Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu had a penchant for the “phantom openings” of non-existent projects and for ignoring the fundamental problems facing housing in the Western Cape, said official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon at the Delft settlement on Thursday.
He was referring to the recent handover of some keys at the N2 Gateway project — near the Cape Town International airport by the minister.
Leon visited families in Cape Town’s working class township of Delft — an area where his party recently won two of three municipal wards in the March municipal poll — and blamed “the failed housing policies” of the African National Congress (ANC) government, both provincially and nationally, for forcing people to have to live “in the most indefensible conditions”.
He noted that many of the families had to share their “very basic accommodation” with at least one other family.
“It is quite clear that the ANC has failed the people of the Western Cape in terms of the provision of housing. The N2 Gateway project is increasingly proving to be nothing more than a costly public relations exercise by the ANC.”
Leon noted that according to its initial plans, the N2 Gateway was supposed to have been completed this year.
“However, by the government’s own estimates, based on current revenue streams, it will only be finished in six years’ time. Therefore, the N2 Gateway project will not solve the housing crisis in the Western Cape.”
“It is projected that it will provide housing for 22 000 families, yet conservative estimates indicate that over 20 000 people move to Cape Town every year. Therefore, in six years 120 000 additional people will need homes, on top of the thousands of people already on the housing waiting list.”
The project was also blighted by a policy decision adopted by the previous Cape Town mayor and the provincial and national housing ministers, he argued.
“Together, they decided that homes in the N2 Gateway project would be allocated on a 70/30 basis, with 70% of the units going to people living next to the N2 highway and the balance going to backyard dwellers in Nyanga, Langa and other areas, including Delft.”
Leon said: “This politically motivated decision has generated large-scale resentment, as those people who have been on the waiting list from as far back as 1987 now feel they are being pushed to the back of the housing queue.”
“These feelings have been heightened by the provincial government’s decision to erect prefabricated homes in Delft for a number of the intended N2 Gateway project beneficiaries.”
Leon noted that the city of Cape Town — which is run by a DA-led coalition — had been left “in a terrible predicament by the ANC’s politicking on this issue”.
“The result of which is that its hands are effectively tied in trying to deal with the situation. I am advised that the city is standing by as a willing partner to help resolve the situation.
“The city has already showed that it has innovative solutions to address the housing crisis such as an agreement it reached with major banks to provide bond finance to low income earners — this will ultimately result in removing 100 000 from the housing waiting lists.
“It is now quite clear that the provincial and national government need to take responsibility for the chaos they have created and that they should enable the city to do whatever it can, wherever possible, to alleviate the housing crisis in the Western Cape, by providing the necessary funds and mandate to do so.” ‒ I-Net Bridge