Omgewingsake en ontwikkelingsbeplanning in die Wes-Kaap staan al geruime tyd onder die leiding van twee Old Boys. In hierdie artikel kyk ons na die merkwaardige loopbaangeskiedenis van Anton Bredell (1983), Wes-Kaapse Minister van Omgewingsake en Ontwikkelingsbeplanning, en Pieter van Zyl (1973), die hoof van daardie departement.
A unique management partnership between Anton Bredell (1983) and Pieter van Zyl (1973) has been leading the portfolio of environmental affairs and development planning in the Western Cape Provincial Government for nearly 10 years.
Anton has been the Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning since May 2009 and Pieter was appointed as the Provincial Head of Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in January 2012.
Anton Bredell
Born and raised in Stellenbosch, Anton Bredell matriculated from Paul Roos Gymnasium in 1983. He went on to study Marketing and Sales Management at the then Cape Technikon (now the Cape Peninsula University of Technology).
He started his first job in the Finance Department of Boland Bank Stellenbosch. When his father established a business in the small rural town of Darling, Bredell decided it was time for a new challenge. He left the bank to join the family business where he ended up working for the next 16 years.
True to the influence of his schooling, Bredell lives by the philosophy to always be humble and thankful which shows in his work ethic and the way in which he runs his departments.
During the course of 1995 Bredell was elected to the Transitional Council of Darling and eventually became the Deputy Mayor of that town, whereafter he became the Mayor.
Bredell believes in giving back to the community and started the first Thusong Centre in Darling, helping the youth with after school activities and skills development programmes. He went on to become the Deputy Mayor of the Swartland Municipality (Malmesbury) and in 2003 became the Executive Mayor of Swartland. In 2006 he was elected as Chairperson of the Western Cape Mayoral Forum.
In 2007 Bredell entered politics full time, when he was elected as the Western Cape Regional Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance.
After the general election in April 2009 he was appointed as Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning. Bredell’s particular interests are to contribute to building systems that address poverty, better municipal governance and to finding the balance between economic growth and protecting our environment.
He has served for two five-year terms in his portfolio, during which Bredell has achieved many milestones. In May 2019, he was appointed for a record third five-year term as Provincial Minister. Under his watch, the thirty municipalities in the Western Cape have improved their management and governance performance notably. Known for his inclusive management style and love of public service, Bredell has the innate ability to build teams with a clear and united vision and instil a solutions-based mindset.
He has been a long-time resident of Malmesbury, with his wife Michelle and their two sons, that are both at university.
Pieter van Zyl
Also born and raised in Stellenbosch, Pieter van Zyl matriculated from Paul Roos Gymnasium in 1973. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pretoria in 1978 and later also obtained a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from the same University. In 1987 he attended the Executive Property Development Programme at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business.
Van Zyl has nearly 40 years’ experience in Urban Planning and Property Development, in both the public and private sectors. With a strategic and analytical focus, and as an experienced project team leader, Pieter delivers on project outcomes using good communication, persuasion and facilitation skills. His clear understanding for the need for commercially orientated approaches to underpin the success and sustainability of development projects, urban planning and environmental management frameworks is what now makes him a respected public servant.
His formative professional years, between 1981 and 1990, were spent with the City of Cape Town, initially as an Urban Planner, later as Chief Engineer (Planning) and finally as the City’s Development Co-ordinator.
A major part of Pieter’s career was spent as the Planning and Development Executive of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Project in Cape Town. During his time in this capacity, between March 1990 and May 2007, the V&A Waterfront was developed into one of the world’s foremost mixed-use waterfront projects. He was responsible for managing the urban, environmental and conservation planning on the project and oversaw a development portfolio of R2,5 billion on the V&A Waterfront’s retail, commercial, industrial and hotel projects.
Between May 2007 and October 2010, he re-joined the City of Cape Town, in the position of Executive Director: Strategy & Planning. His management portfolio included Planning and Land Use Management, Spatial Planning and Urban Design, Environmental Resource Management, Strategic Development Information and Geographic Information Systems.
Before being appointed as Head of the Department of the Western Cape Government’s Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in January 2012, Pieter was the Head of Urban Planning at the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) in Abu Dhabi (UAE), from October 2010 to December 2011. TDIC is the lead developer of major tourism, cultural, and residential destinations in Abu Dhabi.
Van Zyl is a Registered Professional Planner with the SA Council for Planners (since 1985) and a Corporate Member of the South African Planning Institute (since 1996) – he was also the first President of the Institute from 1996-1998.
Pieter married René in 1980 and they have a daughter and a son, who are both married. They have been blessed with two grandchildren, with two more expected to arrive early in 2021. He is very proud of his PRG ‘pedigree’ – his late father, SAS, matriculated in 1942, making Pieter a second-generation Paul Rooser, along with his two brothers, Baldie (1976) and Marvan (1983). His son Bertus (2004) was a third generation Old Boy and son-in-law Marinus Pretorius is currently a teacher and rugby coach at the school.
Pieter van Zyl (1973)
