With the State of the Nation Address (SONA) set to take place on Thursday, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce reforms for policing, passenger rail and the management of ports during his address, reports Cape {town} Etc.
Hill-Lewis said these are the three critical reforms on the top of Cape Town’s advocacy agenda for the Government of National Unity (GNU) and that City of Cape Town officials will be watching closely for news on these fronts.
Cape Town’s port
With Cape Town’s port being ranked worst in the world for efficiency, Hill-Lewis argued that greater private sector involvement would undoubtedly ‘turn this around’, leading to a boost in exports, local industries and job creation.
‘We were disappointed that our port is not among a batch of Transnet projects up for private sector investment injections by June this year,’ he commented. ‘We need a clear and urgent deadline for greater private sector involvement in Cape Town’s port operations.’
Policing
Amid perpetual spikes of gang and gun violence, drug trafficking and extortion-related crime ravaging, Hill-Lewis argued that devolving criminal investigative powers to municipal officers will ‘help build prosecution-ready case dockets and gain convictions’.
‘This immediate boost for the State’s criminal investigation capacity can be achieved by the Police Minister issuing regulations under the SAPS Act,’ he said. ‘We are also calling for the upcoming batch of SAPS Act amendments to include a change to section 64E(c) empowering municipal officers to investigate crime.’
Passenger rail
Hill-Lewis also added that the City of Cape Town is calling for a clear deadline on the devolution of the train service for capable metros.
‘This year, Cape Town will be ready to take over the running of passenger rail, with complete business plans in place. We await the President’s update on the status of the long-delayed National Devolution Strategy,’ said Hill-Lewis.
‘Taking charge of Metrorail is especially urgent for lower-income households, who would save an estimated R932 million a year if trains were working as they should.’
Following the City’s completion of a Rail Feasibility Study last year, Hill-Lewis added that the City has a vision to massively scale up passenger numbers, new train sets, new routes as well as upgrade stations and its surrounding areas over the next two decades.
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Picture: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images
