Latest news with #JamesVos
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Have your say: Athlone Stadium parking development proposal open for public comment
The public participation process is under way as the City of Cape Town plans to redevelop the parking lot at Athlone Stadium for mixed-use development. Image: Supplied / City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town has launched a public participation process regarding its proposal to dispose of a portion of the Athlone Stadium parking area for mixed-use development. Members of the public have until July 7, 2025, to submit their comments. The proposal, led by the city's Economic Growth Directorate, aims to convert under-utilised parking spaces along Klipfontein Road into a development, including retail and commercial components. The city stated that the project aims to stimulate economic activity and create employment while maintaining essential parking capacity during events. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'The proposed mixed-use development, which aims to incorporate ancillary retail and commercial components, is expected to stimulate economic activity, create employment opportunities, and enhance socio-economic development within the district,' said Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos. 'The stadium's central location is ideal for business and employment opportunities as it is located on main public transport routes,' he said. He added that a feasibility study identified areas around the stadium suitable for phased infill development, in line with the Cape Flats District Spatial Development Framework, which designates the area as a 'Development Focus Area'. The site is considered surplus to core municipal needs and, if disposed of through auction, proceeds would be reinvested into further stadium upgrades. 'The main rationale for the proposed disposal is to unlock its potential to optimise the Athlone Stadium precinct while stimulating economic growth and fostering social development,' said Vos. Athlone ward councillor Rashid Adams confirmed that public comment is in the early stages. 'The parking is still being used while this proposal is still through public participation. We just started with the process. We encourage everyone to come and log in their opinions or objections, they can come to my office for any information.' On social media, residents and soccer fans expressed mixed reactions. Sithembiso Xesibe Nokula commented: 'Now we must fight for parking when there are big games in Athlone. The DA is fighting anything related to football in Cape Town. They first stole our beautiful Green Point (stadium) and turned it into a rugby ground.' Others saw potential in the proposal. Niyaaz Petersen, who lives opposite the stadium, said: 'I hope they use the land for businesses that make the lives of locals easier. We want more takeaways, bars, coffee shops, stalls, exhibition spaces, and markets for locals to come together.' He also called for public transport upgrades: 'We also want MyCiTi to go through Klipfontein Road so that parking is less of a burden on the stadium and people that live here.' Shaheed Edries added: 'It's actually a need for a MyCiTi line down Klipfontein Road as there are so many suburbs along the road.'
IOL News
7 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Malatsi's insights on Starlink and South Africa's digital sovereignty
Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi said the country's current cloud market's value is expected to surge to beyond R130 billion in 2028, and that major international players such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are key contributors to this growth. Image: X / IOLGraphics Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, used his address at the Sentech Africa Tech Week to explain the country's approach to its digital sovereignty and the recent gazette he issued to bring the country in line with international best practice. The conference is currently under way at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town and has featured talks by mayco member for Economic Growth James Vos, Sentech CEO Tebogo Leshope, Topco Media CEO Ralf Fletcher, Data and also AI Specialist Manav Daby, among others. Malatsi delivered his address to tech innovators, and leaders where his speech focused on 'South Africa's Strategic Approach to Data Sovereignty'. Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi, right, seen talking to Sentech CEO, Tebogo Leshope, at the Sentech Africa Tech Week taking place in Cape Town. Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading He said the country's current cloud market's value is expected to surge to beyond R130 billion in 2028, and that major international players such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are key contributors to this growth. 'This growth does not only represent our increased technological capacity, but it represents jobs for young people, skills development for the future economy, and improved service delivery. 'Looking forward, our strategic approach to data sovereignty will focus on maintaining the competitiveness of the local cloud market, while staying responsive to the rapidly evolving needs and capacities of this sector,' Malatsi said. The conference is currently underway at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town and has featured talks by Mayco Member for Economic Growth, James Vos, Image: Supplied He said he understood that the country's regulatory role is critical for private sector investment. "We are consistently driving to maintain the resilience and relevance of cyber security mechanisms so that we can earn and invest trust in our national digital ecosystem. 'Data sovereignty means little without cyber resilience. Having our data physically located within our boundaries is only one piece of the puzzle. We must also ensure that it is encrypted, it is monitored, and recoverable in the face of threats.' Speaking on the sideline of the conference, Malatsi said the recent policy directive proposal to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) requires it to investigate whether to open up applications for individual electronic communications network services (ECNS) licences. The directive coincided with engagements between Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump during a trip to the US - including controversial suggestions that Elon Musk's Starlink should be given priority in the country. 'The protection of the country's data is sacrosanct, and that is the case for every country in the world. What we equally have to do is ensure that we keep abreast with international best practice in this case. 'We (also) have to ensure that we are properly equipped to respond to the threats that exist in this space, where there are constant efforts by nefarious elements, globally, to intercept state data to gain unauthorised access to it, and to ensure that in the unlikely event that such happens, we can retrieve it promptly, quickly and protect citizens from any potential harm.' Sentech CEO, Tebogo Leshope. Image: Supplied Leshope, who separately was addressing how satellite technology is used for innovation, said: 'Innovation nowadays happens on top of a base… All the other innovations happening on top of satellite technology include connecting cars, connecting human beings and all those opportunities that come with that. 'If you fall behind on the base of it, you won't be able to participate first on the innovation side, and you won't be able to leverage that particular solution. 'So that is how far behind you can become. All the future innovation and development that is going to happen there, which will be to the benefit of your communities, you are going to miss out. Now we can connect our communities far cheaper with those solutions, but if you don't have a base, and you're not part, you lose out on that, and you remain on the most expensive terrestrial options.' Cape Argus
Zawya
03-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: City of Cape Town, GreenCape unite to boost agritech growth
The City of Cape Town, in partnership with green energy growth organisation GreenCape, recently hosted the inaugural AgTech Connect session. This event brought together investors, business leaders, and government officials for high-impact networking and the exchange of ideas focused on agricultural technologies aimed at strengthening the sector. Source: Supplied | Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth addresses the audience at the City and GreenCape AgTech Connect session. With climate change and other challenges threatening agriculture, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions to safeguard the industry for current and future generations. 'Across Africa, agritech grew 44% year-on-year between 2016 and 2019, and is projected to reach a continent-wide value of $1 trillion by 2030. "This presents major opportunities for innovators and investors in Cape Town, where there exists an ecosystem of support from organisations, such as the City government and GreenCape," says Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth. Driving sector growth and innovation The session focused on identifying pathways for growth, investment, and policy support to help scale the agritech sector. Technologies developed in Cape Town and its surroundings are well-positioned to support the resilience and expansion of agriculture across Africa. 'Over the past five to 10 years, the Western Cape's agricultural sector grew at an average annual rate of 2.5% and 2.7%, reaching R25.6 billion in 2023. The GreenCape Sustainable Agri Market Intelligence Report 2025 indicates that the sector has further maintained its national share at 16% for agriculture and 21% for agri-processing. "To build an industry that can withstand challenges, both known and unknown, we have to encourage bold solutions. For example, drones have become one of the leading solutions for the sector and the market is currently valued at just over R1bn, with forecasts saying that it will more than triple over the next five years. "This is why the City funds and works with partners such as GreenCape, who help us to understand and realise the investment potential of emerging industries while energising the development of small businesses and job opportunities,' says Alderman Vos. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
13-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Plan to use properties owned by City of Cape Town for homeless project
Streetscapes is fundraising to buy seven inner-city units to expand its reintegration programme. For the past four years, Streetscapes has been running a self-sufficient laundry at its urban farm in the city centre. The organisation plans to replicate the solar- and rainwater-powered laundromat and showers at the new site to cut operational costs and reduce pressure on municipal infrastructure. Photos: Marecia Damons / GroundUp - Streetscapes is raising funds to buy seven City-owned units in Cape Town's city centre at a fraction of its value. - The organisation hopes to convert the properties into homes for formerly homeless people who are part of the Streetscapes programme. - The City of Cape Town says the units are no longer needed. But the sale of the properties would require a public participation process and Council approval. - Streetscapes currently support 150 formerly homeless people with housing, work opportunities and peer-led care. Non-profit organisation Streetscapes is raising funds in the hope of buying seven housing units from the City of Cape Town, with plans to convert them into homes for previously homeless people. James Vos, the City's mayco member for economic growth, said six of the units are vacant, and three are still tenanted. He said the units were initially acquired because of plans to widen roads decades ago. Those plans have since been scrapped, and the City no longer needs them. Vos said a sale of these properties would require council's approval, and a public participation process. The sale could be subject to a clause in the City's Immovable Property policy, limiting the use of the property to social care. 'The policy provides for social care properties to be sold at a purchase price of between 10% to 25% of fair market value,' Vos said. For the past decade, Streetscapes has worked to end homelessness by supporting people with jobs and houses. Their model aims to get people work. The organisation currently supports 150 formerly homeless people, through work, housing and and other support. In its peer-to-peer programmes, people who were previously homeless or struggled with addiction are trained to support others in similar situations. At Streetscapes, 'peers' offer guidance and help clients with medication, housing and daily challenges. Since 2015, Streetscapes has worked to end chronic homelessness by supporting people with jobs, housing and rehabilitation. Among the beneficiaries of this programme are (from left) Dolan Davis, Rudy Basson, Jonathan Manuel, Thabo Koti and Sandile Mhlongo, who all work for Streetscapes as peer coordinators. Jesse Laitinen, Streetscapes' founder and manager, said the new houses would be offered to peer counsellors and people who had been through the first stage of their programme and were now ready to find work and a home. They would be able to live with their families, close to the city, and pay affordable rent. The discounted value of the properties would be R2.5-million. Streetscapes is trying to raise R250,000 through a crowdfunding campaign and is approaching businesses to fund the rest. 'What we want to do is create a home in each of the units so that they won't be a dorm or an institution,' Laitinen said. Securing the properties would allow Streetscapes to scale up its reintegration programme for previously homeless people. One beneficiary of that programme is Sandile Mhlongo, a former soccer player who came to Cape Town from Durban in 2002. After ending up on the streets in 2005, he moved through various shelters and programmes before finding stability with Streetscapes. He began by cleaning streets in Woodstock, then moved into one of the Streetscapes houses. 'When you're part of the programme, they aim to put you in the house to uplift yourself,' Mhlongo said. 'Housing means a lot to us because some of us never had housing before.' Mhlongo now works as a peer supervisor. 'We give people medication. If they need shelter or if they have issues they can't deal with alone, we intervene as peers to try to put them back on track.' Streetscape runs a food garden in the city centre. The garden is cultivated by their formerly homeless clients as part of their programme of being reintegrated into society. Another peer worker, Dolan Davis, spent two decades on the streets before joining Streetscapes in 2021. He began working in gardens and later moved to the organisation's Kuils River farm. 'I started setting goals for myself and changed my whole mentality,' Davis said. Thabo Koti from Kraaifontein said Streetscapes had helped him recover from addiction and trauma. 'They were the first organisation that actually walked the journey with me into recovery.' The most beneficial thing about Streetscapes housing is that it restores your dignity. You forget what home is.' He currently works in a Streetscapes garden in Trafalgar and is a house co-ordinator at Chester House, one of Streetscapes' properties. 'Getting those seven units would mean they'd be able to assist more people, give them hope and give them a sense of belonging and worth,' Koti said. Jonathan Manuel from Delft was homeless at just nine-years-old after his mother died in 1995. 'I was on the streets my entire life and didn't know what it meant to sleep in a house,' he said. After getting his ID through Streetscapes, he was offered housing and work at the organisation. 'Now that Streetscapes placed me in Chester House, I feel like I'm part of a family and I feel the warmth.' The new site could also be a model for green development. 'We started experimenting with this beautiful painted container, which is a laundromat. It works completely off the grid,' said Laitinen. Streetscapes plans to replicate the solar- and rainwater-powered laundromat and showers should they get the new property. To fund construction and upgrades, Laitinen said Streetscapes is approaching solar and construction companies for cost-effective partnerships. Asked whether there was a timeframe for the public participation process, the City said it did not have one yet as it is 'still dependent on several factors'. 'The City's Property Transactions Department is undertaking technical investigations, whereafter the public participation process will commence,' the City said. It emphasised that no final decision on a sale has been taken, and that the proposal remains under assessment ahead of the public participation phase. While the programme's immediate impact might seem small, Laitinen believes its symbolic value is much greater. 'If you have 100 people off the streets in one month, that's a drop in the ocean. But it creates hope, and changes the system. This is also symbolic of how we all pull together: the state gives what it has, the NGOs give what they have, and corporates come together. 'To me, it's the model for how we can do things differently, and that is hugely exciting,' Laitinen said. One of the Streetscapes gardens in the city centre. This article was originally published on GroundUp.
