Activists, together with the African National Congress, have vowed to fight the Western Cape provincial government’s decision to sell the Tafelberg school site.
Premier Helen Zille and her provincial cabinet announced the R135 million sale of the prime property in Sea Point to the Phyllis Jowell Day School will go ahead as the province “needed the money”.
Last year the Western Cape High Court stopped the sale and called for public participation into the matter. This process came to an end yesterday.
In a statement, the provincial government said the decision to sell was prompted by what was presented to them.
This included legal advice, affordability risks and fiscal constraints in the current economic climate.
“Cabinet resolved that the Tafelberg site is not ideally suited to affordable housing, especially as the state subsidy cannot be utilised there under current national policy,” the statement said.
MEC for Housing in the province, Bonginkosi Madikizela, said the decision was unanimous, based on the need to replenish the province’s coffers.
“Cabinet came to a decision to go ahead with the sale given the fiscal crises that saw our budget being cut by three percent and national government also advised provinces to find ways to use assets to create revenue,” he said.
“The R135m from the sale will go into the asset revenue fund that will make sure that we have enough money to deal with other pressing matters.”
Activist group Reclaim the City said: “We will never accept the stripping of our well-located public land, land that could and should be used for affordable housing to private entities. We are planning a robust response, after consultation with our lawyers, housing experts and our supporters.”
A Ndifuna Ukwazi, researcher, Hopolang Selebalo, said the organisation will approach the courts to set aside this decision.
“For cabinet to state that they would use the money [from the sale] for government offices is a spit in the faces of the poor people,” she said.
ANC MPL Cameron Dugmore said the party would do all it can to stop the sale from going ahead, including lobbying national government to expropriate the piece of land.