AT THE HOUT BAY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FORUM BREAKFAST
Conducted by: Jonathan Dreyer, Chair HBBOF


By Marius Fransman, Minister for Public Works and Transport Western Cape
Presented by: Sid Lucket, Director Public Works and Transport Western Cape

Jonathan Dreyer Chair HBBOF

Sid Lucket, Director Public Works and Transport Western Cape

FOR many years, Hout Bay has been described as a microcosm of South Africa.

But it is a microcosm that all of us who love our country and province should not be pleased about.

It paints a picture of people being squashed into apartheid-throwbacks, featuring shacks, backyard dwellings, bucket toilets and massive social problems … while, just around the corner it shows others living in houses like the one I saw advertised the other day: “Thatched roof Splendour” on almost 6,000 square metres for a little bit under R5-million.

Is this what we want people to describe as “typically South African”?

I don’t think so.

Breakfast function invite

This microcosm of South Africa that we see in Hout Bay – abject poverty existing cheek-by-jowl with glittering affluence – is a stark reminder of what we (as government and as civil society) still need to do to build the Western Cape into a province that offers a true home for all who live here.

We have won our political freedom – now we need to win the fight against homelessness … against poverty … and against unemployment.

Last week, I had the pleasure of launching the Western Cape Government’s Strategic Infrastructure Plan (SIP).

Let me tell you something about the SIP – because, I believe, that it has a number of components that you, as a business forum, might be interested in.

It is a multibillion-rand initiative that will seek to address the most glaring concerns of the population of the Western Cape – and especially the poor.

As a province, we have a lot of catching up to do….

SIP is a Department of Transport and Public Works initiative (due to run until 2014) that provides the foundation that the business environment needs to support quicker growth and job creation in certain key growth areas.

IKHAYA Coffee Bar, Hout Bay Harbour Venue of the breakfast meeting

One of the anchor pillars of our Provincial Growth and Development Strategy, the SIP’s primary purpose is to guide infrastructure investment by both government and the private sector over the next 10 years – and to improve the management and the use of existing infrastructure assets.

It is a collaborative effort between provincial departments of our government, municipalities and the private sector.

The beauty of the SIP for me is that it has drawn a commitment from all the participants to work together for the greater good of the Western Cape; in a province where political rivalries can often be robust this is a highly significant development.

I am particularly pleased that aspects of the plan make allowance for the building of affordable houses for the poor close to the Central Business District of Cape Town.

And I would like to address this message to the residents of Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg, in particular….