Since 1806, the firing of the Noon Gun has long been a tradition and popular tourist attraction in Cape Town. The gun was originally used to signal time for ships docked in Table Bay harbour, enabling them to set their marine chronometers. But it has recently been revealed by the city’s Mayoral Committee that each daily round costs R670. Is this money being put to good use in a city severely affected by poverty and homelessness?
As quoted by TimesLive, it cost R17.70 a day to fire the cannon 29 years ago. Keeping up with inflation, that figure is now sitting at nearly R700 a day.
I’m all for tourism to help boost the economy, but if we had to break it down on paper, is the daily expense of the gun being fired covered by visiting tourists? If it is, then great. If not, perhaps that money could be put to better use elsewhere.
As a resident Capetonian who sees the homeless struggling every day, it is difficult to think that a cannon being fired for tradition’s sake is robbing 30-odd people in need the chance of a hot meal. The total expense is more than R16k a month, excluding Sundays and public holidays.
The city recognises the Noon Gun to be an integral key tourist attraction, so this is by no means a Rhodes-esque call to take it down. But perhaps more viable options should be presented, so as not to literally blow R670 on a second of tradition a day.
Read more here.
Photography HSMimages.co.za
Even if it’s not well spent… It will disappear into someone else’s pocket…..
Omw I had no idea… definitely a waste of money when there are so many dying of hunger
Very well spent!
CapeTownEtc JustinUtopia it’s history and custom. Let it be. It costs more to feed Zuma. Let’s rather focus on that.
Ilse Zwiegers
Let’s squeeze all the fun out of life. No more traditions. For goodness sake. the noon day gun is part of what defines Cape Town as the vibrant city that it is. The relatively small amount would only disappear never to be seen again.
um, could someone start a noonday gun foundation, then people who want to can donate?
Of course it must be saved R650 is nothing compared to what is wasted by government
No NOT STOP the noon gun!!
Yet another distraction initiative away from larger issues. Get a life and leave well alone those things that make up the Cape Town ethos. Parliamentarians cost far more than that for each hour they sleep during sessions or traveling in their siren screeching imported luxury cars.
It’s like someone sits and think what sh#t can we stir up today… First statues now the noon gun… What next???!!
…so who asked the question? Place them in front of it please
Andre Jurgens is wasting his education if he thinks this is journalism. What a ridiculous thing to weigh a Cape Town tradition against homelessness.
Keep the Gun going
Hahaha crying for 650 but they waste millions every year in the government
R670? Our MP’s spend 10x that each every time they visit KFC. It’s about the same as three speeding fines. I think Cape Town can afford it.
Really now? ..so how much is it gonna cost to bulldoze table mountain flat enuf to put up some more RDP Housing?? U0001f62c
Keep the noon day gun
At least with the noon gun we can see our tax money being used for something… otherwise who knows who’s pocket that cash goes into.
Keep it.
Its part of the attraction of the city. Don.t destroy tourism. Tell the fat cats to tighten their bellies. While they live like kings on our tax their fellow beings are struggling.
I agree totally with a comment I read just now. What nonsense can we dream up today to get the people riled up. Let’s keep some traditions going otherwise we become a rootless society
Please what next? Leave our Noon Gun!
Money well spent. Government waste enough money on own lifestyle. leave or cannon alone. love that sound.
We should rather save the money that gets blown on stupid articles like this
Don’t even think of doing away with it!
Sorry my friend!! The government spends money on S### !!!! …. The noon gun stays!!!!
Why stop, it’s money well spent and nkandla can’t do very much with R670 per day anyway!!!
At least we know where the money is going
Even if it is going up in smoke
Money well spent
Why are we even entertaining this stupid question? What next?
That’s around 70 Australian dollars. Seriously that’s nothing. Why is this even an issue for anyone? Keep the noon gun.
How else would I know that I have already wasted half the day?
How much did this stupid article cost? Please fire the one that thought of this and put that money to good use feeding the indigent! I wish facebook had a DISLIKE button
tHAT IS TRADITION.
Take it off the Nkandla budget…BUT not a waste of money!!!
I believe it is a waste, cause it’s not firing at the ANC
#keepthenoongun
Charge tourists for the honour of firing it.
Leave it alone already! Its a Cape Town tradition…
Yes for god sake let some bloody thing work or dome idiot will be banking it it the bank
St least tax payers have some thing
Do you seriously not have anything better to do than to think up this nonsense???
Absolutely – compare R600 and R245 million – how many homeless can you feed with that?
Lol!!! True that 😉
YES! It must stay.
Alternative? Stuff it with all the confiscated drugs and weed – am sure with the right “mix” we call pull off one heck of a bang for free every day 😉
We’ll just have a problem after a while with all the druggies gathering around for the noon-puff cloud 😉
Jen, she was being sarcastic about the article, not against Noon Gun
Oh sorry Gudrun!! I am the stupid one! Dolores is my sister, she thinks she is the clever one!
So if it’s fired 353,846 times it would be one Nkandla, not taking inflation into account.. that’s once a day every day for 969 years.
Well worth the money.
Of course it’s well spent – what a stupid point to raise. It tells thousands of lazy capetonians that it’s already 12 o’clock and we should do some work. Gets me motivated daily #productivity
Sounds like another cultural tradition in the pipeline to b lost?
Leave the gun ALONE! Focus on crimes!!!!!
Yes well spent
Tourism is the biggest industry in the world. Now government is taking down every tourism attraction in South Africa. Worried about homeless people and unemployment … Let’s see how much employment will be left if there is less and less tourism attractions, Capetown and surrounds are driven by tourism. Fishing isn’t enough to carry this area. We don’t have mines we have restaurants and tourism … People won’t come to Capetown for fine dinning alone … Giving in to this is small but what happens when they start closing down parks and museum’s sure to follow is the Victoria & Alfred waterfront (the most visited tourist attraction in Africa) soon no amount of restaurant and township tours will keep foreigners coming back to our beautiful diverse country.
Waste of money. Better spent on food for the hungry.
looks as if she is…
I’m a resident of Bo Kaap for only a short period of time. But Ive attended high school, college and work here and i really can’t imagine my day without the noon gun going off. Needless to say living here means I get a shock every day at 12, but I like the tradition. My mum remembers it as a little girl. We cannot do away with everything of the past. we won’t know who we are if we did. And I know its cliche, but if you don’t know where you come from, you won’t know where you’re going.
I love this
Keep firing!
I highly doubt the moola will be going straight to the people.
#KeepFiring
Leave the Noon Day Gun alone! Enough already. If you want to protest wasted money… go to Nkandla… or parliament.
FFS ebough already…..leave it alone. What do they want to replace it with? A noon day taxi guardjie?
South Africa had a world class arms industry. Surely something simple can be developed to provide a daily bang without a huge recurring cost. LP gas?
Sure give the money to the poor, but what do ‘handouts’ give? Remember what tourists bring to the city. Anyhow, I guess if you give the money as handouts, you could compile a roster of recipients to stand outside parliament (at noon) every day… each with his/own (self-inflated) paper bag. At exactly 12 noon they can pop their bags in unison… now that would be an attraction 😉