Cape Town - He faces the task of turning Cape Town into an inclusive city but it has not yet sunk in that the DA’s Geordin Hill-Lewis will soon have the mayoral chain draped around his neck.
Hill-Lewis, 34, will have a full in-tray when he officially reports for duty late this month. The previous administration has been heavily criticised for being anti-homeless, anti-poor, heavily charging rate payers, and having a long housing backlog and high rates of crime.
“The purpose of my governance is to make Cape Town the most inclusive city in South Africa and to be a city of hope and pride for the whole country. There are so many people who feel negative and worried about the way our country is going, but I want it to be one place where they can look at what the country could look like.”
A father of one, Hill-Lewis said he was excited and his age would not put him under any pressure.
“It’s still sinking in but I’m very excited about it. The age thing does not get to me, the only pressure I feel is the pressure to deliver. I have set out an ambitious plan for the city, if we can do it, it will make Cape Town a truly global leading city.”
He said it was only on Wednesday that he saw that the DA had won Cape Town again with outright majority.
“I thought we would do worse than we did, but on Wednesday is when I realised that we have this in the bag.”
Hill-Lewis first ran for Parliament at the age of just 23 and was elected a year later. He held multiple positions in the DA’s shadow cabinet and was part of the successful 2009 Helen Zille’s campaign to be premier. The DA also entrusted him with the researcher position which assisted the party in keeping the governing ANC in check in the national assembly.
“I believed from the beginning that young people can do great things in South Africa. They must not be afraid of their age and I have always had that ‘I am not going to stand back just because I am young’ thing. If I have good ideas, I am going to go for it.”
Raised by a single mother, Hill-Lewis was born in Plettenberg Bay and moved to Cape Town where he attended Edgemead High School.
The Stormers supporter holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree as well as an Honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics from UCT. He also obtained a Master's degree in economic policy from the University of London.
He is not a fan of soccer and does not support any team. He likes swimming and spending time with his daughter and nature.
His grand plan is to reduce Cape Town’s reliance on Eskom.
He said the economy cannot grow while there are blackouts around the country. Hill-Lewis plans to use the regulatory amendment that allows municipalities to purchase electricity without involving the country’s power provider, Eskom.
“This is a game-changer for South Africa, the other thing we have to get right is storage. We will purchase and store electricity from independent power producers and we can do that in just this one term.”
Speaking on homelessness, Hill-Lewis declined to criticise the outgoing administration on how they dealt with the issue.
“I think we can have a better working relationship with groups (NGOs, civil groups), a deep sense of care for homeless families, particularly those with children. I have said it all along, the City has got to do more in terms of providing safe space beds for homeless people.”
On addressing access to housing, Hill-Lewis said the state is running out of money for public housing and the old model of state delivery of free housing is slowly drawing to a close.
“We have to release the assets that we have to private developers. We will do our part, but other spheres of government have to come on board. We do not need five army bases in one city. It’s crazy, we are saying just let us have one, and keep the other four. We will show you what we can do with it and take it from there.”
The DA might have dropped seats in council but Hill-Lewis promises to win back the trust of supporters by delivering on his promises.
Dr Zwelinzima Ndevu from the School of Public Leadership at the University of Stellenbosch said Hill-Lewis is facing a task as he inherits a divided city.
“The outgoing administration tried but it is still a divided city and it will be difficult to address that as he has to consult a lot. He will also be trying to change the perception that the city is not an accountable city.”
Weekend Argus