Western Cape Premier Alan Winde blames activists for hampering Cape Town’s plans for affordable housing

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has said affordable housing activists who have illegally occupied Cape Town buildings “hinder our ability to deliver thousands of opportunities for those who need it the most”. 

Winde made the remarks during his State of the Province Address on Thursday at the provincial legislature chambers in Cape Town.

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Winde said his government’s attempts to build better communities by delivering critical infrastructure and services were under attack from extortion mafias and syndicates.

“As always, it is the residents who suffer the most.

“It is not only extortion, it is also stealing other people’s rights to home ownership by illegally occupying sites that are earmarked for social housing and mixed-use developments, like the Helen Bowden site, Woodstock Hospital and other locations,” said Winde.

Government-owned sites near central Cape Town have been occupied by various groups, including members of housing activists Reclaim the City and Ndifuna Ukwazi, who call for social and affordable housing in well-located areas. 

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“These illegal occupations hinder our ability to deliver thousands of opportunities for those who need it the most,” said Winde. 

The premier said the province had delivered 394 social housing opportunities, with projects such as Maitland Mews (204 units), Regent Villas (Mitchells Plain, with 60 units) and Conradie Park Phase 1 (130 units).

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Ndifuna Ukwazi was not happy with Winde’s remarks.

Nick Budlender, a researcher at the organisation, told Daily Maverick: “The premier’s claim that building occupations explain the province’s complete failure to build well-located affordable housing is not only inaccurate, it is also dishonest.”

Budlender said Helen Bowden and Woodstock Hospital, which have been renamed Ahmed Kathrada House and Cissie Gool House respectively, were vacant for a decade or more before being occupied, with no real movement on housing development at either site.

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“In fact, the province wanted to convert the Woodstock Hospital into offices for Cape Nature before activists intervened, rubbishing the premier’s claim that housing activists are responsible for the province’s lack of action,” said Budlender.

“There are many parcels of well-located land owned by the province that have been vacant and underutilised for a very long time. 

“It is not occupations that have blocked these sites from being developed, but rather a deep lack of urgency and genuine political will,” said Budlender.

“The occupations were part of a strategy to force the province to fulfil its obligations to build well-located affordable housing, and given how much attention the topic now gets, it seems this strategy has been effective,” he said.

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