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CT Seeing More Building Activity
According to the City of Cape Town there was an increase in the number of building plans passed during the last quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.
This included a 25% increase in the number of residential property plans passed and a 31% increase in plans for non-residential properties.
“The construction industry is a major employer in terms of labour and it is therefore encouraging to learn that the number of building plans passed by the City has increased when compared with the same period in 2010,” said Alderman Belinda Walker, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning.
The non-residential properties included 63 plans for shopping space, 14 for industrial/warehousing and eight for offices.
Year-on-year, however, a slight decrease was recorded in the number of building plans passed during 2011. This can be attributed to a higher demand for construction during 2010 when South Africa hosted the World Cup.
Striking Bus Drivers Booted
The Bombela Concession company said in a statement on Monday that the Gautrain bus drivers who had participated in an illegal strike would be served with dismissal notices.
“The disciplinary process was completed on Friday night and those drivers that participated have already started receiving letters of dismissal,” said Bombela spokesperson Errol Braithwaite.
“MegaExpress will put plans in place today [Monday] to re-instate the bus service as soon as possible.”
Gautrain bus drivers had recently chosen to ignore an ultimatum requiring them to return to work by 3pm on February 1, but Braithwaite said the drivers had submitted a court application to have the disciplinary hearings blocked.
He said the Johannesburg Labour Court dismissed this application and some of the drivers were fired for their involvement.