Fast-tracking land release to address social housing challenges in the province was one of the key topics discussed at the City of Cape Town’s first affordable housing indaba held on Friday 8 April.
The event also marked the official launch of the City’s Land Release Priority Programme by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. The programme will focus on fast-tracking the release of state land for affordable housing and setting in place greater ease-of-doing-business for development applications.
Hill-Lewis says more than R17 million is allocated to cut out red tape and to fast-track land release in the City’s new draft budget.
The indaba, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), saw all three spheres of the government coming together and was attended by among others Malusi Booi, Mayco member for human settlements; Mmamoloko Kubayi, National Minister for Human Settlements; Premier Alan Winde; and Tertius Simmers, Western Cape Minister for Human Settlements.
Also in attendance were various stakeholders such as the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), Social Housing Institutions (SHI’s), the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance, the Western Cape Property Development Forum, the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), the International Housing Solution and the International Housing Solution.
By 2030, Cape Town will see a population increase of about 1,4 million. The province currently has a housing backlog of 568 000 and this number is growing rapidly, leading to an influx in informal settlements.
Hill-Lewis admits the lack of social housing is a crisis but, he says, it is “solvable”.
“Our commitment is to do more to release state-owned land for the development of well-located, affordable housing … This includes releasing land for social housing projects in the inner-city and well-located nodes elsewhere.”
Hill-Lewis says the pieces of land and where they are located will be formally released once it’s been approved by council.
Simmers explains social housing is a rental-only option managed by a Social Housing Institution (SHI). The qualification criteria for household income were amended.
“It used to be R1 500 to R15 000. It is now R1 850 to R22 000 gross monthly income.”
Simmers says: “Given that the Western Cape has the highest employment rate in the country of just under 70%, there is a great need for immediate access to affordable housing opportunities. In order to ensure the acceleration of this access, particularly if we’re going to make a dent in the current provincial housing waiting list, we have to be innovative and forward-thinking in our approach.”
Kubayi urges residents to refrain from occupying land illegally.
“We do understand the impatience about being provided with a house, but illegally occupying land does not help us. That is why we are working together as the three spheres of government to fast track the process, making sure that we bring a multi-approach strategy to resolving the challenges.”
Meanwhile, outside the CTICC residents from informal settlements across the city protested, saying they were excluded from the indaba.
Among the protesters were representatives from Reclaim the City – a campaign started in 2016 to tackle spatial apartheid within the inner-city of Cape Town.
In a media statement, the social housing lobby group said the state and all private actors must work with communities on dignified housing solutions rather than “brutalising our people with any type of law enforcement or private security”.
Karen Hendricks, Woodstock Reclaim the City Chapter leader, says the City must scrap the unlawful occupation by-law and the streets, public places and noise nuisances by-law immediately because “they criminalise poor people for choices made in the absence of affordable housing”.
Hendricks says they also want the relevant government departments to provide an implementation plan, including timeframes, and stating who will be responsible for the provision of accessible and safe essential services of water, electricity and ablution facilities to all communities living in informal settlements and inner-city occupations within this year.
Hendricks says they have been fighting for public land to be used for affordable housing.
“And it is five years later and there are still these pieces of public land that is not being utilised for affordable housing.”
Reclaim The City is supported by Ndifuna Ukwazi – an activist organisation and law centre that promotes the realisation of Constitutional rights and social justice. They too participated in the protest, demanding a greater participation.
“Communities and social movements like Reclaim the City have vocally called for the release of well-located public land and development of dignified, affordable housing for years, yet they were not drawn into the event,” a media statement released by Ndifuna Ukwazi read.
A few of the protestors were allowed inside the venue where they staged a peaceful protest.
Booi says the indaba is the first of many with stakeholders. He says they need the capacity, funding, commitment and support from the private sector stakeholders.
“Releasing land for more affordable housing is a collective goal for Team Cape Town … The input from social housing institution partners, private developers, and financiers will lay the foundation for the next phases of engagement.”
