In his introduction PP Johann shared that James had previously served as member of parliament in the National Assembly as the shadow minister of tourism. Prior to this, he was elected as councillor for nearly three consecutive terms and served in various capacities such as portfolio chairman and subcouncil chairman.
During his time as public representative, James received numerous civic awards such as the Melvin Jones Fellowship and International Merit Award, and was bestowed with aldermanship, making him amongst the youngest to receive this life title.
James warmly congratulated both Vaughan Pierce and Spiro Mitchell on their PHF and Sapphire recognition. He went on to share that he “had the coolest job” in the City. His portfoliooversees all aspects of economic affairs within the City. The directorate focusses on the key sectors within Cape Town to stimulate economic growth in areas such as business development, tourism, fleet and facility management, strategic assets and property management.
This portfolio has the potential to ensure that Cape Town continues to be the go-to city on the African continent and globally for business, trade and tourism. “We have a diverse economy that is creating jobs and keeping unemployment low. Our main objective is to continue building on this success by working with industries and communities to invest in projects and programmes that will drive demand and make business sense.”
James shared that the V&A Waterfront was the most visited tourist attraction on the continent; that they were constantly talking to overseas countries to invest, to convince them that Cape Town was the easiest and best place to do business.
After receiving a standing ovation at the end of his exceptionally inspiring address, Alderman James was sincerely thanked by Janet Kriseman for his informative talk and for sharing so many positive good news initiatives that he and his team, have and were busy implementing to make Cape Town the City of choice, to do business, visit, invest and live. RC of Waterfront is keen to identify opportunities to work with this specific portfolio.