DA-led Cape Town accused of land dispossession and entrenching spatial apartheid

The City of Cape Town’s plans to auction off 50 pieces of municipal land to the private sector are facing intense backlash from civil rights groups and political parties. 

The action is planned for 26 February. The city will dispose of properties zoned for residential, commercial, industrial, community and mixed-use purposes. 

The City announced that all properties identified for auction have been thoroughly assessed and are “not required for municipal purposes”; this amounts to a total area of 282,000 square metres. 

“As part of my mandate, I am prioritising the release of well-located land to unlock economic potential,” said James Vos, MEC for Economic Growth in Cape Town. 

“I firmly believe that our land portfolio must drive economic growth rather than sit idle, and this auction sets the standard for how we will put our properties to productive, purposeful use.”

The sale of these properties will also generate revenue for the city to use in the delivery of services, according to Vos.

However, a coalition of civil society groups, traditional councils and political groups, including the GOOD Party, is protesting against the auction. 

The group said the action is a “neocolonial land grab” and a “slap in the face” to poor and landless communities.

The coalition says that the auction will further harm those who were dispossessed and displaced during colonisation and apartheid and benefit those with money and power.

They add that meaningful public participation in the auction has not taken place and that communities have not been adequately informed of the disposals.

The GOOD Party echoed this. GOOD Deputy Secretary-General and Councillor for the City of Cape Town, Suzette Little, said that more than 400,000 residents are on the city’s housing waiting list.

“Many have waited decades. They followed the rules. They trusted the process. Yet instead of prioritising well-located land for social and affordable housing and community development, the DA-led administration is moving to dispose of public assets,” she said. 

‘A neocolonial land grab’

The party has submitted a formal motion to halt the land sales until the city has demonstrated with evidence that this land can’t be used for social housing, social facilities, safe houses, sports facilities, public amenities or other community infrastructure.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has thrown its weight behind this cause as well, calling for a postponement of the auction. 

“Stakeholders and concerned parties have raised concerns that the permanent allocation of public land may entrench spatial injustices and peripheral settlement patterns for marginalised communities,” the SAHRC said.

Against a backdrop of homelessness and historical injustice related to land dispossession, displacement and gentrification, the sale of public land should be treated as a last resort. 

During a meeting between the commission and the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, the mayor said that the city intends for portions of this land to be used for social and affordable housing initiatives. 

“However, the mayor confirmed that no conditions of sale to this effect would be applied to the auction,” the commission said, leaving questions about how this will be enforced.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Western Cape Caucus added its voice against the city, arguing that the transparency of the auction does not make the sale ethical. “It merely makes dispossession orderly.”

“The DA-led municipality continues to entrench spatial apartheid by allowing market forces to determine who has access to prime locations,” the party said. 

The party accuses the city of Cape Town of using public land as its private asset portfolio to trade on the market.

“At least ten golf courses sit on public land, with some, like Rondebosch Golf Club, paying as little as R1,000 per year for 450,000 square metres of land, enough to house thousands of families,” the EFF said.