The marketing portrayals of Cape Town are an injustice to the poor people of Cape Town and the Western Cape.
With almost 6 million people living in the Western Cape and 4.7 million living in the Cape Town municipality, one would think Cape Town was majority white, affluent, crime-free and filled with happy people. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The City of Cape Town’s 4.7 million residents are 49% coloured, 33% African black, 18% white and 1.4% Indian. The majority of its coloured and black residents live in poverty.
The poverty rates of coloured and black people are in excess of 50% while less than 1% of white people live in poverty. This fact should be the urban, spatial and economic design starting point for any planning process.
Our municipalities are aware of the fact that they should be planning for a Cape Town of 7 million people over the next eight to 10 years. Of that 7 million people, six million will be coloured and African black from South Africa and a further 500 000 African continental migrants and refugees. A further half a million white people could also be moving to Cape Town from other provinces.
The attraction of Cape Town is the success the municipal and provincial governments have had in maintaining, under severe pressure, their bulk and service infrastructure.
The negative side-effect in capitalist societies such as ours is that with economic growth comes increased poverty. With coloured and black people being the traditional depositary of exploitative economic growth and poverty, then an even bleaker future awaits Cape Town’s black and coloured people.
We have learnt from Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down economics that it is the biggest jar of snake oil sold by governments and big business.
Economists are punting owning property in Cape Town as a key asset to have in your portfolio. Over the next while, the demand for investment properties and residential properties is going to skyrocket. We will also see increased relocation of company head offices to locations around the Western Cape.
With Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announcing a R120 billion infrastructure spend over the next 10 years, this will no doubt rely heavily on semi-skilled labour, which will spur migration to Cape Town.
A well-considered plan must be tabled that will address reducing poverty and inequality among the black, coloured and Asian citizens of Cape Town.
With the failure of the ANC government to meaningfully lift people out of poverty, the City should revisit the six principles of the RDP and the 14 priority outcomes of the NDP and provide the citizens of Cape Town with a comprehensive plan that will not just focus on reducing their poverty, but allow them to grow wealth within a participatory, carbon-neutral economy.
Universities and government can help by starting Rapid Schools, where unskilled and semi-skilled people can go to school for two hours twice a week while at work, to improve their education and therefore their economic opportunities.
We need to fast-track the education of those 25 years and older. They are the wealth creators of the future. Taxi drivers, spaza shop owners, construction industry labourers and factory workers all need to be part of a Rapid School Programme.
Cape Town’s residents should not be subjected to centuries of continued poverty in a city that markets itself as one of the top 10 must-visit destinations in the world.
* Lorenzo Davids.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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