District 6 Working Committee
The District 6 Working Committee (D6WC) is once again calling an urgent mass public meeting of its more than 3 000 members – predominantly scattered across the Cape Flats, the Northern Suburbs and beyond, to decide what to do about the slow and corrupt land reform process in their suburb.
They must also deal with the unethical leasing out of the Good Hope Centre (GHC) to a foreign film/TV company, the pending “systematic removal” (alleged eviction) of the De Waal Drive residents and many other social issues inflicted on us by local government.
Coalition partners, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu), the Bo-Kaap Civic Association, Malay Choir Board and D6WC have initiated the “Raak Wys/Vuka” campaign to save the Good Hope Centre and District 6 land on which unscrupulous corporate entities and individuals have shamelessly built their financial empires at the expense of a people who were dehumanised, dispossessed and evicted during apartheid.
The D6WC meeting will be held at Blackpool Sports Complex, Shelley Road, Salt River, on October 10 from 10am to 1pm.
Anyone interested in joining the fight against the corruption and continued injustice toward the “outcast” people of Cape Town is invited to attend.
D6WC chairperson Mr Shahied Ajam says that local government should be brought to book for deliberately sidelining the poorer people of Cape Town by cramming them into ghettos and pushing them more and more out to sea in places like Pelican Park; instead of bringing them back into the City.
“Apartheid spatial planning is still highly prevalent in our City. The recent publication of dot maps of South Africa’s racial distribution show how poor non-white South Africans are crammed into Cape Town’s ghettos more than anywhere else,” says Ajam.
“What happened to the City’s densification strategy which went through extensive public participation and was passed in 2012? No! Transformation is not at work here. We should be ashamed that 20 years into democracy Cape Town is the most racially segregated city in South Africa and probably the most segregated in the world.
“Urban densification, with the focus on low-cost housing, has become taboo to the City of Cape Town and that’s why the restitution programme in District 6 remains deadlocked.
“The CBD is only accessible to the elite who can afford exorbitant prices for high-rises. Many former residents are still left out in the cold while local and national government continue to play the blame-game. My God!
“People are dying left right and centre, waiting for a resolution that is not forthcoming. Underscoring all of this is the fact that many people living in District 6 presently have occupied houses illegally with the first round of restitution.
“Corruption is at an all-time high and everybody turns a blind eye! We say: “No more!”
“The people have suffered enough. The history of apathy that the City of Cape Town, as well as the province, have displayed – by unashamedly stating that they are unsure of the impact of the return of low-income residents to prime city real estate – is a direct attack on the integrity of the people and we need to challenge this legally in terms of Section 25 of the constitution. Capetonians have finally woken up!
“They are gatvol of fat cats, lies and empty promises. They are now reaching out to save what is theirs. The story of the people of Cape Town stretches back centuries. For too long have we been treated as persona non-grata in our own country, with oppressors constantly taking from us.
“From the Khoisan who were forced into slavery when the colonials arrived, to the imported slaves who were forced into slavery here and the people who suffered at the hands of the apartheid government. Our heritage is an important part of our identity and, with respect, since our people’s minds are so fractured because of what the apartheid system did to them that identity is a bit difficult for them to understand.
“It is therefore so important that we start the healing process in a holistic way. And to do that we need to get these processes right – from grassroots level right into Parliament. We need to ensure that people get their land back; that people experience true restoration of their dignity, so that we all can be part of a flourishing city, province and country,” he adds.
This is the reason behind the fight to save the Good Hope Centre, which has been an important part of Cape Town culture. This landmark building, which is in the heart of District 6, is built on the historical “Ou Markie” (market) which served the Cape Town community for many, many years.
The Good Hope Centre is also world famous because of its dome-like roof design (the biggest in the world). It was built in 1976 and legislated as a public space for community purposes. It has been serving communities from all walks of life for close to 40 years.
Importantly, it has been used to host community meetings, conferences, sport, education, cultural and recreational events as well as various organisations showcasing exhibitions.
It is ideally located in the CBD and in close proximity to other landmarks such as the City Hall, the Castle, Grand Parade and the City Library. Of late, the City of Cape Town has, without following due process, decided to close its doors to the community – citing “high maintenance costs” and saying it is “not profitable enough to maintain”. Does this not speak volumes of a gentrification process in the making?
Every effort must be made to restore and preserve this iconic space since the District 6 community and its business partners intend to take ownership and come up with innovative proposals to position the GHC as a viable social asset – which will greatly contribute towards the local economy from the spin-offs it will create from the booming tourism industry in the city.
Ajam urges the public to mandate them to fight for their heritage and to show their support by attending the mass meeting.
Another driver of this important meeting is the fact that so many of the D6WC’s members are well over pension age and will most likely not see an end to their struggle should matters continue this way.
“Our people are dying. Of our 3 000 members, nearly 400 are over 70, and more than 100 of these are over 80 (with some almost 100 years old),” says Ajam.
“How is that restoring people’s dignity? One of our oldest members, Mrs Wagner (from Elsies River) celebrated her 91st birthday at a party in Pelican Park this September. Her wish is that local and national government come to some consensus about District 6, so that she and her 92-year-old husband can finally have a home of their own in their beloved District 6.”
Mr Ajam attributes the displacement and indignity that people are currently experiencing as the root cause of our woes here in the Western Cape.
Apartheid was a crime against humanity and can be directly attributed to the social ills experienced in the townships today.
We need to reverse that legacy. We need to heal!
“More people continue to die in the gang and drug-infested areas where we were banished to during apartheid. It is important that the people stand together and fight for social justice, not just for themselves but for all people.”
The D6WC has 1 150 card-carrying members, and a total of 3 000 claimants who have signed the mandate for the D6WC to intercede for them regarding the issues with government.
l Issued by the District 6 Working Committee. For more information, please contact Shahied Ajam on 076 665 6224 or e-mail [email protected]