Jim Mohlala|Published
Residents of Geneva Court in Scottsdene, Kraaifontein, say they have been left living with leaks, damp, mould, broken windows and faulty electrical points while waiting for repairs.
The complaints have now become a political flashpoint less than two weeks before the 4 November local government elections. Geneva Court forms part of the City of Cape Town’s Human Settlements rental housing stock.
National Coloured Congress ward 7 candidate Megan Fisher told IOL Media that she got involved after residents approached her about leaks, damp and mould, broken windows, faulty plugs and lights that don’t work.
She said that her first email went out on 7 September 2026. From there, the complaint was reportedly escalated to the office of Mayco Member for Human Settlements, Carl Pophaim, and to Head of Office Adv. Tanya Davids, with the ward councillor, the Scottsdene Housing Office and Subcouncil 2 copied in.
After the department asked for a consolidated list of units needing maintenance, the trail allegedly went cold.
“At one point, I was asked to provide the 25 outstanding units requiring maintenance, which I did as requested. After that, everything went quiet. I received no meaningful feedback on that specific submission, despite the outstanding problems residents had reported,” Fisher said.
To date, Fisher says there is still no reference number for the list and no confirmation of when repairs will happen.
“What frustrates me is that these are people’s homes. Some have been living with these problems for months, and there are elderly and vulnerable residents who need assistance too,” Fisher said.
One of the most worrying cases involves an elderly resident who reportedly uses a wheelchair and has reported flooding and lighting problems in their unit.
“Not going to allow it”
IOL Media reached out to Pophaim for comment, whose response was blunt.
“I am not going to allow political candidates to exploit the needs and service delivery requirements of our communities,” he told IOL Media.
“It is disingenuous for anyone else to make commitments to residents based on their engagements to get service delivery done when due process with the City is not followed.”
Pophaim said the City is carrying the financial load on its own.
“We [City of Cape Town] have committed R900 million over the last three years to upgrade and maintain our rental stock in the face of receiving no additional funds from the state. That means we need to prioritise our funding, but we are doing so systematically,” Pophaim said.
He urged residents to log maintenance requests at the local housing office or through the elected ward councillor, so they get a reference number, and the City can be held accountable.
“Residents must please log their service requests at the local housing office and not be misled by political parties to exploit the needs of service delivery two weeks before elections,” he said.
“I respectfully disagree”
Fisher rejected the suggestion that she is using the issue as a political tool.
“I respectfully disagree with the suggestion that I am exploiting residents or making commitments outside the City’s processes,” she responded.
Her version was that she was simply answering a City official who specifically asked for the outstanding unit numbers. She said she has the email trail, photographs and videos to back it up.
“At no point did I promise residents that I could bypass City procedures or guarantee outcomes. My role has been to raise their concerns, follow up and seek accountability where maintenance issues remain unresolved,” she said.
“I am not raising this to score political points. I became involved because residents needed someone to help get their concerns heard.”
“Residents deserve assistance regardless of who brings their concerns forward.”
Eight years of dripping
For residents, the point-scoring comes second to the water in their homes.
Welma Claasen, 47, has lived in Geneva Court for nine years.
“I stay in Geneva Court, Scottsdene. Water coming from the unit on top of me drips into my unit. Sometimes the water reaches my kitchen,” Claasen told IOL Media.
“I reported the matter a number of times at the housing office, and they never even gave me a reference number. But they did come and said they can’t find where the problem is or where the leaking comes from.”
“I have been staying here for 9 years now, and the problems here have been going on for 8 years. I think there is a broken pipe in the wall, and that is why we are having these issues.”