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By Marvin Charles 
1 hour ago
Cape Town – The Democratic Alliance (DA), which controls the Western Cape and the City, has been criticized for maintaining apartheid spatial planning and for protecting white privilege.
This after the Western Cape Superior Court had shelved the province’s controversial sale of the Tafelberg school site at Sea Point.
Housing activists have campaigned for years for the site to be used for affordable social housing in one of Cape Town’s wealthiest enclaves. The high court found that both the City and the provincial government failed in their constitutional mandate to address apartheid spatial planning.
Under the supervision of then-Prime Minister Helen Zille, the site was sold to the Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School for 135 million rand, despite a promise from the provincial human settlements department that it would be used as housing.
“The Western Cape has a cabinet that was in default. You violated the law by selling the property without following the proper process. Their politicians ignored their own policies and the advice of professionals on spatial transformation, ”said Good Party Secretary General Brett Herron.
“The court found that not only had he failed to fulfill his constitutional duties, but he had no plans to progressively achieve the constitutional rights of the people of the Western Cape. The province had no answers ”.
Judges Patrick Gamble and Monde Samela ruled that the regulations used by the province to justify the sale of the site were unconstitutional and invalid. The court issued a declaratory order indicating that both the City and the province were in breach of their constitutional obligations to promote access to affordable housing.
The ANC said the ruling reaffirmed the DA administration’s position not to relocate the poor near the city.
ANC MPL Lulama Mvimbi, the party’s public works and transportation spokesperson, said: “This ruling has exposed the DA as a party for white privilege and for the preservation of apartheid spatial planning. This is not the first or the last piece of suitable land that is being sold cheaply to the captors of the Prosecutor’s Office, the property magnates. “
Disha Govender, Director of the Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Center, said: “The ruling recognizes that spatial inequality and injustice persist in the center of Cape Town and that the province and city must do more to address this. The housing crisis persists and worsens and we argue that public land must be released urgently for the development of truly affordable and decent housing and that the government must be more robust in this and in creating an environment to ensure that the private sector also contributes. . “
Yonela Diko, spokesperson for Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, said: “The city of Cape Town has done little to ensure that constitutional obligations to ensure that our people have complete and adequate housing are met.
“Currently, 60% of the land by residential value in Cape Town is occupied by 20% of the population, which means that 80% of the residents must settle for what is left.
“The sale of the Tafelberg property further strengthened this land exclusion. (We’ve) considered many options to try to deal with the backlog of homes and the desperate need for land. and I have drawn up a plan that has been shared with all stakeholders and is awaiting Cabinet approval, ”said Diko.
DA provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela said the provincial cabinet will discuss the ruling on Tuesday and then make an announcement.
Cape argus
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