The City of Cape Town recently restructured following the adoption of the Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP) with Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) as one of the key strategies to reverse the legacy of apartheid spatial planning, modernise government, improve service delivery and become more customer-centric. To understand the impact of this new strategic direction, we hosted a Thought Leaders engagement with the City of Cape Town and heard from Zukiswa Mandlana, Director: Organisational Effectiveness and Innovation in the Directorate of the Mayor; Cllr Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development, about the new Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA); and Lance Greyling, Director of Enterprise and Investment, about their investment projects and how business can get involved.
Zukiswa shared with us that the City has been on a long journey of transforming itself and a critical success factor in that process has been the adoption of the Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP). The aim of the ODTP is to ensure that Cape Town is future-proofed and positioned as a progressive city, open for business. Launched in August last year and driven by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the ODTP ensured that all the incremental changes that are being implemented into the City’s system have one central point of departure, ensuring strategic congruence. Highlighting the importance of change for sustainability, Zukiswa said that the City asked itself how it would revitalise the way in which it delivers services to its customers, especially the poor. As part of the ODTP, the city has been divided into four areas, each with its own “mini-mayor” to better improve service delivery and improve equality and parity of services. In addition to a deeper level of engagement with its customers, Zukiswa said that the City is looking at new ways of improving and modernising government.
Next, we heard from Cllr Brett Herron about the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) strategy. Brett opened by saying that in addition to the Transport Oriented Development strategy’s aim of redressing Apartheid spatial planning, it speaks to the long-term sustainability of the city and many of the challenges faced by both government and residents. Brett emphasised that the TOD is not a linear process nor the answer to the many challenges faced, but if we all committed to the outcomes, we have the potential to greatly improve the city. Brett shared that the new Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) includes three departments namely Transport, Spatial Planning and Human Settlements. He said that the purpose of merging these departments is to ensure the development of a more compact and efficient city. The TDA development plans include the development of three key integration zones, viz. Metro South East, Voortrekker Road and Blue Downs. Included in these development corridors are a number of key projects such as the Bellville Transport Interchange and the Foreshore Freeway Precinct (as part of the Voortrekker Road Integration Zone); Philippi East MyCiti Transfer Interchange and Athlone Power Station Redevelopment (as part of the Metro South East Integration Zone); and Paardevlei, a 684 hectare piece of land in Somerset West which will be used for a balanced mix of residential and job creation opportunities (as part of the Blue Downs Integration Zone).
Finally, we heard from Lance Greyling, Director of Enterprise and Investment, about Invest Cape Town and their investment projects. Lance said that Invest Cape Town is working collaboratively to build narratives, as well as gather data and collateral relating to the city’s success stories, economic performance, and sector analysis amongst other elements, to unite and amplify messaging with the purpose of positioning the city in the mind of international investors as a globally competitive business destination. This is an ongoing project to inform sectors, and Lance invited the private sector to participate in CAMISSA interviews in an effort to continuously gain further insights into key economic sectors.
Presentations
The Organisational Development Transformation Plan – Zukiswa Mandlana, CoCT
Transport & Urban Development Authority – Brett Herron, CoCT
Inclusive Economic Growth & Opportunities – Lance Greyling, CoCT
