During a council meeting on Thursday, Cape Town's executive mayor Dan Plato welcomed the city's return to business in full swing. 

Plato said President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement to move South Africa to alert level 2 of the coronavirus lockdown had brought a sense of relief and renewed energy. 

He said the energy needed to be channelled towards rebuilding and reigniting the economy and getting back on track to create jobs. 

Tabling the adjustment budget, Plato said there were two primary objectives. 

He said the roll-over of funding would allow for the completion of projects to which council had committed itself. 

Plato said R520-million will be rolled over, compared with the completed capital budget of R6-billion. 

He said the second purpose was to deal with the changes in national grant funding, which was substantial as the national budget had been tightened. 

Plato said grant-funded work was to be reduced by R1.48-billion, while the internally funded capital budget increased by R537-million. 

Municipalities across the country were subjected to budget cuts, and Plato said the human settlements directorate saw a cut of R117-million to its urban settlement development grant (USDG) and human settlement development grant (HSDG) funding. 

He said a number of projects and programmes will have to be placed on hold due to the cut in funding, but basic service delivery will remain unaffected. 

He added that council could not continue paying for the damage caused by ongoing protest action and land invasions. 

“Sadly, for those communities who bear the brunt of these destructive and illegal actions, we cannot deviate from our core mandate to replace what has been destroyed,” Plato said. 

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and extended lockdown period, Plato said 96% of the total operating budget had been spent and close to 90% of the capital budget had been used. 

He said the fact the auditor-general had named the City of Cape Town the most sustainable metro in the country was testament to its good governance.

More than 4,500 building plans with a value of R5.2-billion were approved throughout the lockdown, which resulted in critical construction work and created thousands of jobs, Plato said. 

The mayor’s Special Fund will continue to support more than 200 soup kitchens across the metropole.

“Cape Town holds the title of Start-Up Capital of Africa and we are also the official Tech Capital of Africa. We are home to almost 60% of South African start-ups. This is clearly a city of entrepreneurs, so if any city can bounce back from this global pandemic, it is Cape Town,”  Plato said. 

He said it had come to his attention that plots of land were being sold by land invaders and he offered a reward for information on such transgressors.