Siphokazi Vuso|Published
Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has requested an engagement with the City of Cape Town over plans to release a 72-hectare tract of land near Dunoon for development, amid concerns that residents who have waited years for housing could be left behind.
The land, known as Annandale Farm in the Milnerton area, was bought by the City for R184.7 million in 2017. The GOOD party says the purchase was funded by money redirected from a planned extension of the Wolwerivier Temporary Relocation Area to help address severe overcrowding in Dunoon.
The proposed development has reopened questions about whether public land acquired amid a housing crisis will ultimately benefit those who need it most.
The City says the development is intended to include affordable housing and that a partnership with private developers could help deliver homes amid severe national funding constraints.
Dunoon residents question City's plans
Dunoon councillor Bulelwa Mayende said residents believed the land had been acquired to address overcrowding in the community and that the City should have consulted them about its plans.
“Instead of benefiting the community, the City has decided to sell the land. It was promised to us, but now it is being treated as an investment,” Mayende said.
Former Dunoon councillor and ANC activist Lubabalo Makaleni said he was surprised by reports of the proposed sale, recalling that residents had been told the land was bought for their benefit following housing protests in 2023.
“We were told the land was bought for Dunoon residents after the housing protests. Now the City wants to sell it to private companies for upmarket housing. This has destroyed our hope that we will ever get houses in Dunoon,” he said.
Makaleni questioned how unemployed residents would afford rent in a development that includes privately developed housing, warning that the plans risked deepening their sense of exclusion.
“If the City doesn’t reverse this decision, we will meet them on the street,” he said.
GOOD questions affordable housing commitments
GOOD secretary-general and Cape Town mayoral candidate Brett Herron questioned whether the proposed development guaranteed meaningful housing opportunities for poor households.
He said affordable housing accounted for only 10 of the tender's 100 evaluation points, adding that a bidder could score no points for affordable housing and still win.
“Serious questions remain about whether the funds diverted to acquire Annandale Farm were wholly or partially derived from Urban Settlements Development Grants (USDGs). These grants are intended to house the poor, not to fund real estate speculation by the City,” he said.
Herron said the party had lodged an application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act to compel the City to disclose the origin of the funding and any conditions attached to it.
“If USDG funds were used, the City must show how Annandale’s disposal complies with USDG conditions,” he said.
He also criticised the City's approach to addressing the housing shortage, which he said had climbed above 680,000 families.
“As Cape Town’s housing shortage has climbed above 680 000 families, the City of Cape Town has made an art form of big announcements about land releases, land acquisitions, and alleged future housing plans – while building fewer and fewer houses,” he said.
Herron's concerns centre on the use of Urban Settlements Development Grant funding, which supports human settlements and access to well-located land for poorer households.
City says development will include affordable housing
The City disputed claims that the development was intended to generate a profit at the expense of Dunoon residents.
Mayco member for Human Settlements Carl Pophaim said the land was acquired for affordable housing as part of a broader citywide strategy, rather than exclusively for Dunoon residents.
He said the proposed public-private partnership would help cross-subsidise affordable housing at a time when national grant funding was severely constrained.
“It must be noted that the national subsidy for fully-subsidised so-called ‘free’ housing has changed completely, and is now focused on the following beneficiaries exclusively: qualifying beneficiaries over 60; military veterans and child-headed households.
“Therefore, Dunoon residents under 60 and not within the national categories would not qualify for fully-subsidised housing because the national programme does not allow for this anymore,” he said.
Pophaim added that residents from Dunoon, or elsewhere, earning more than R3,500 and less than R34,800 would be able to apply.
“For those residents who do not qualify as they earn too little, or do not qualify in terms of the national requirements for fully-subsidised housing, the City has plans for Doornbach and other land parcels in the area,” he said.
Human Settlements Minister seeks engagement
Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Tsekiso Machike confirmed that Simelane had requested an engagement with the City over the proposed sale.
“The City welcomed the proposal and is pleased to meet with the Ministry, the Department of Human Settlements, the Housing Development Agency, and the Western Cape Government to discuss the property and the City’s development approach as requested,” he said.
Machike added that, according to the City, it was not close to making an award in relation to the disposal of the property.
The meeting date is still to be determined.