Zille calls off Sea Point school sale in victory for housing activists

05 May 2016 - 16:44 By TMG Digital

Activists fighting the sale of a Cape Town school celebrated on Thursday when Western Cape Premier Helen Zille agreed to halt it. A settlement which was made an order of the Western Cape High Court stopped the sale of Tafelberg Remedial School in Sea Point.The Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre‚ acting for supporters of the Reclaim the City campaign‚ said: "This is a major victory for Reclaim the City and the broader campaign for affordable housing near the inner city."The settlement paves the way for the public‚ especially poor and working class people‚ to have our voices heard in decisions about the future of Tafelberg‚ and the use of prime state land in general.Lawyers from Ndifuna Ukwazi accepted an offer from Zille‚ the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works and the Phyllis Jowell School‚ which had agreed to buy the site."The province has admitted that it failed to comply with legal requirements in the sale of state land‚" said Ndifuna Ukwazi spokesman Mandisa Shandu."Province has agreed to rewind the clock back to a moment in time before the sale of Tafelberg to the Phyllis Jowell School‚ and reopens a 21-day period for public comment and objection."This time round the provincial cabinet‚ and indeed Premier Helen Zille herself‚ will review the objections and make a final decision as to whether to go ahead or to cancel the proposed sale."Shandu said the victory was just the start. "Zille has only responded to the procedural aspects and ignored our central demand – that the province fulfils its obligation to use well-located state land for affordable housing."Poor and working class people continue to struggle with the isolation‚ unemployment and unjust conditions inherited from apartheid city planning. We continue to be harassed by landlords‚ evicted or priced out of the inner city. We have a right to affordable housing near the inner city."This means that our campaign must intensify. We must ensure that the objection period is not simply a box-ticking exercise‚ but a genuine opportunity for meaningful participation."Zille said that providing adequate housing and overcoming apartheid-era spatial planning remained a priority.In her newsletter‚ Inside Government she said: "We are committed to ensuring that anyone who seeks an opportunity for comment should be able to have it taken into account‚ before the provincial government makes a rational decision about how best to utilise its assets to the best advantage of citizens."Discussions had to take into account the province’s need to deliver on its constitutional mandate‚ including providing housing‚ and other "important mandates".TMG Digital/The Times..

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