In March, the City of Cape Town made its normal noises about its Annual Winter Readiness Programme focussing on the clearing of the stormwater systems, particularly in flood prone areas. What's different, this year, is that the Winter Readiness Programme doesn't appear to actually exist. In the past, the programme has included the cleaning of gullies, catchpits, pipes and ponds - and, critically, clearing stormwater drains.

“GOOD is very concerned about the further ratings downgrades announced by Moody’s” says GOOD’s National Policy Officer, Mark Rountree. “The latest downgrades mean that, of South Africa’s 8 large metro municipalities, half of these – Cape Town, Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay – have been downgraded by Moody’s Rating Agency during the last month.” The recent downgrades have also affected two smaller municipalities: Ekurhuleni in Gauteng and uMhlathuze in KZN.

We accept the recommendations of the former Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke that the local government elections, scheduled for October 2021, should be postponed to no later than the end of February 2022. GOOD’s submission to the judge was that the elections should go ahead in October 2021 based on the prescriptive provisions of the Constitution and before we became aware of the deadly Delta variant of the Coronavirus and the impact of the third wave.

This morning Cape Town commuters woke to the news that minibus taxis would not operate because a weekend meeting between rival taxi organisations Codeta and Cata failed to resolve their differences. The failures of the taxi associations are compounded by a failure of leadership in Cape Town and the Western Cape province. With a train service in disrepair, MyCiti bus routes being cancelled and strife in the taxi industry, hard-pressed commuters are running out of options. Commuters queue up from 4am each weekday to try to get to work in one piece and on time.

Data from a report prepared by the City of Cape Town’s Transport Department shows that the City’s road network is in critical condition and at risk of “further deterioration”. The report shows that before the last few weeks of heavy rainfall, there was already a backlog of 35 000 potholes in need of repair across the city. That’s a 40-fold increase on the 900 threshold maintenance number set just four years ago – and following recent rains the situation will now be even worse.

On Saturday I responded to a call for help from members of the community in Langa, Cape Town, who have been living with accumulating daily sewerage spills literally on their doorsteps. Residents of the Zones and Church Square in Langa have been logging complaints with the City since May 2021. According to residents, when the City sends officials out, they take photographs and never return. The same process has repeated itself over and over again for months.

We commemorate Mandela Day this year with tears in our eyes. With unprecedented levels of unemployment and poverty. With a former President in prison for defying the courts. And with the embers of a wave of violence, looting and destruction still glowing. The reason that the United Nations acknowledged former President Nelson Mandela by designating his birthday – 18 July – International Mandela Day is because he is globally revered as an icon of service, justice and human excellence. His example should lead us now.

The GOOD Party enthusiastically welcomes news that SABC’s Rocklands Villas property in Sea Point will not be auctioned off to the highest bidder but used, instead, for affordable housing. The decision by the Housing Development Agency to purchase the building for public and affordable housing, stopping its imminent auction, is a major break-through for inner-city affordable housing. It is among the founding principles of the GOOD Party that public land must be used for public good.

Statement by Brett Herron GOOD Secretary General 14 July 2021 STATE MUST USE CRIMINAL MATTERS AMENDMENT ACT AGAINST SABOTEURS OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMY According to Minister of Police Bheki Cele,…

STATEMENT BY BRETT HERRON, GOOD SECRETARY-GENERAL 14 July 2021 CONTINUED ACTS OF VIOLENCE IS SABOTAGE OF BASIC SERVICES, ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE & OUR ECONOMY NPA MUST CONSIDER THE 2015 CRIMINAL MATTERS…