Almost 5 years after the Western Cape High Court set aside the Western Cape Government’s sale of Tafelberg site and after more than a decades long fight and campaign for affordable housing on the Tafelberg Site, (353 Main Road in Sea Point), Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) notes the Western Cape Government’s announcement made on 30 January 2025 on the future of the site.
We are still digesting the announcement and considering its full implications. We do note that the manner in which the Province has made this announcement and purported decision continues to raise concerns about how it involves the public in decisions about the use of public land. Particularly in the context of this site, where there had been and remains calls for it to be used for well-located affordable housing to address the unabating housing and segregation crisis in this city. The Province’s statement is vague and we still need to understand from the Province what the mixed use affordable housing and the Department of Social Development plans envisage. Truly affordable housing for the vulnerable is what we want to see.
We question how the Province came to its decision in light of the suspended public participation process that it announced and then unilaterally suspended with no consultation with interested and affected parties or any reason provided for the suspension of that process.
The Province’s statement is vague on what the purported DSD plans actually envisage and will be seeking further clarity regarding the Province’s decision. Truly affordable housing for the vulnerable is what we want to see on the site.
We remain committed to seeing the realisation of the rights of the most vulnerable in our City and for that reason we will continue seeking clarity from the Constitutional Court with respect to the government’s obligations in using public land. We successfully had the Province’s previous decision to sell the site set aside and have maintained since then that the ongoing litigation has never been a barrier to the site being developed but that development must be in compliance with the government’s constitutional and statutory obligations.
“We need a firm commitment to affordable housing on Tafelberg, not mere exploration. Nine feasibility studies on Tafelberg have already shown that affordable and social housing are possible on the site. What is being explored when the housing crisis continues to compound?
The Western Cape government must prioritise affordable housing for the vulnerable on Tafelberg to address the urgent housing needs and dismantle the enduring structures of spatial apartheid.”
- Buhle Booi, Head of Political Organising at Ndifuna Ukwazi
