Cape Town- City councillors are hot under the collar as pressure mounts to push for the Salt River market development. On Wednesday councillors were sitting in a special portfolio meeting listening to a brief from social housing giant Communicare.
The meeting started off with the ANC’s Bheki Hadebe accusing the commitee of deliberately rejecting the public from attending the meeting.
“We are disgusted that in our time of democracy members of the public are rejected from attending such a important meeting,” Hadebe said.
Councillor Angus McKenzi said: “We need clarity whether this is a open or closed meeting. Because if it is a closed meeting the media is not suppose to be here.”
WATCH: Councillor Angus McKenzie asks the commissioner of the portfolio commitee for clarity. McKenzie points to @TheCapeArgus. @IOL pic.twitter.com/UFWujVjH4M
— Marvin Charles (@MarvinCharles17) November 14, 2018
A 15-minute break was taken and the chairperson of the meeting said that the meeting room was too small to accommodate the public who wants to get in.
The development, which would have seen groundbreaking social housing as part of it, was sent back by Council. The city council proposed that social housing giant Communicare buy the land from the city council well below its market price. The 1.7ha of land, currently valued at R144 million, for R1.8m to build a R715m high-rise building.
In exchange, 300 of the 850 housing units in Salt River would be allocated to social housing - reserved for households with a monthly income of between R1 500 and R15 000.
#SaltRiverMarket Communicare briefs TDA portfolio commitee on what it plans to do with the hall which is located by the Salt River Market. @TheCapeArgus @IOL pic.twitter.com/yfhXNduioC
— Marvin Charles (@MarvinCharles17) November 14, 2018