Cape Town - In a move questioned by social housing activists, the City is proposing to renew the lease of the King David Mowbray Golf Club for less than R1000 a month.
The City invited the public to submit comments on its plans to lease the 49.5 hectares of public land to the club for 10 years at a rental of R11500 a year (R950 a month). The proposal has unleashed the ire of activists.
Ndifuna Ukwazi researcher Robyn Park-Ross said: “This is some of the best public land in the city. It’s close to the best hospitals, top-performing schools in the province, and public transport nodes - making it perfect for the development of affordable housing.
“Transformation, public and private investment, integration and densification are prioritised in terms of the City’s own housing policies and strategic plans, yet the City plans to lease this land to a golf club for the exclusive use of its members,” added Park-Ross.
She said the majority of the people occupied land out of necessity. “They simply have nowhere else to go.
“In 2019, the City’s housing backlog stood at 365000 families and is growing by between 16000 and 18000 a year. In 2018/2019, the City provided and upgraded only 5692 homes. At this rate the City itself believes it will be more than 70 years before it can eradicate the housing backlog. All this points to a housing crisis where hundreds of thousands of poor and working-class people have nowhere else to go because the state - at all levels - has failed to satisfy the need for housing or redistribute well-located land,” Park-Ross said.
According to the City, the lease expired and the renewal application is following due process. The City has previously used a flat tariff of R920 a year for leasing out public land for sports and recreational purposes. Earlier this year, the City made a proposal to renew the lease of the Rondebosch Golf Club for R1000 a year for the next decade.
The City said it had received 1940 comments during the public participation process.
Spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “The proposed lease renewal is being advertised for public comment and all comments and objections received during the public participation period will be submitted to the decision-making authority for consideration.
“The City will give fair and proper consideration to each comment received. In terms of the process, the City’s property management branch will make a professional recommendation taking into account public comment.”
Cape Argus