Cape Town is truly the world in one City. A person can travel from first world luxury which comprises the suburbs hugging the mountain and the seaboard and visit the second world within 20 minutes.
Manenberg is where gun- toting criminals freely use and sell drugs to children. Though Manenberg maybe crime infested it has direct access to municipal services unlike some townships. Township life replicates the third world as people often do not have direct access to services. During the rainy season, people who exist in makeshift shacks, often find themselves living in water.
With the World Design Capital 2014 on the doorstep, I consider, are we repeating the 2010 World Cup again? Are locals being hyped-up only to be let down as the fiasco is fashioned among a few people?
Some issues that require an urgent response includes the toilet warriors. Will they be under control before the tourists arrive? How will those punting the Design Capital 2014 explain the toilet wars when tourists are introduced to the running battles as it unfolds at the airport? Will the city elders placate the third world citizens before the celebration begins?
Similarly, will the second world citizens have permanent stability in relation to the open warfare on the streets of Manenberg and so on? Those who invested millions of ratepayer’s money into this project should ensure that visitors and locals remain safe as the world focusses on Cape Town. Can we imagine the humiliation should the toilet warriors and the trigger happy villains remain active during the 2014 Design Capital extravagance?
Then again, even though some problems remain unsolved, I support the idea of Cape Town as a world class city. This is one reason why I applaud those who think big, despite the many challenges.
In the words of Albert Einstein “The world as we have created it, is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress