The Cape Town Partnership is changing fundamentally by expanding its original mandate of inner-city economic renewal to include the city’s outlying impoverished townships, says CEO, Andrew Boraine.

He was speaking at the 12th AGM of the organisation – a public/private-sector collaboration to address urban degeneration, disinvestment and related social problems in Cape Town. Boraine said the partnership aimed to offer its experience and skills to facilitate citywide partnerships that would result in the economic inclusion of the townships. “The challenge facing Cape Town is how to unite an apartheid-era divided city. We need new citywide partnerships for change. No one organisation can do it alone.” He said a million of Cape Town’s 3,7m inhabitants were unemployed and lived in informal settlements. The partnership, he said, aimed to mobilise the 2,7m employed Capetonians to support their less fortunate neighbours.

Two vehicles to be used are Cape Town’s recently won World Design Capital 2014 campaign; and the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) that will lead, co-ordinate and drive economic development in the province. He said an EDP steering committee had been established, tasked with the establishment of the body by April next year. This would involve legal and financial modelling. The first project was the establishment of an Economic CEO’s Forum, which met for the first time on November 21 and on a quarterly basis thereafter.


MD, Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, said the priority for 2012 was to maximise the transformative potential of the World Design Capital 2014 campaign, which was now ending its planning stage. The focus next would be on identifying stakeholders, appointing a steering committee, assigning roles and responsibilities; generating private-sector sponsorship and collaborating with other world design capitals.

Other priorities for 2012 were: The hosting of a symposium for better management of open spaces/squares, to be attended by the CEO of New York’s Times Square; District Six’s redevelopment; the utilisation of the Castle of Good Hope as a key space within a cultural precinct; social development/city improvement with a major focus on addressing the plight of the homeless.

She said the partnership’s success was evident in ongoing investment in the CBD despite the recession, e.g. The Portside development (the tallest and greenest building in the city); the Urban Regeneration Project involving the expansion of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC); ongoing V&A Waterfront development; the Culemborg Quo Vadis business project; the Freeworld Design Centre on the Fan Walk; The Fringe design & innovation hub; ongoing MyCiti public transport roll-out; and the development of cycle and pedestrian lanes, already totalling 8km. Other initiatives partnered included the launch of the Cape Town Climate Change Coalition; the Creative Cape Town programme, which, amongst others, hosts the Creative Week; The City Hall Sessions which reposition the venue for diverse music tastes; events such as the The Loerie Awards, The Jazz Festival and The Design Indaba; and the upgrade of Green Market Square.