Turn the Volume Up: An Open Letter to Capetonians

Fellow Capetonians,

There comes a time when a city stops whispering and chooses to speak its future into being. Watching Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech in New York, I heard four words that cut through fear and small politics: “Turn the volume up.”

It was not a slogan — it was a summons. It was people’s power made visible. Amandla! And we respond, Ngawethu! Alle krag aan die mense!

Mamdani’s words called ordinary working people to become the heroes of their own city, to trade timid management for moral courage and organised love.

In New York, that message resonated because it married hope with hard work, and compassion with competence. It won because it promised dignity one can feel, safety one can trust, bills one can manage, and a home within reach. That message should echo across the Atlantic, because our needs are the same. Cape Town and New York — both divided, both dazzling, both yearning to be made whole.

Order Without Justice Is Quiet Cruelty

For two decades, Cape Town has been ruled by a DA-led administration that prides itself on order. And yes — clean books matter, capable officials matter, efficiency matters. But order without justice becomes a quiet cruelty.

We live it daily: The unbearable conditions of the Cape Flats. The constant fear of not knowing if you’re next — or when your next meal will come. The despair. The anger. The commutes that steal hours from our children. The greedy tariffs that bite the thinnest wallets first. The vacant land where homes should rise. The rules that punish initiative. The cold bureaucracy that treats poverty — and courage — like a crime.

More for the few. Less for the many. None of this is fate — it is the residue of political choice. New choices are possible — if we turn the volume up on competence and compassion.

Ten Neighbours, Ten Promises

Let me speak to ten Capetonians who carry this city on their backs — and what a new politics owes them:

1. Bo-Kaap Matriarch & Market Guardian You preserve heritage and feed neighbours during Ramadan. We’ll protect living heritage from gentrification and digital nomad pressure, stabilise rents, and design child-safe streets. Join your Ward Assembly to co-create a Heritage and Housing Charter.

2. Khayelitsha Night Shift Nurse You rise before dawn to keep the city breathing. We’ll light 200 dark corners, extend bus routes to match shift schedules, and embed safety in public transport. Audit routes with us — you point, we fix, we publish.

3. Mitchells Plain Grandfather & Backyard Fixer You patch leaks and stretch your pension to feed others. We’ll set minimum service standards for backyarders — water, sanitation, light, respect. Join our Ward Repair Walkabout — accountability, not excuses.

4. Atlantis Single Mother & Warehouse Picker You read bills with dread. We’ll simplify tariffs, end humiliating credit chases, and sync transport with working hours. Sit on the Household Budget Panel — test the impact before bills rise.

5. Bellville Migrant Shopkeeper & Community Protector You work hard, pay rent, and keep your corner safe. We’ll end xenophobic policing, support local traders, and publish clear, fair rules in plain language. Join the Trader City Roundtable — write the code that governs your stall.

6. Rondebosch Live-In Domestic Worker You raise the city’s children. We’ll enforce fair hours and wages and ensure legal, decent housing near work. Serve on the Care Workers’ Council — help shape services around real lives.

7. Gugulethu Backyard Builder & First-Time Employer You create work with your hands. We’ll guarantee permits in 10 days, pay invoices in 21, and prioritise township artisans for municipal works. Register on the Township Build Portal — co-own local projects.

8. Sea Point Pensioner on a Fixed Income You built this city. We’ll ensure lifeline tariffs, clear billing, and patrolled walking routes. Join our Senior Safety Walk — help decide where the lights must go.

9. Woodstock Queer Creative & Freelancer You animate our city with art and courage. We’ll protect live-work spaces, secure safe nightlife corridors, and view culture as a key part of the economy. Join the Night Economy Forum — co-design safe, vibrant precincts.

10. Philippi Farmer & Co-op Worker You feed the city. We’ll fix irrigation, secure tenure, and buy local produce for school meals. Help lead the City–Farmer Compact — set and monitor fair prices.

These are not slogans — they are invitations. Ways to live Mamdani’s call: hope over big money, people over spin, delivery over drama.

When Mamdani said, “This power is yours. The city belongs to you,” he was speaking to all of us. Mamela. Listen. Luister. Let’s all say together: “Geordin Hill-Lewis, turn the volume up.”

And let’s respond the Cape Town way: “Dan maak ’n plan tesame.”

A Cape Town Plan Inspired by Mamdani

Let’s take the energy of Mamdani’s movement and make it our own:

• Lower the Cost of Living: Every policy must lighten the household load — rent, food, water, transport.

• Bring Work and Home Closer: Build mixed housing in well-located areas. End the empire of distance.

• Make Every Neighbourhood Safe: Light routes, fix pavements, and ensure visible public safety.

• Treat Enterprise with Dignity: Regulations should open doors, not build walls. Pay small suppliers on time.

• Govern in the Open: Publish contracts, ownership data, and performance metrics.

• Practise Ubuntu Daily: No hate. No scapegoating. We hold space for one another — or we lose the city we love.

Our Collective Pledge

• Competence with compassion.

• Courage with humility.

• Participation with proof.

We will not appease wealth — we will tax unearned privilege so that clinics shine, schools breathe, and streets are lit.

We will not make enemies of residents — we will make enemies of indifference.

We will turn the volume up — not on anger, but on dignity; not on noise, but on delivery; not on division, but on belonging.

Cape Town, the Time Has Come

It is no longer what is done to us — it is what we do. Let’s reclaim our city as a home for all: proudly, peacefully, and together.

Aluta continua. The struggle continues — with work, love, and solidarity always.

Faiez Jacobs

Capetonian

* * Faiez Jacobs is a former  Member of Parliament, founder of The Transcendence Group, Capetonian, Activist, and Servant of the People

** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOl.

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