Chaos at affordable housing conference in Cape Town

An affordable housing conference was brought to a standstill on Tuesday after protesters from Reclaim the City gatecrashed it.

Protesters linked to the NGO were involved in a scuffle with some of the organisers and ushers as they pushed to get inside. They chanted: "We want Brett‚ we want Brett!"

They were referring to the City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for Transport and Urban Development‚ Brett Herron.

He is due to address the conference on the city's plans for affordable housing.

One of the posters carried by protesters read: "Affordable Decent Housing. No to Camps." Another read: "No to evictions."

Herron announced on Monday that the ''dire need'' for housing the poor in Cape Town is the ''single biggest challenge we are facing as local government today''.

He is set to discuss plans aimed at expediting the delivery of housing opportunities.

The conference is a platform for housing stakeholders to engage at a global level.

According to the conference website: "Africa is growing through its cities. And every day‚ as people flock to urban centres in search of opportunity and change‚ the demand for housing grows. With an annual urbanisation rate of 3.5% over the past two decades‚ Africa's cities are the fastest growing in the developing world. Currently‚ about 40% of the continent's one billion people live in cities and towns; and it is estimated that in the next few years‚ some African cities will be home to as much as 85% of their country's population."

- TimesLIVE