City provides ‘countless services’ for poor

THE LETTER by Councillor Tony Ehrenreich (‘Squandering city’s budget at expense of the poor’, Cape Argus, July 9) refers.

He incorrectly states that the city has only allocated R22 million on our backyard dweller project. He has cherry-picked data and, as is his usual pattern, ignored the full allocation given in the 2015/16 budget.

In fact, the city’s budget indicates that on electrifying backyarder homes alone, R206m has been allocated over the next three financial years. The executive mayor also highlighted in her budget speech that we have allocated almost R80m on informal settlement upgrades and the backyarder programme roll out in the next financial year alone. An additional R40m will be spent on water supply systems, which will be fitted to the existing infrastructure.

After a successful pilot study, we have taken the decision to roll out services to those backyarders on council owned property in 14 more areas, which include Bonteheuwel, Scottsdene, Gugulethu, Atlantis, Manenberg and Lavender Hill. Currently, the Municipal Finance Act precludes us from providing this service on privately owned land, which restricts our ability to provide this service to all backyard dwellers.

The mayor also reported on the R30.8m which will be spent on street lighting with emphasis on poorer areas, the completion of the Cape Flats bulk sewer with a budget of R84.5m and the R173m that we have committed to janitorial services in informal settlements. We have also budgeted a further R39.2m for the Langa Hostels Community Residential Unit Project, R38m for the Fisantekraal Garden Cities Phase 2 project and R29.5m for the Valhalla Park Integrated Housing Project. These are but a fraction of the interventions that we are making to ensure that the poor can be uplifted.

It is strange that councillor Ehrenreich attacks the city for the roll out of the backyarder project when we are the only city in South Africa to undertake such an initiative. He also misses the real point when he says that Cape Town “has always been better resourced than other municipalities in South Africa”. No, Tony. Other cities, such as Joburg, have as much, and often better, access to resources as Cape Town. We manage our money better to enable us to provide good services to all citizens, in a fair and cost-effective manner.