Cape Town rejects Ramaphosa claims, accuses him of face-saving

The City of Cape Town says President Cyril Ramaphosa is trying to save face with his assertion that the city has done worse than the average of all metros in the country.

Ramaphosa was replying to a question in the National Council of Provinces, where he cited Stats SA data that the city in the decade up to 2022 fell below the average in expanding access to services such as refuse removal, piped water, electricity and flush toilets.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the president is attempting to do damage control after endorsing Cape Town’s successive clean audit reports during a meeting with African National Congress councillors last month.

“The President is still trying to do damage control after he dared to speak the truth a couple of weeks ago when he said Cape Town and other towns governed by the DA are examples to be emulated and copied, (that) in fact they are the only examples of progress and good governance anywhere, (and that) where his party governs there only decay corruption and collapsed services, that is sea of ruin and failure that he presides over.

“Despite the challenges of poverty and unemployment, Cape Town is steadily moving forward and is South Africa’s most functional city,” says Hill-Lewis.