By Anél Powell
In a shock announcement on Thursday, the District Six Beneficiary Trust announced that the redevelopment of the area would be taken over by national government from the Cape Town city council with "immediate effect".
But executive mayor Helen Zille, who was informed by the media of the national intervention, decried the takeover and warned it could result in "another N2 Gateway fiasco". A group of beneficiaries threatened legal action to stop it.
The trust's Nadeem Hendricks "welcomed the direct intervention by national government" and said: "Petty politics of Cape Town has held up the project for a long time.
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'Petty politics of Cape Town has held up the project' "I am hoping that with national government driving the project as part of the N2 Gateway, we will see substantial progress with immediate effect."
He said Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Deputy Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Dirk du Toit would take over leadership of the project from executive mayor Helen Zille.
Zille said there had been no consultation with the city before the announcement was made.
"It is clear that the National Department is repeating the N2 Gateway scenario.
"They want to prevent the city's involvement in delivery and they want to stop us asking penetrating questions," she said.
Sisulu had earlier stated that part of the housing backlog would be accommodated in District Six, as part of the N2 Gateway project.
Hendricks blamed the repeated changes in the city's political administrations for delays in the redevelopment of District Six.
"I got so fed up that I took the initiative on behalf of the trust to call on (Housing Minister Lindiwe) Sisulu to intervene."
He said the "new (DA-led) power was making ridiculous demands" on the trust. These included a call by the city for the trust to hold an annual general meeting.
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