. These “amendments” were in relation to budget allocations to informal settlements and backyard dwellers. The Mayor lied.
Specifically, Mayor De Lille’s comments on supposed amendments to the draft budget regarding informal settlements can be shown to be untrue.
In her final budget speech, the Mayor highlighted “some of the key amendments to the draft budget in terms of the budget for informal settlements which also puts the area-based service delivery model into practice”. The Mayor then elaborates on these key “amendments” as outlined below.
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R10 million allocated to Enkanini, Khayelitsha “for an in situ site and service project”
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R35 million allocated to Sweet Homes Farm, Philippi for “an Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme”
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R33 million allocated to an informal settlement upgrade in Agste Laan, Valhalla Park
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R27 million for city-wide water and sanitation projects in informal settlements
We challenge these statements as “key amendments”, as there is no evidence that any amendments have been made from the draft budget the Mayor presented in March. The above allocations, which the Mayor highlights as “key amendments” are in fact exactly the same in the draft budget. Any amendment from a draft budget to the final budget should indicate a change. No changes have been made in this case.
The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) was present in council during the draft budget speech in March and the final budget speech in May. Both times we were removed by security, quite forcefully the second time, as we peacefully protested the City of Cape Town’s (CoCT) anti-poor budget.
Mayor De Lille and the CoCT refer to this budget as “pro-poor”; it is anything but. The struggle for fair, just and equal resource allocation and the fight against spatial injustice will not be deterred by the lies of those we elect for public office.
The Mayor’s attempts to dupe the public into thinking that the CoCT listens to the needs of communities and puts the interests of poor citizens first is despicable.
[ENDS]
For comment:
Axolile Notywala – 074 386 1584