WHILE Premier Helen Zille refuted reports implicating her special adviser and former Public Works head, Gary Fisher, in the controversial disposal of the Tafelberg site, Sea Point domestic workers objecting to the sale say affordable housing was being “sabotaged by vested interests”.
The workers supporting Reclaim the City in its efforts to stop the sale of the property to the Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School say they have learnt that Fisher’s company, CapitalGro, acquired two properties in the vicinity of the Tafelberg site in Sea Point while he oversaw the disposal of the site to the private sector.
“For more than two decades, we have struggled for our rights to be part of the Sea Point community. Today, we are still fighting for affordable and decent accommodation. In that time our living conditions have not changed and very little progress has been made,” they said in a statement.
“Even the storerooms we stay in are not our own and people are being evicted on a daily basis. People must understand that Sea Point cannot function without the working class.”
The R135 million sale was stopped after an agreement between the provincial government and lawyers for Reclaim the City supporters was made a high court order in April.
The Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) Law Centre, for the workers, said yesterday that Fisher’s roles as a senior public official responsible for land disposal and an area property investor presented a “prima facie conflict of interest”.
“It fatally compromises the validity of the Tafelberg disposal process, raises serious questions about how the Western Cape provincial government monitors and promotes good governance, and has potentially undermined the development of vitally needed affordable housing for hundreds of families,” NU said.
It said after Fisher joined the board, CapitalGro entered into negotiations to acquire two buildings near the Tafelberg site. They claim The Regent was purchased in November 2013 for R95.7m, and Fisher had opposed the use of Tafelberg on record in 2012.
“Ndifuna Ukwazi demands that his declarations of interest to the department and the premier be made public immediately. At this time Fisher, in his capacity as head of Public Works, was finalising the Expressions of Interest terms of sale for the Tafelberg site to be published four months later. The Equinox was purchased in November 2014 for R94.6 million.”
Zille, without naming Fisher, referred to him as the “official” and said he was not involved in any way in the process involving Tafelberg.
“As per his current employment conditions, his only role is to co-ordinate the delivery of a major affordable housing project at the site of the old Conradie Hospital. His expertise has had a significant and positive impact on the project.”
She denied the alleged undue influence in the decisions around the property, saying a decision will be based on “our constitutional and legal obligations, including a consideration of the public comment received”.
Zille said the provincial government and the City were making progress on affordable housing developments in the vicinity of the CBD.
But a provincial Human Settlements official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were no plans to develop any mixed-income, low-cost housing anywhere near the CBD.
Human Settlements MEC Bongikonsi Madikizela insisted that “absolutely” there were plans for low-income and mixed-income housing on provincial government-owned land despite scant evidence.
He said the provincial government had made an offer to purchase the current site of the Christiaan Barnard Hospital for mixed-income housing.