summary

SUBCOUNCIL PROPOSAL – FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
“CAPE TOWN FIRST – CHARITY STARTS AT HOME”
EXPANDED AND MORE INCLUSIVE

RE: The Number and Formation of Subcouncils in the City of Cape Town, and the Distribution of Revenue to those Subcouncils.

For Attention: MPLC Chairman, MPLC Members, Councillors and All Interested Parties.

To Whom it may concern,

We applaud the City of Cape Town for being the only Municipality in South Africa to have introduced, implemented and maintained a system of Subcouncils since the structural creation of the National, Provincial and Local spheres of government in the Republic of South Africa, as finalised following the local government elections on 5 December, 2000.

In South Africa today, Subcouncils are the best working example of decentralisation, grass-roots democracy and the empowerment of local communities.

Where the “empowerment of local communities” is a catch-phrase used loosely by political parties and government bodies in other Metros and Provinces across South Africa, this catch-phrase has been given a true opportunity to exist only here, in the City of Cape Town.

The failure of centralisation across the country is not a task we have the capacity to engage here. However, acknowledgement and condemnation of it, and the levels of corruption, inefficiency, poor service delivery, and wasteful expenditure it has created across the rest of South Africa is simply testament to the economic fact that decentralised political systems are more effective and efficient at delivering services than centralised political systems.

The City of Cape Town has excelled in comparison to its counterparts across the rest of South Africa over the last two decades as a result of a more decentralised, efficient and effective system of governance in the form of Subcouncils.

It is therefore prudent, if one is to improve on ones successes, and not fall prey to the convenience and complacency of unaccountable centralised systems, that one should look to build and strengthen the systems which have enabled success, and not divert policy in a direction that has been exhibited in the systemic failure of other Municipalities.

In spite of the many successes of the City of Cape Town, its residents still suffer on a daily basis with unacceptable levels of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, service delivery failures, excessive rates, electricity and water tariffs, and overbearing regulations that strangle entrepreneurs, businesses, employers and employees alike.

Aside from overbearing and locally incompatible national policy, one of the most important drivers behind the injustices suffered here comes down to something critical… revenue.

Revenue, extracted through the burden of taxes, and redistributed by the state on a National, Provincial and Local level is the delicate balance that both drains the working economy and provides the life-blood for the City of Cape Town to deliver services to its residents.

The inescapable reality is that the Cape Town Metro Council, Subcouncils and Wards will need more revenue and resources in order to address the vast service delivery needs of the people of Cape Town.

But at the same time, the tax-paying residents of Cape Town are at breaking point. The economy is on life-support, and with any more restrictions on our residents, restaurants, tourism, and small to medium businesses, further economic damage will mean there will be little rates or taxes left to collect.

Worse, for each business that closes, many more jobs are lost, resulting in an increase in unemployment, homelessness and poverty. This increases pressure on a tax base that is now sinking rapidly. The result is spiralling economic collapse where the system cannibalises itself. Less economically productive tax payers. Less tax revenue available. More impoverished residents requiring tax handouts to survive a basic living.

In order to stem this tide the City of Cape Town will have to make bold new changes to the way revenue is collected and redistributed in order to bring balance to this currently unsustainable equation.

The City of Cape Town loses too much revenue for it to be able to meet the demands of its residents. The extent of this loss is summarised in Annexure 1.
Subcouncils are the most direct route to the communities and residents of Cape Town. Subcouncils are therefore the key to direct service delivery.

Thus we propose that the honourable members of this MPC and Cape Town City Council consider before it, improving and strengthening its system of Subcouncils and Wards, and in so doing, guaranteeing the expansion and growth of the mechanisms which have contributed to its previous successes.

The proposed expansion of Subcouncils from 24 to 116 would incorporate a more comprehensive, and therefore more inclusive body of Subcouncils on a Ward level, which would with even more localised precision address the most pressing needs of all residents across each diverse local community in the City of Cape Town.

With the above economic principles, inescapable structural concerns over revenue, and the success of previous decentralised political administrations, we submit the following proposals, in consideration of the facts contained in Annexure 1.

Please find enclosed proposals in Annexures 2, and 3.

Kind regards
Jack Miller
Cape Independence Party – Leader
(+27828731322)