Mayor Dan Plato was accused of being unprepared and evasive at a Table View residents’ meeting last week.
Most of the 100 people in the Leibrandt Van Niekerk Hall for the “Let’s talk to Mayor Plato” meeting felt it was a “waste of time”, based on their responses and comments.
Several of them accused the mayor of coming unprepared and being unable to answer their questions. These remarks were met by murmurs of agreement.
Various City officials accompanied Mr Plato to the meeting, and ward councillors Wandisile Ngeyi, Helen Carstens, Joy McCarthy, Nora Grose and Nicky Rheeder were also there.
Fireworks, the state of the beachfront and taxi lawlessness were some of the issues people had questions about, but to the disappointment of many, they drew little more than a stock “noted” or “we will get back to you on this” from Mr Plato.
Then he told the audience he had only been in office two months and was still “a bit green”.
He promised to get back to residents with answers, but they were having none of it.
Karen Davis, chairwoman of the Greater Table View Action Forum (GTAF), asked how much revenue was generated from Table View and what percentage was ploughed back into the suburb.
“We feel we are not getting our money’s worth when it comes to service delivery, security etc,” she said.
Mr Plato said he did not have that figure, and the ward councillors were in a better position to answer the question.
Asked by Ms Davis when the area would get more schools, Mr Plato responded that he was due to meet soon with Education MEC Debbie Schafer, but he didn’t elaborate.
Mandy da Matta, chairwoman of the Table View Ratepayers’ Association (TVRA), asked why basic maintenance was not happening on Blouberg beachfront – “the most iconic beachfront”.
She also called for the City to support a complete ban on fireworks. Mr Plato said that while he was in favour of such a ban, that was his personal view and not something he endorsed in his capacity as mayor.
Anne Smith came armed with large colour photos of the beachfront. She approached the mayor with the pictures and held each up for all to see.
They showed, among other things, broken manholes, balustrades and paving.
“Soon the beach will reach the road then the businesses,” warned Ms Smith.
Mr Plato promised to visit Blouberg beachfront.
Ankarien Oelofse, from the non-profit Table View Angels, wanted to know why, with the expansion of Sunningdale and Parklands, no provision had been made for shelters or social workers, as the area lacked both.
There were no shelters from Cape Town to Melkbosstrand, said Ms Oelofse.
Ms Rheeder, who tabled a sub-council motion last year calling for such a shelter, said: “It’s definitely on the cards.” Aziza Nolan, from the non-profit Peace Home, said speeding taxis made Sandown Road very dangerous. Another resident said that was also a problem from the N7 to Sandown. “Taxis have taken over the road,” he said.
Mayor Plato admitted law enforcement and SAPS were understaffed in the area.
“We don’t have enough manpower to be everywhere,” he said.
Animal rights activists called for mass sterilisations of animals in Joe Slovo and Dunoon and the banning of fireworks.
Mayor Plato said although there were problems, Cape Town was doing “exceptionally well” with “limited resources”.
A resident said they wanted to know about Table View, not the rest of the city, to which the mayor replied: “You must remember what is happening elsewhere in the city is impacting on Table View. Table View is not an island on its own.”
It was necessary to give a “global synopsis of Table View” and how it interlinked with other areas, he said.