Cape Town mayor takes on Afrikaner commentator

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has slated Afrikaner commentator Willem Petzer for his view that the mayor’s policies are leading the city toward managed decline.

Hill-Lewis and Petzer have been engaged in a battle of words regarding the Cape Town mayor’s strategy in the city.

Petzer argued that Hill-Lewis’s aggressive social housing has greatly accelerated the demographic replacement in Cape Town.

He also criticized Hill-Lewis for attempting to radically densify the city by building high-density, low-income housing in high-income areas.

He alleged that 75% of the city’s budget is spent on poor areas that do not pay rates or taxes, leading the city to write off billions in bad debt annually.

To balance the budget, Petzer claimed the city has implemented draconian electricity and water tariff increases that exceed those sanctioned by NERSA.

This, he argued, led to legal battles between the City of Cape Town and civil rights organizations such as AfriForum and Sakeliga.

He further claimed the city is selling off billions in municipal assets, like shares in the Cape Town Convention Centre, to plug financial gaps.

Petzer argued the DA is selling out its traditional voter base, which is largely white and colored, to court black voters who, he claims, still favor the ANC or EFF.

“Black people will be an outright majority in Cape Town this year. Support for the DA among black voters was never above 4%,” he said.

He characterizes Hill-Lewis’s leadership as a more efficient version of ANC-style governance rather than a genuine alternative.

He also warned that the Cape Town mayor’s “left-wing ideas” will destroy the Mother City within a decade.

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis responds

Geordin Hill-Lewis responded to Petzer’s commentary, calling him Temu Terreblanche, a reference to the late right-wing AWB leader, Eugène Terre’Blanche.

“South Africa will never be truly prosperous unless each person has at least a modicum of dignified living, and the hope that life can get better,” he said.

“In Cape Town, we are trying to demonstrate just that. We still have lots of problems, but we’re working, growing, and steadily succeeding.”

He also commented on Petzer’s claims that his aggressive social housing greatly accelerated the demographic replacement in Cape Town.

“Thank you for recognizing our aggressive push for more social housing,” Hill-Lewis said in a post on X.

“We are passionate about getting people out of informal settlements and into dignified housing over time.”

“We’re passionate about more affordable housing for all. We think Cape Town, and South Africa, work best when it works for everyone.”

He added that he was sorry that Petzer did not see the situation in the same way.