Maintaining the success of the Cape Town CBD in a depressed economic environment was paramount to ensuring it continued to attract all-important investment.
This is the view of Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) Chairperson Rob Kane, who was speaking at the company’s 19th Annual General Meeting, held in Cape Town last night.
Kane said the CCID, which celebrated its 19th clean audit in a row, had made great strides in enabling the Cape Town CBD to move away from “the rather desperate ‘crime and grime’ scenario” it had fallen into 19 years go. “Today we have a vibrant Central City with property valuations climbing from just over R6 billion in 2006 to close to R43 billion in 2018, which is year-on-year growth of 18%. This is a world-class city that continues to win global awards,” Kane noted.
While it was important to celebrate Cape Town and the CBD’s successes, Kane confirmed that the year in review had been an incredibly difficult one, if not the most difficult he had experienced in his long association with the CCID.
Conditions on the ground had “changed substantially”, and the CCID had found it increasingly challenging to deliver on its mandate.
Kane urged all stakeholders who had a vested interest in the success of the Cape Town CBD to reassess “where we want this city to be in two, three, 10 years’ time” and take responsibility for their role in its vision. “Without that shared responsibility, we will not retain our existing investment – and we certainly won’t attract new investment,” he said.
He warned that if “we don’t keep the CBD running well, property investors will move elsewhere and that 18% growth will just not happen”.
CCID CEO Tasso Evangelinos agreed with Kane, saying the tight economy had pushed the CCID to its limits, and it had become more and more difficult for the company to meet the increasing demands of a lively, dynamic city centre that operates 24/7.
Evangelinos said: “While we have always operated in an ever-evolving Central City, in the year under review this environment was shaped by harsh economic realities that presented more challenges than rewards.”
While the CCID continued to work closely with its primary partners, namely the City of Cape Town and the SA Police Service, a growing CBD demanded additional resources “not only from the CCID but also from our primary partners”. “It also requires us to continue working together to ensure that the Cape Town CBD remains the most successful in the South Africa,” Evangelinos said.
Kate noted that the CCID found itself in the position of no longer providing so-called top-up services to those of the City of Cape Town and SAPS but “in the first line of defence, becoming the dominant service provider”.
“This is something we are neither mandated, nor equipped, to do and this reality puts a lot of pressure, and I believe, too much pressure, on the CCID,” Kane said.
Evangelinos said in the year under review, addressing safety and security issues in the CBD – with its daily footfall of more than 300 000 people, as well as an active night-time economy – had been of prime concern.
“During the year under review, there were a spate of armed robberies in the CBD. There was also an increase in petty crime. To enhance its presence and prioritize safety, our Safety & Security department increased the number of Public Safety Officers operating in the CBD to 300, and the number of CCID-funded Law Enforcement Officers to 20,” said.
In the year under review, the Safety & Security department had made over 745 arrests with its law enforcement partners and conducted 105 624 crime-prevention initiatives.
The CCID had also faced growing and challenging social and urban management issues.
He said: “It is imperative that we strive to retain the hard-won benefits we have established since we began our quest 19 years ago to lift to turn the Central City around.”
Reiterating Evangelinos’ sentiments, Kane said the Cape Town Central City was not only the country’s most successful CBD, but “probably the only successful CBD in South Africa”.
However, retaining this status quo and the city’s centre’s reputation as an attractive investment destination required “deep focus”. “We all know and accept that much of the rates revenue generated in the CBD is spent in more needy areas, which is a sound principle. However, we need to guard that CBD rates base very, very carefully.”
CCID DEPARTMENTS: STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following are some of the statistics achieved during the 2018-2019 financial year, per department, as highlighted during the CCID’s AGM presentation.
Safety & Security
745 Number of arrests made together with the CCID’s law enforcement partners
11 570 Number of fines issues by CCID-funded LEOs
27 974 Warnings issued
105 624 Crime prevention initiatives conducted
587 Number of times the CCID assisted at the scene of motor-vehicle accidents
516 Number of times the CCID assisted with medical and rescue callouts
249 Illegal trading offences dealt with
962 Number of times the CCID rendered public and vehicle assistance
23 478 Fines issued by CCID-funded traffic wardens totalling R14 000 000.
Urban Management
709 Tons of litter and waste removed to landfill by street sweepers
447 Road maintenance repairs undertaken
3 343 Illegal posters identified
5 102 Strings and stickers removed
58 Tons of waste removed by cleaning storm water drains and channels
240 Road markings painted
1 763 Total kilograms of cigarette butts removed from the 300 CCID-branded cigarette bins
24 Tons of illegally dumped waste removed to landfill
Social Development
4 737 Number of engagements with clients on the street
178 Adult clients assisted to shelters
85 Clients assisted to healthcare facilities
32 Mothers with children assisted
92 Clients repatriated home for potential family reunification
550 Pairs of new shoes donated to partner NGOs
4 900 Number of care bags donated (and distribution organised via partner NGOs)
Communications
383 Media clips generated across broadcast (33), online (284) and print (265)
R9 990 994 Value of total media exposure obtained during the year
229 730 320 Total estimated reach of readers/viewers in terms of the media clips generated
261 400 Copies of the CCID publications produced and distributed
69 000 Items distributed with regard to the CCID’s many targeted campaigns
40 000 Smart Smoker pouches distributed
27 122 Numbers of subscribers reached across the CCID’s various online platforms and via its monthly e-newsletter
For more information, please contact:
Sharon Sorour-Morris, CCID Communications Manager
Tel: +27 (0)21 286 0845
Cell: 082 216 0835
Email: sharon@capetownccid.org