Da Super Mudda City

I took a quirky Kulula flight down to Cape Town for 3 days this week and I was impressed - with the city that is. I don't say that as somebody who is qualified to be a judge of such things but I couldn't help noticing some subtle differences to my hometown of Jozi that went a little deeper than the obvious scenery. Cape Town looks like a city on the up.

The first thing that struck me was how clean, operational and viable the CBD is. Not only is it full of beautifully restored old buildings that are fast becoming trendy and classy apartment blocks, but there is no hint of fear in the people who live and work in the city. They walk alone or in pairs, day and night to the restaurants and cafes of which there are plenty. They are of all races and the impression of a working solution to the racial harmony issue is tangible. People mingle, eat and shop together in all areas. I am not stupid enough to think there is no crime in Cape Town but I sense that the balance has shifted onto the leg of the law-abiding and the fight is being won.

The second thing that struck me was how well certain things worked there. Cape Town employs human parking meters that have nifty gadgets that keep track of your car license number and the time you have been parked and charge you accordingly. It is a super flexible system in which you can be approached and asked to pay up front, you can be nabbed as you pop back to the car to collect something or before you leave. Either way, pay you do! Now I tried to dodge the system as it was kinda fun and I am used to doing it with particular car guards that annoy me but I paid every single time. These guys were pros! The system works and it employs people and parking in Cape Town is regulated properly. Oh, and they have a sense of humour and ALWAYS have change for you.

The next thing that struck me was the number of taxis of all kinds trawling the city for business. Many were in good condition, not the heaps of junk you see in Joburg, and although I didn't use one this time, I would take a taxi in future. That's a big statement from a car-owning white South African male. Public transport without fear is a reality there. Tourists and locals alike use it all the time and it works.

I then nosed around the highways and suburbs of the Cape for a day or 2 and once again I was impressed by cleanliness. The open fields and parks were spotless (not sure if its the 120km/h wind that howls through there from time to time or diligent citizens) compared to their equivalent grubby cousins in Jozi or Durbs. I also began encountering the suburban Capetonian
at work and they are pleasant animals let me tell you. None of the aggression that flows so easily in a Joburg meeting with strangers. Granted that is why things take a little longer but I would trade it any day. The people were chillaxed man and service people had that snappy efficiency and a smile to match that is so often missing from the sullen, sulky angrybots you have to deal with here. Quips from Allan, my business partner about being in town to steal the mountain, rock by rock, to take it back to Joburg and that Cape Town is the mother city because everything takes 9 months to get done were all laughed at and parried right back at him in good humour.

Another cool bit was the super-funky low cost housing developments in the Cape Flats. These apartment buildings would not look out of place in good areas and by simply building attractively I think value has been created for people who will take pride in living in those units. Add that and all of the above to the good food and the easy-going traffic flow, even at peak hours, and you have a pretty good idea of what I am talking about. It led Allan to make another interesting comment...'it looks like the money people pay in taxes here is being spent properly'. It also, in my humble opinion shows why the ANC propaganda machine has spun into action against Helen Zille, the DA leader and mayor of Cape Town, just one year before the next elections. In a country where community after community are protesting against abysmal ANC service-delivery to the people, Cape Town has been pretty silent and is showing what can and should be done. There is a pride there and it is driving the place forward. Instead of trying to tear it down because of how it highlights the comparative failure of the rest of the ANC-controlled country, perhaps the powers that be could try emulating it for the good of the people that pay their salaries and put them into the positions that make it possible for them to sign up billions worth of empowerment shares. Just a thought comrades...