The following speech was delivered by City of Cape Town Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, at the opening of the Khayelitsha Training Centre today as part of the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme.
It is always a pleasure coming to Khayelitsha and interacting with residents here. It is also great to be visiting for a joyous occasion such as this one where we see the fruits of our partnerships with communities to further develop our city.
It is a day for all of us to celebrate this project.
When we launched the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme (MURP) five years ago, we wanted to ensure that communities like Khayelitsha, who had little to no development under apartheid, are prioritised and benefit from Cape Town’s economy.
It was also our goal – as intended by the City’s Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP) – to improve safety, quality of life, and to address the socio-economic situation of the many communities benefiting from the programme.
MURP, aimed at introducing a sustainable system of operations and maintenance of public infrastructure and facilities, is rolled out here in Khayelitsha, and in Manenberg, Hanover Park, Gugulethu and Ocean View among other areas.
As a caring city, we are aware of the need to invest more in areas such as Khayelitsha to enhance economic growth and in turn uplift communities which were starved of these opportunities.
We also want to enhance service delivery and ensure that our residents get the best out of this administration as outlined in the ODTP principles.
That is exactly what the City is doing here at the Khayelitsha Training Centre, which we have spent R14 million building.
We are consolidating our services – including City Health, Traffic Services, Social Development, Water and Sanitation and the three subcouncils – all under one roof.
MURP has also made available space for an Adult Education and Training programme because we understand the value of education and empowering residents of all ages.
This building is also widely utilised by non-governmental organisations here in Khayelitsha, the South African Police Service, the South African Social Service Agency, and Community Development Workers who are also catering for this community.
This is a one-stop-shop for Khayelitsha residents to access not only City amenities, but also services provided by other organisations.
The training centre has already made a positive impact in terms of access to service delivery to residents – some of whom previously had to travel long distances for assistance.
The community is now receiving services closer to their residential areas as this project is providing assistance to residents in 12 wards in Khayelitsha.
The new building here at the training centre forms part of our broader investment in Khayelitsha. For example, just down the road from here in Harare, there are 17 capital projects to the value of about R100 million that have been implemented to date.
There we are also investing in infrastructure and facilities – projects that are driven by the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrades programme and the City’s partners – also part of the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme.
All of these projects are based on community involvement and in this regard the Community Action Plan in Harare had identified the main pedestrian route between the Khayelitsha Train Station and Monwabisi Park informal settlement as a strategic investment zone.
We have gone into a number of partnerships with some organisations within this zone where they deliver services to the community free of charge.
Because we want to build an inclusive city where communities are integrated, we have the Harare and Kuyasa interchange precinct where we’re linking these two neighbourhoods with several projects.
As part of our priority investment in the Kuyasa area, we focused on the upgrade of several facilities including the Solomon Mahlangu Hall, the Library in Kuyasa, the realignment of Walter Sisulu Drive and of course the integration of the MyCiTi bus service which has been really successful.
All of these projects here in Khayelitsha are aimed ensuring that residents are safe when walking in their neighbourhoods, that there is reliable public transport, and that we address socio-economic challenges.
In closing, I would like to implore you as the people of Khayelitsha to take ownership of these projects, take care of them, and hold the officials responsible accountable if they don’t help you.
As the City of Cape Town, we will continue to invest in inclusive public spaces and facilities to address the imbalances of the past.
Thank you, baie dankie, enkosi, shukran. God bless.