Cape Town - Expelled City of Cape Town
councillors have told the mayor that Mowbray Golf Course, Rondebosch
Common, disused military land at Youngsfield and Wingfield and land in
Goodwood could be used for housing for the poor.
Former
councillor Andile Lili warned mayor Patricia de Lille there would be no
peace in Cape Town until the living conditions of the poor were
improved.
Wednesday’s meeting between De
Lille, Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, the Concerned Citizens’ Group,
the new civic organisation Ses’khona and residents of various informal
settlements such as Kanana, Barcelona, Dunoon, Macassar, Kosovo and
Delft, quickly turned into a stand-off as tempers flared and voices were
raised.
“We
want land for proper housing. We want dignity for all. Until then, there
will be no peace,” Lili said. “We are not interested in politics any
more. We will mobilise at least a million people. If you are not careful
you will see the anger of the poor.”
After
her initial calls for consultation in “good faith” turned into
“grandstanding”, De Lille said: “I am always ready to fight. I am not
afraid of anyone. I will not deny you your right to protest because I
fought for that right.”
Former ANC
councillor Loyiso Nkohla, who was recently expelled from the city for
his involvement in the poo protests last year, fired the last salvo: “We
are (more) prepared than her to fight. We will meet fire with fire.”
Madikizela
was told by community members to sit when he tried to correct
allegations that had been made against him regarding provincial housing
delivery. Residents walked out of the meeting after De Lille told them
to “stop their nonsense”.
There was also
vocal disappointment that Western Cape Premier Helen Zille was not
present at the meeting, which was held shortly before the ANC’s march to
the provincial legislature.
Both Lili and
Nkohla were involved in last year’s housing protest march that ended in
chaos when a breakaway group looted stalls in the city centre.
The
former councillors said they had identified 32 tracts of land that
could be used for housing. These included Mowbray Golf Course – when its
lease expires next month – Rondebosch Common, land in Goodwood, and
Youngsfield and Wingfield.
Lili and Nkohla refused to let city officials show a presentation on the city’s human settlements programme.
“We can no longer be locked in engagements and in boardrooms. We will fight until the people listen,” said Nkohla.
Lili added: “Let’s not talk about what government has done, but about what the people want.”
De
Lille said: “I would like to place on record that the city is taking
part in today’s engagement without prejudice, as the city is still
pursuing legal action against some individuals present here today.”
Arms
deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne, representing the Concerned
Citizens’ Group, said the city’s informal settlements were a “blight and
a disgrace”.
“We are sitting on a social time bomb, and we know it as we have been sitting on it for 20 years.”
Crawford-Browne
said it was likely that President Jacob Zuma would announce during his
State of the Nation speech that military land at Youngsfield and
Wingfield would be transferred to the city for housing.
While
the R100 billion needed to provide 250 000 social housing units was
beyond the city’s capacity, this could be done with funding from the
national government.
Madikizela admitted
that there were people who did not qualify for free houses or housing
subsidies because of their monthly income, but who could not afford a
bond from a bank. “The reality is that there are people who are not
accommodated by the current housing policy.”
He
said the province was grappling with a R26bn backlog in infrastructure.
“So we might have the land but if we don’t have money to ensure that
people can flush their toilet, we will still have problems.”
Lili said they had applied for permission for a housing march next month, and would take their fight to court if necessary.
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