A CSIR study on community social facilities and open spaces in Cape Town shows glaring inequalities between areas.
|||A study on community social facilities and open spaces in Cape Town by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) shows glaring inequalities between advantaged and disadvantaged areas – with areas like Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Atlantis being the worst off.
For example, the Blaauwberg district, which covers the suburbs of Milnerton, Blouberg and Tableview, is by far the best-resourced when it comes to recreational sportsfields, according to the report commissioned by the city.
The report focuses on recreational facilities, and is part of a broader report on community services, which aims to inform city administration on which areas need urgent attention.
This is a part of the city’s “redress” policy to address the inequalities of the past.
The report came up at a recent portfolio committee meeting where councillors debated whether coloured areas needed more development than black areas.
One of the findings is that the Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha district has 70 percent of its population “unserved”, with no access to swimming pools.
“As indicated, the districts of Blaauwberg, Northern and Helderberg have the highest provision rates – all have sportsfield provision rates of more than 60 percent. Conversely, the other planning districts have less than 50 percent being served. Mitchells Plain/Khayelitsha district only has 29.7 percent of its total population served, the lowest in Cape Town,” read the report.
Tandeka Gqada, the mayoral committee member for community services, said the report was “pretty clear “on which areas had been neglected previously”.
“We are using the same study to address inequality in the city. We need something to guide us and, as the mayco member, I think this is the guideline for the entire city and not only for community service. Previously disadvantaged areas like Khayelitsha and Atlantis are behind, not just black areas,” said Gqada.
She said the study would go a long way in helping the city “redress” the wrongs of the past.
“The report is very clear that focus was given to other areas previously,” said Gqada.
She said projects to deal with inequality were already being planned and would be budgeted for.
“The projects haven’t started yet. We are using the study and we have identified projects,” said Gqada.
Councillor Paddy Chapple (DA), who attended the portfolio committee, said councillors would be attending a workshop to familiarise themselves with the report.
Asked if the report confirmed inequality in certain services in the city Chapple said this was “quite correct”.
“This is why the mayor wants redress. It would be stupid not to have redress,” said Chapple.
The report goes on to say that the percentage of unserved population again varies widely between the planning districts, with Blaauwberg being the best off with sportsfield provision for 70 percent of the population.
On indoor sports facilities, the highest need was concentrated in the Atlantis area to the far north of the city.
“The implication is that the people living in Atlantis are quite isolated and would therefore not have easy access to indoor sports centres elsewhere in Cape Town,” read the report.
On access to swimming pools, the report states that all districts, except District 1 (Table Bay) have “unserved” populations of between 13 percent and 67 percent.
babalo.ndenze@inl.co.za
Cape Times