Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance : GCTCA

What is government doing about Cape Town’s water crisis? July 18th, 2017 There are a number of projects underway, but it’s not yet clear if it’s enough. For a city that relies on historically wet winters, these figures are daunting. What is more, the future looks drier.	Appeal for book funding: Nuclear? No Thanks! July 9th, 2017 This is the product of a lifetime in opposing nuclear power policy not only in South Africa, but also on the African Continent, and further afield. The author began his unofficial and largely unpaid career in opposing nuclear power as General Secretary of Koeberg Alert in the 1980s.
Philippi farmers claim victory February 28th, 2017 Activists have hailed the dismissal of an application to rezone prime agricultural land in the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) as a victory, and a punch in the gut to developers and the City, which they say has used bullying tactics to push the development through.	De Lille threatens to sue highly respected professor over Bo-Kaap spat February 21st, 2017 “The currently prevailing dominant culture within the ranks of officialdom at the municipality of Cape Town, where senior planning and other officials have been instructed by the mayor to simply say ‘yes’ to development applications, is deeply undermining the exercise of professional responsibility, development control and local government growth-management of the built environment. This culture is patently tending to result in professional officials becoming compromised ethically and not being able to do their jobs effectively,” Todeschini wrote.
Cape Town residents concerned about “development at all costs” approach February 21st, 2017 It was claimed at the meeting that the mayor had given an instruction to city officials that they were not to raise objections to development applications submitted to the city. De Lille dismissed this claim: “This is a lie. Bring the evidence.”	Western Cape’s citizens drinking themselves into an early grave February 1st, 2017 Under-age drinking is an increasing problem, while social workers from the Western Cape Social Development Department are not proactively engaging problem households. Underage drinking is more prevalent during the holidays, which leads to impaired brain development.
City of Cape Town’s ‘project pave-over’ of irreplaceable land December 11th, 2016 For generations to come, up to 70 percent of the vegetable supply of Capetonians will have to be imported from outside the province.	This YouTube doccie might put you off that Camps Bay swim this summer December 5th, 2016 Every day, the famous Camps Bay region in Cape Town, South Africa, is discharging million of litres of untreated waste-water into our marine reserve. This is creating some serious and growing problems, for the vulnerable sea-life, for us water-users and soon for beach-goers too.
Chairman’s address : GCTCA AGM 22 OCTOBER 2016 + Video November 23rd, 2016 Never before has the need for civil society vigilance been greater than in this interesting times we live in. We have a constitutional democracy. But what does it mean when the democratic space in local government is fast shrinking and it appears that there has been “state capture” at our local government level.	City must protect our citizens and environment from developers November 21st, 2016 Destroying our natural environment and replacing it with concrete jungles, in my estimation at least, can in no way be called progressive development. The cosy relationship between our local government structures and the Western Cape Developers Forum, where red carpet treatment ensures the big developers easy passage to encroach on the urban edge, where zoning rules are amended to allow more units for profit and where the seemingly insatiable mammonic greed is fed.
Suspicion over bid to save stadium November 14th, 2016 I am concerned that the City wants to cover up its wastage, and protect themselves from the blame of misspending. It’s going to be difficult to make the stadium commercially viable, and at the end of the day, the ratepayers will still foot the bill no matter how you look at it.	Cape Town communities fear eroding of areas’ character September 2nd, 2016 Bam said civic organisations were fair in their criticism of the city’s public participation process. “There’s nothing in the participation process that the voice of the community is determinative. Until such time, the city and the government will continue to walk over people.”
Public Meeting: Public objecting to flawed cell mast erection processes in Cape Town August 31st, 2016 There have been numerous complaints in the media concerning the illegal building of cell masts in Cape Town. In some instances it has been reported that masts were built without required plans and instances of masts having been built before the plans had been submitted for approval were also reported.	City of Cape Town’s property valuation system ‘deeply flawed’ August 26th, 2016 Homeowners have inundated the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance (GCTCA), an umbrella body which oversees residents’ associations in Cape Town, with complaints about the value of their properties increasing, according to GCTCA chairperson Philip Bam.
South Africans have made their voices heard. Now what for local councils? August 16th, 2016 Municipal councillors’ mandates are naturally directed by their political party philosophy and specific policies. But there is an overarching mandate for all local authorities, namely the constitutional mandate. Local government is the only sphere of South African government for which the country’s constitution stipulates a specific mandate.	The people have spoken August 11th, 2016 Allow me to congratulate all those political parties who participated in the local government elections. Some put their hands up for the first time, others tried again to ensure that the marginalized people have a voice. To those who did not succeed,try again.