Western Cape tourism doesn’t need Parliament
Province must be congratulated for its progress in advancing NTSS project
THE STATE of the National address by President Jacob Zuma was delivered on February 9, instead of the new tradition of being on February 11, the date that Nelson Mandela was released from prison. As expected there was more drama than we had bargained for as the national ego was bruised by the spectacle of unfortunates.
What happens in Parliament remains a deep sense of embarrassment for the nation which was once a beacon of hope for Africa, now we are a big fat continental joke.
Besides the unfortunates of the day, our eyes must be firmly set on tourism and its developmental potential for the Western Cape.
The address is always tourism’s big business for Cape Town. Cape Town, which is the seat of the two houses of Parliament, remains the legislative capital of South Africa.
This was an arrangement during the apartheid era, which ensured that Pretoria remained the seat of government while Bloemfontein was the judicial capital, housing the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The adoption of the constitution, which prescribed that we become a constitutional democracy meant that a constitutional court became the apex court, which would be the arbitrator of disputes, in addition to becoming the official Rottweiler of the democratic project.
The Constitutional Court became the highest court while the Supreme Court of Appeal continued a steady stream of judicial tourists that sought to use the court in Bloemfontein.
During the Sona in 2016 the president set in motion the snowball national discourse on the moving of the Parliament to Pretoria away from Cape Town, to reduce costs.
The suggested cost for moving Parliament is reported to be R7 billion.
Ministers, because they must report on progress in Parliament, must have double residential dwellings, two cars, and support staff in Cape Town and in Pretoria.
Exclusively, all government departments have their headquarters in Pretoria, which means a parliament in Pretoria would mean fewer logistical challenges.
The fact that the majority of state owned enterprises (SOEs) have headquarters in Pretoria made the proposed move to Pretoria politically and economical prudent.
In addition, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality is not just the largest municipality in the world, it houses the second largest concentration of embassies and consulates after Washington DC. A contestation of ideologies ensued after Sona about the relocation of Parliament, then on August 3, 2016 everything changed.
Today Tshwane is governed by a coalition between the DA and the EFF, and the DA provided the mayor after the local government elections.
Today both the cities that house the seat of government (Pretoria) and the seat of the legislature (Cape Town) are governed by the DA, which is the official opposition.
I am of the view that Cape Town would not be in much disagreement about the relocation of Parliament based on the shifting reality of politics. The loss of Parliament would be easily mitigated by tourism as Cape Town is practically a tourism city.
The economic value chain of the Western Cape has benefited immensely from tourism, ranging from the wine routes around Stellenbosch, to the film studios outside Cape Town that have recreated South Africa’s own Hollywood.
The Western Cape is also a beneficiary of skilled inward migration, from entrepreneurs to cash rich retirees who are snapping up properties in rural towns around Cape Town, transforming their economies. I call this the Great Trek boomerang. The Western Cape defined its future by initiating the Cape Town Air Access Initiative that has ensured that Cape Town International Airport welcomed its 10 millionth passenger in a calendar year.
The result was that there were 100 000 additional jobs created around Cape Town, and the indirect impact may be greater.
Additional direct flights have been added to Cape Town, and this has continued to ensure that the Western Cape creates jobs, while the country has a stubborn 27% unemployment rate.
South Africa, as a long haul destination, remains challenged by air access which limits the developmental ability and potential of tourism.
The lives of the majority of our citizens remain closely friendly to poverty, unemployment and inequality, a reality that remains an “unfreedom”. Capetonians have openly embraced AirBnB, reflecting in the largest number of AirBnB listing on the African continent which has increased tourism arrivals and expenditure in the Western Cape. Tourism remains the “new gold’’ that is the engine of growth in our limping economy.
The Western Cape must be congratulated for its progress in advancing the tourism project to achieve the National Tourism Sector Strategy’s objective of being in the Top 20 destinations by the year 2020.
I AM OF THE VIEW THAT CAPE TOWN WOULD NOT BE IN MUCH DISAGREEMENT ABOUT THE RELOCATION OF PARLIAMENT CAPETONIANS HAVE EMBRACED AIRBNB AND TOURISM REMAINS THE ‘NEW GOLD’ THAT IS THE ENGINE OF GROWTH IN OUR ECONOMY