Housing activist group Ndifuna Ukwazi said while it welcomes the City of Cape Town’s efforts to release land in the inner city for affordable housing, the progress is long overdue.
This follows the city’s announcement that it had secured heritage approval for about 700 housing units at Cissie Gool House (formerly Woodstock Hospital).
The group said it has been a frustratingly long wait since the municipality promised to develop the land in 2017.
“Some of these sites were actually identified as early as 2008 but still do not have a single affordable home on them. How long will people still have to wait before actual construction happens?” asked Ndifuna Ukwazi spokesperson Yusrah Bardien.
The city said the biggest remaining obstacle is the illegal occupation of the building.
However, Bardien said, this was not true as the city had failed to provide affordable inner city housing since the dawn of democracy.
“If anything, the recent progress should be partially attributed to activist pressure. It is only since activists increased the pressure that we have seen any progress. Several city projects with absolutely nothing to do with Cissie Gool House (formerly Woodstock Hospital) are on the verge of cancellation because of government failure, and they would do well to focus on this.”
-EWN
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