16 January 2014
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Western Cape has learnt of the hypocrisy and reactionary techniques used by the DA ("Democratic Alliance") in its pursuit to resolve housing challenges in the Province.
"As the SACP in the province, we consider the DA`s methodology and inconsistent conduct as tantamount to bullying impoverished communities beset with a scarcity of resources. The DA is obsessed with right-wing populist electioneering, and is engaging in reactionary, unsustainable attempts at addressing housing problems", says SACP Western Cape Provincial Secretary Khaya Magaxa.
In no uncertain terms Magaxa concluded: "These schemes clearly find expression in our analysis and definition of the DA as an anti-majoritarian neoliberal organisation. It is a proxy political party that defends the interests of monopoly capital by deceptively marketing itself as a representation of the `rainbow nation`, thus further exacerbating deceit through claims of delivering equal services across classes".
The SACP observed with a deep sense of grave disappointment that over the past five years the DA, as the governing administration of the Province and City of Cape Town, has unambiguously demonstrated its true colours as an organisation preoccupied with maintaining the legacy of a stratified society, solely committed to increasing the private capital accumulation interests of monopoly elites whilst completely disregarding the clarion calls for socio-economic justice made by the working class.
Common in working class areas in the Western Cape is the crisis of housing backlogs. Despite this worsening crisis due to the negligence of the DA, evictions, idealistic and unsustainable ventures and pure denial are the order of the day. The truth remains that whilst the DA continues to misgovern the Western Cape, the housing challenge will remain unresolved, and the working class across the Province will be subjected to the dictates of an anti-majoritarian administration.
Key in resolving the housing challenge in the Western Cape, and in particular the Cape Metro is the availability of land to build houses. The reality is that the land that could be used to construct houses for those in desperate need is owned by private individuals. The negligence and lack of basic foresight on the part of the DA`s administration of the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Province is at times bizarre, because as the population of the Western Cape increases, so does the need for housing. This palpable reality is either being deliberately overlooked by the DA administration in the Province, or it is perhaps an ignorant approach to governing a Province.
As the SACP we further reject the populist voter-pursuant and hypocritical statement by the City of Cape Town and Provincial DA administrations that the national government must release land owned by government. This highly opportunistic statement smacks of hypocrisy and is extremely suspicious, owing to the fact that previous calls on a Provincial land audit by the City of Cape Town and Western Cape administrations have yet to be commenced, let alone released.
The SACP acknowledges the importance of the Phillipi Horticultural Area as a sustainable and productive means of food security in Cape Town as well as sustainable employment. The Party however condemns the MEC of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning; Anton Bredell for his illusions of championing food security and the environment while in the same vein proposing contradictory measures.
"As the SACP we would like to be on record that we are unwavering in our call to the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Provincial administrations to conduct an immediate land audit and publically clarify land ownership in the province. This is particularly due to our conviction that the delivery of human settlements will not be realized while the City of Cape Town continues to sell itself to its capitalist puppet masters and flog land that could be used for human settlements", says Magaxa.
The SACP says if the City of Cape Town and Provincial administrations wish to pursue the alteration of the City`s urban edge in order to accommodate the development of a utopian "mini-city", then perhaps a look must at least be directed no further than the Rondebosch Common, by constructing dignified human settlements to accommodate the working class families like the desperate Valhalla Park community. Surely that would illustrate the narrow DA`s acclamations that it is "Building an open opportunity society for all"
Issued by SACP Western Cape
Contact:
Masonwabe Sokoyi - Provincial Spokesperson
074 177 2068/ 021 762 9719
sacpwc.media@gmail.com