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Ratepayers' bodies back Reclaim's call

Four ratepayers’ associations have backed a call by Ndifuna Ukwazi in objecting to the sale of the former Tafelberg Remedial High School in Sea Point. The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers’ Association (BOCRA), the Green Point Resident's and Ratepayers’ Association (GPRRA), the City Bowl Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association (CIBRA) and the Upper Woodstock Residents’ Association (UWRA) have appealed to Premier Helen Zille not to sell the property to the Phyllis Jowell Day School for R135 million, and instead consider it for housing. Their letters are among the 934 submissions collated by Reclaim the City - the movement driving the campaign against the sale of city land for profit - to Zille in line with a court order that the public comment period on the proposed sale be re-opened.

In its submission, BOCRA noted that no social housing had been built in the city since 1994. Selling city land to private developers would be perpetuating the cycle of apartheid and denying lower income groups the opportunity of living closer to their places of work. “This project will clearly demonstrate the willingness to start the integration process not only on paper, but practically,” said the association. UWRA agreed, saying the sale of public property for private development would entrench Cape Town’s structural exclusivity. By stopping the sale, provincial government would set a historical precedent for surrounding areas, the association said. CIBRA claimed while the tender process may have been legal, it was flawed in that the provincial government ignored its regeneration, socio-economic objectives.

The Sea Point Fresnaye Bantry Bay Ratepayers’ Association, in whose area the disputed property falls, has not joined the other associations in filing an objection. But 60 residents from the area have made a submission, saying they do not support the view of deputy chairman David Polovin who, in an open letter last month, claimed that using the site for affordable housing was not practical and not in the interests of the Sea Point community. Spokesman for Zille, Michael Mpofu, said the Western Cape government had received numerous submissions in this second round of public participation which closed last week.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Ratepayers' bodies back Reclaim's call

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