President Cyril Ramaphosa claims the City of Cape Town has been the worst-performing metropolitan municipality in terms of basic services delivery for impoverished residents.
He said, despite the city of Cape Town performing well on measures of financial governance, it has not demonstrated significant progress in reducing inequality levels.
Ramaphosa made the comments while responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces.
RAMAPHOSA SAYS CAPE TOWN PERFORMS WORSE
He highlighted that many townships and informal settlements remain worlds apart from the city’s economic hubs and service centres.
“Census data shows that in the decade between 2011 and 2022, Cape Town performed worse than the average of all metros in expanding access to services such as refuse removal, piped water, electricity, and flush toilets to its citizens or residents,” the president said.
Ramaphosa added that an analysis of the city’s budget indicates that per capita investment in infrastructure and service delivery is significantly lower in townships and informal settlements compared to the city’s more affluent areas.
However, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which governs the Western Cape, recently claimed that the City of Cape Town has the lowest unemployment rate of any metro in South Africa, saying about 76% of the labour force is employed.
‘DA GOVERNS BETTER’
Ramaphosa’s comments come after earlier remarks made in his capacity as president of the African National Congress (ANC), when he acknowledged that municipalities governed by the DA often perform better. At the time, Ramaphosa urged ANC councillors to learn from the opposition party’s governance model.
Those remarks sparked widespread criticism from citizens and political figures. Recently, leader of the newly formed Afrika Mayibuye party, Floyd Shivambu, condemned Ramaphosa’s earlier statements, saying that townships in the Western Cape continue to suffer from poverty and deteriorating infrastructure.
