This morning we opened the new science laboratory at Fairmount High School in Grassy Park, in partnership with Advancing Knowledge NPC and the Archway Foundation.
The Science Laboratory Refurbishment Programme refurbishes physical science laboratories, and supplies science equipment and chemicals for the lab, and training for teachers. Teachers from the surrounding schools are also included in the training, to expand the impact of the project beyond the recipient schools.
Investing in the development of the labs and our teachers will empower our learners with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the sciences, and to take advantage of the career opportunities in scientific fields.
A further 8 schools have received new labs through the partnership this year:
Diazville Primary School – Saldanha
Diazville Secondary School – Saldanha
Erica Primary School – Belhar
Hermeslaan Primary School – Atlantis
Kraaifontein Secondary School – Kraaifontein
Louwville Secondary School – Vredenburg
Schoonspruit Secondary School – Malmesbury
Trafalgar High School – Zonnebloem
Our Department has contributed 40% of the cost, while our two project partners have contributed 30% each. A total of R14 175 000 has been collectively contributed to the project this year.
This is a long-standing partnership that has been making a real difference in our schools by assisting 103 schools with science labs since 2011, and we appreciate the work that Advancing Knowledge NPC and the Archway Foundation are doing to support our schools.
This partnership demonstrates just what can be achieved when we work together and pull in the same direction. As a department, we are looking forward to expanding our relationships with our non-profit partners and the private sector, and to developing new partnerships to tackle the challenges we face in the Western Cape.
I thank our partners and officials for their contribution to the project and wish our learners many happy hours of scientific study in their new labs!
Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by David van Vuuren MPL.
In a span of less than a single financial year, the recently elected Democratic Alliance (DA) led government in Fezile Dabi District Municipality has achieved significant improvements in its audit outcomes. The DA-led council has effectively demonstrated that the once seemingly unattainable goal of implementing robust financial management is, in fact, feasible.
This council has accomplished the following milestones:
Successfully cleared unauthorized expenditure from R 9,899,855 in the 2021/22 financial year to Zero Rand in 2022/23, marking a remarkable 100% improvement.
Drastically decreased irregular expenses from R 14,298,487 in 2021/22 to R 4,344,691 in 2022/23, reflecting a commendable 69.61% improvement.
Significantly slashed fruitless and wasteful expenses from R 4,031,882 in 2021/22 to R 14,712 in 2022/23, showcasing an impressive 99.64% improvement.
Successfully reduced deviations from R 6,888,512 in 2021/22 to R 2,409,418 in 2022/23, registering a substantial 65.02% improvement.
Although these improvements are not yet at an optimal level, they underscore the potential of efficient and targeted financial management in the short term. By appointing a Municipal Manager who comprehends the significance of sound financial management and remains committed to holding officials under their jurisdiction accountable for audit outcomes, the DA-led council has achieved noteworthy progress. Additionally, 28 irregularly appointed and underperforming officials have been suspended.
DA Speaker, Sidney Pittaway, ensures a consistent and effective functioning of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee, Chaired by Cllr April Motaung, ensuring that the executive committee and officials are held answerable for the applied management practices. This committee plays a pivotal role in enhancing accountability and transparency in the municipality.
The DA-led government’s ultimate aim is to streamline the current high salary expenditure, which accounts for 73% of the operational budget, to 60% in the next adjustment budget in December, and further reduce it to 50% by the end of the financial year.
This significant leap in improvement serves as a testament to the DA’s ability to make swift and substantial changes given the opportunity. Such transformations can be replicated in numerous small towns if voters exercise their democratic right to reject corruption and inefficiency, and instead opt for accountability, competence, and sound financial governance.
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Tygerberg Hospital and Project Flamingo catch-up surgery provides hope to 14 women living with breast cancer
n a joint effort to close the breast cancer care gap, Project Flamingo and the dedicated medical and nursing team at Tygerberg Hospital volunteered their time this weekend to perform life-changing surgeries on 14 women living with breast cancer. This was the second weekend of catch-up surgery following seven patients who had their surgeries at the hospital on Saturday, 8 July 2023.
The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, along with our partners, are working hard to reduce critical waiting periods for these life-saving surgeries. While our province’s surgical and oncology units do their best to help women affected by breast cancer, the reality is that the demand for these services outstrip our available resources. Initiatives such as Project Flamingo help take immense pressure off our public health system at various hospitals.
Since 2016, a total of 188 surgeries have been performed at the hospital through Project Flamingo. In 2022, Tygerberg Hospital treated 3 288 follow-up breast patients of which 75% were breast cancer patients and 1 301 new breast cancer cases. This is a significant increase from 450 new breast cancer patients that was seen in 2018.
“Patients face an uphill battle already and we stand ready to support them with action and compassion,” says Dr Liana Roodt, the founder and hands-on surgeon at Project Flamingo.
Tygerberg Hospital Surgeon, Dr Ilna Conradie says the challenges within our health system are numerous and often difficult to overcome. “I can, however, change one patient’s experience of health care, and I can make a difference in one person’s life. This is what motivates me to work here and to drive this project at our hospital.”
For several women who benefitted from this weekend’s surgeries, they deeply appreciate the access to timely treatment and heartfelt support offered to them.
What our patients say:
Elaine Bergman (65), from Blackheath, benefitted from last month’s surgery and had her left breast removed. She discovered a lump in her left breast in 2022 and had since undergone various tests. She had her very first operation on 2 May 2023 to remove the tumour. “The care I received from the staff was so amazing. Before I went to theatre, the staff came to talk to me and by the time I had to go in, I wasn’t afraid anymore because I knew, I was in good hands. I feel great after the operation and my scar is healing very nicely. Thank you, Tygerberg Hospital, Project Flamingo, staff and sponsors,” says Mrs Bergman.
Vanessa Stephanus (61) from Uitsig, who’s married with two children and two grandchildren has a family history of breast cancer. In April 2023, her tumour was removed and sent for further tests. “I was at work when the doctor called me with the results. I want people to look differently at cancer and not stigmatize it as a death sentence. Always remain positive and focus on your recovery and not people’s opinions. It’s not the end of the world but a new journey,” says Mrs Stephanus.
Charlene Fredericks (49) from Ravensmead is a medical receptionist and a proud mom of one daughter and two grandchildren. She started her chemotherapy at the end of January. ”Don’t take your health for granted, especially us as women. Take care of yourself by going for your regular checkups. Trust your instincts even if you must go for a second opinion. We have so much to live for. We are survivors!”
Susanna Gianiotis (48), a chef from Ruyterwacht, discovered a lump in her breast end of February and 1 June 2023 she received her results. “At first, I was overwhelmed. Now my objective is to encourage others and share my journey as this will not beat me. I see it as a life changing experience.”
More about Project Flamingo
Project Flamingo is a South African Breast Cancer NGO, with equitable cancer care for all at the heart of its operations. Their catch-up surgery programme is active across five public hospitals in the Western and Eastern Cape, and procedures are done on Saturdays when theatre spaces are not in use. Thanks to their generous donor funding, theatre nursing staff, and operational costs are covered, and surgeons and anaesthetists offer their time pro bono to ensure patients are operated on timeously. The relevant hospital still covers the theatre time and some of the medical supplies. Depending on the nature of the procedure, between four and nine patients are accommodated on a single list. To ensure a fair selection process, patients are selected for surgery on a needs basis and project lists are scheduled at least 12 months in advance.
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Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was on-site today as the City broke ground on the next portion of the major R470m Milnerton Bulk Sewer upgrade, with construction of an entirely new pipeline set for completion by 2025. Read more below:
This complex project entails the construction of a new bulk sewer in Montague Gardens using innovative micro-tunnelling technology. The City will also extend and connect the Edgemead and Century City Bulk Sewers into the new infrastructure.
Once the nearly 4km of new bulk sewer is built by early 2025, the City will divert sewage along this new line while it rehabilitates the existing Bulk Sewer in Montague Drive, Montague Gardens.
Given that the existing pipeline is under the busy Montague Drive roadway, pipe rehabilitation will make use of trenchless technology. A robotic crawler will first profile pipes to determine the best method of repair, and all work will occur underground with minimal surface level disruption to residents and traffic.
‘It was a joy to break ground on yet another major upgrade project of this administration. The existing Bulk Sewer under Montague Drive is operating at full capacity, with an upgrade needed to accommodate future growth in this part of the city. That is why we are constructing an entirely new bulk sewer, which will operate alongside the rehabilitated existing pipeline.
‘The new pipeline will be complete in 2025, the same year as the conclusion of our major Cape Flats Bulk Sewer rehabilitation – the largest in SA. In this way, we are future-proofing our city, so that Cape Town can be an even better place to live as the metro continues to grow.
‘When we talk of our long-term vision of building a city of hope for all, it really comes down to projects like this, which bring about better living conditions for residents,’ said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Over the next three years, the City will invest a massive R1,4bn in major bulk sewer upgrades to the Cape Flats, Philippi, Milnerton, and Gordon’s Bay lines.
Cape Town is ramping up infrastructure investment, with a 223% increase in its Water and Sanitation infrastructure budget over three years, from R2,3 billion in 2022/23 to R7,8 billion in 2025/26.
Besides bulk sewer upgrades, other highlights include:
R8,6 billion capital expenditure on WWTW upgrades over three years
R1,3 billion for sewer spill responsiveness including the proactive jet-cleaning of 200km of sewers annually
Quadrupling pipe replacement from 25km in 2021/22 to 100km annually, worth R850 million total over three years.
‘Aside from improving basic services, and personal and community dignity, the scale of Cape Town’s R43bn three-year infrastructure pipeline – bigger than Joburg and Durban combined – will create an estimated 135 000 jobs in the city over three years,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Infrastructure upgrades set to combat Lagoon pollution
Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, said the Milnerton bulk sewer upgrade includes the installation of a sandtrap and screening facility at Koeberg Road Pump station. This is set to improve performance and reduce breakdowns caused by foreign objects entering the pump station.
A new 300m long bulk outfall sewer of 1 350mm diameter will also be constructed at the Koeberg Road Pump Station to accommodate the combined flow of the existing and new Montague Gardens Bulk Sewers.
‘Improving the Koeberg Road Pump Station’s operations will reduce the number of sewer spills into the Diep River and relieve environmental pressure.
‘The City’s goal is to steadily restore the environmental health of the Milnerton Lagoon through a combination of infrastructure upgrades and dredging of the waterbody to remove pollution build-up in sediment.
‘Besides the Milnerton Bulk Sewer Upgrade, other major infrastructure projects in the area include the R5.2bn upgrade to double capacity at Potsdam Wastewater Works – the Western Cape’s second largest infrastructure project – as well as the R118m Koeberg Pump Station Upgrade,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
Cape Town quadrupling sewer pipe replacement
Across the metro, the City exceeded its target of doubling sewer pipe replacement from 25km to 50km for the 22/23 financial year ending June 2023, replacing 55km of pipeline.
The annual pipe replacement target will now be doubled yet again to 100km per year from 2023/24, for a total investment of R850m over the next three years.
Pipe replacement is part of a strategy to bring down sewer spills over time, including major bulk sewer upgrades, proactive cleaning of sewer lines, resourcing of sewer spill response teams, and digital telemetry systems for early warnings on sewer spills.
These interventions have led to a 30% downward trend in reported spills in Cape Town over the last two years based on preliminary data. The City is now rolling out a Reactive Incident Management System (RIMA) to track progress even more closely by digitising the coordination of sewer spill responsiveness.
Sewer pipe replacement projects making up the 50km target for the 2022/23 financial year (ending 30 June):
14 projects currently in execution – Dennedal, Sweet Valley, Nova Constantia, 2x Strand, Scottsdene, Maitland, Uitsig, Epping, Bellville: Boston, Bellville: De La Hey, Bellville: Welgemoed, Durbanville, Gugulethu.
Planned projects to meet the enormous target of 100km of sewer pipe replacement for 2023/24 (starting 1 July):
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Wednesday visited the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works to mark the start of construction on this major R5.2bn upgrade, the Western Cape’s second largest infrastructure project. The City aims to finalise the upgrade in 2027, with the operational trial starting in 2026. The City’s goal to steadily restore the environmental health of the Milnerton Lagoon through a combination of infrastructure upgrades and dredging of the waterbody to remove pollution build-up in sediment. Read more below.
The upgrade is set to double the plant’s capacity to handle the needs of a growing city, from 47 to 100 million litres of treated wastewater per day. Cutting-edge membrane technology will be progressively added to ensure high wastewater treatment standards.
Other major sewerage infrastructure upgrades underway in the vicinity include the R430m Montague Gardens Bulk Sewer Rehabilitation, R118m Koeberg Pump Station Upgrade, and long-term pump station and pipe replacement programmes.
‘The R5.2bn Potsdam upgrade is a critical part of our plan to restore the environmental health of Milnerton Lagoon, which is a non-negotiable for the City. The aim is to steadily close off pollution sources to the lagoon over time, building up to the ultimate goal of dredging the water body to remove the sediment containing the decades-long build-up of pollution.
‘The installation of cutting-edge wastewater treatment tech at Potsdam will be dovetailed with the completion of dredging at the lagoon, in around two years.
‘This is a Priority Programme of this administration, and we are closely tracking the multi-billion rand upgrades to Potsdam and the surrounding sewer network to ensure these are completed timeously,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
Cape Town is massively ramping up infrastructure investment, with a 223% increase in its Water and Sanitation infrastructure budget over three years, from R2,3 billion in 2022/23 to R7,8 billion in 2025/26. Highlights include:
R8,6 billion capital expenditure on WWTW upgrades over three years
R1,3 billion for sewer spill responsiveness including the proactive jet-cleaning of 200km of sewers annually
R1,4 billion in bulk sewer upgrades to the Cape Flats, Milnerton, Philippi and Gordon’s Bay lines.
Quadrupling pipe replacement from 25km in 2021/22 to 100km annually, worth R850 million total over three years.
Short-term actions to combat pollution
Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, said the City is taking a range of short term actions to combat pollution in the Diep River catchment.
‘We have just installed over 20 litter nets all along the Diep River, and expanded our waste interception to the Black and Salt Rivers as well as the Jakkalsvlei canal. We are also investigating and correcting cross connections created by residents from Stormwater and Sewer pipes, alongside ongoing by-law enforcement operations.
‘We are also making progress on critical maintenance work to improve treated effluent quality at Potsdam, including major cleaning work to maturation ponds and the re-engineering of natural reed beds to prevent pollution from reaching the Diep River.
‘Collaboration with local communities and civil society stakeholders, information sharing, and public involvement are essential aspects of our action plan,’ said Cllr Badroodien.
The City’s Human Settlements Directorate has been lauded for its top performance, spending 99,3% of its more than R880 million capital budget in the 2022/23 financial year. This is money being spent on directly improving the living conditions of vulnerable households and providing and enabling decent accommodation. In addition, the directorate spent nearly 100% of its informal settlements and urban settlements grant funding. Some R2,5 billion capital budget has been allocated for human settlements projects over the next three years. Read more below:
This is a feat of note and I congratulate every single official and contractor in our human settlements team for this achievement. The incredible performance is not just nice on paper. It shows a real impact on the lives of our residents. It shows we spend budgets on the people it is earmarked for; and it clearly shows that we are ready to scale-up our efforts in collaboration with the private sector.
‘If we want to ramp up our efforts and deliver more opportunities in well-located areas across the metro, the City needs to become more of an enabler of opportunities than the sole provider. Programmes must be based on greater partnerships and more land parcels must be unlocked for human settlements. This includes the large pieces of well-located National Government land. We estimate that 100 000 social housing opportunities are possible at sites such as Wingfield, Youngsfield, Ysterplaat and the Parliamentary village. The release of these national mega-properties for housing would make a huge difference given the sheer scale of the well-located military land compared to the very limited land with housing potential owned by the City and the Western Cape Government close to the urban centres. Imagine what we could do with more land, more funds and greater partnerships. We could truly Build Cape Town, together,’ said the City’s Acting Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Alderman James Vos.
Land acquisitions and the development of affordable residential opportunities in well-located areas, maintenance of the City’s rental units, the no-cost title deed transfer programme, upgrading of informal settlements and backyarder services, and construction of new Breaking New Ground homes, and incremental developments are key pillars of City delivery.
Public private partnerships are vital and a key thrust of delivery at scale going forward.
As such, a new programme was created and in the first year of the Mayoral Priority Programme for affordable housing land release, several sites received critical City Council land release approvals, including:
Newmarket Street (Cape Town) – 200 social housing units
Salt River Market (Salt River) – 215 social housing units
Pickwick (Salt River) – 600 social housing units
Fruit and Veg (CBD) – 180 social housing units
Earl Street (Woodstock) – 160 social housing units
‘Overall, the City has 6 500 social housing units in the planning pipeline across 50 land parcels City-wide,’ said Alderman Vos.
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The City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate has started civic education this week for a new crop of learner law enforcement officers.
The 78 officers started the three-day training before hitting the streets.
‘The aim of the training is to equip our officers to be more public service oriented and more than just enforcers of the law. This will make them responsible and accountable officers and citizens as it will sensitise them to an array of incidents in which they can respond in more empathetic and culturally sensitive ways,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith.
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The City celebrated with beneficiaries of the Lourensia Park housing project in Somerset West during a special title deeds handover ceremony. Read more below:
Subcouncil Chair Chantal Cerfontein, Ward Councillor Carl Punt, Alderman James Vos and beneficiary Sophia Prins
‘I was overjoyed to be part of this special celebration as we handed over title deeds to beneficiaries in Somerset West. We are absolutely committed to enabling redress and transformation and we will continue to hand over many more title deeds to qualifying beneficiaries over the coming weeks and months in areas across the metro.
‘This project has provided opportunities to 150 qualifying beneficiaries. As a caring and inclusive City, we are committed to providing service delivery through the provision of housing opportunities to some of our most vulnerable residents. This project is an excellent example of what hard work and dedication really means. Thank you to our communities, City teams and project steering committee for the hard work and dedication during the completion of this project,’ said the City’s Acting Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Alderman James Vos.
The selection of beneficiaries for housing projects is done in accordance with the City’s Allocation Policy and the City’s Housing Database to ensure that housing opportunities are allocated to qualifying beneficiaries in a fair and equitable manner that prevents queue-jumping.
Anonymous tip offs are welcome:
Residents can report crime and by-law offences anonymously, 24-hours a day, on 0800 1100 77.
The City has a list of approved safe and legal inverters on its website. This database is meticulously checked to ensure that customers and installers are using quality equipment for safe and legal systems. Read more below:
‘Safe and legal small-scale embedded power systems reduce the risk of sub-standard, incorrectly wired solar PV inverters and batteries on the grid, including incorrect meters. This is a leading cause of extended power outages in neighbourhoods when the power comes back on after load-shedding. Unsafe systems can also increase the chance of fires or electrocution for building occupants and teams working on the electrical grid. City-approved inverters also enable quicker turnaround time of applications and this is why from October 2023 all systems will need a City-approved inverter and professional sign off,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.
National legislation and regulations require authorisation:
National legislation and regulations require the authorisation of all power generating systems connected to the electricity supply. Authorisation requirements must be adhered to and the City continues to work to refine processes to the benefit of customers.
The City has authorised more than 5 700 grid- and off-grid systems to date amid an enormous spike in solar PV applications since the worsening Eskom load-shedding.
City speeding up application process
From October 2023 all SSEG systems will need a City-approved inverter and professional sign off. Currently many systems using non-approved inverters are not wired correctly, posing risks to the safety and integrity of the network. This significantly slows down the registration process because there are too many different wiring configurations, many of which are unsafe and illegal, for the City professionals to consider. Reducing the wiring configurations speeds up the process.
To note:this applies to solar PV and battery systems connected into the wiring of the building. It doesn’t apply to backup inverters that plug into wall sockets, as those are regarded as electrical appliances.
The City will officially be prioritising grid-tied installations as these submissions are faster to approve.
Work is well under way on an online application process that further aims to improve customer experience.
Vehicles involved in the City’s waste management are extensively used and in high demand for waste removal operations. The delivery of 219 replacement vehicles will help ensure cost-efficient service delivery. Read more below:
During the 2022/23 financial year, the City of Cape Town’s Urban Waste Management (UWM) Directorate made a strong effort to revitalise its fleet to maximise availability and in turn, optimise service delivery.
The planned fleet and plant capital replacement budget are based on economic lifecycle management best practices to ensure that the fleet is operated at the lowest cost per unit of operation, which will reduce breakdowns and maintenance costs.
Between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023, an intensive period of procurement saw a total of 219 vehicles of various types delivered to the City’s UWM Directorate.
The new fleet includes:
Compactors (R126,2 million)
24 standard compactors for collections
five small compactors for cleansing
Trucks (R67,5m)
46 trucks for cleansing
Earthmoving equipment (R23,7m)
seven earthmoving vehicles of various types for clearing illegal dump sites and City disposal sites
Light vehicles (R56,4m)
137 vehicles of various types
Approximately R274 million was spent on these new vehicles in total.
‘The 2022/23 financial year was a successful year of recovery for the directorate in terms of our fleet management. Good work has been completed to arrest negative trends in vehicle availability, and we now have a solid footing to deliver services at a level which our residents expect. We are also in a strong position to contend with any future challenges that may arise,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Grant Twigg.
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