By Daanyaal Matthews
Premier Alan Winde’s State of the Province speech delivered in Paarl yesterday, to highlight the achievements made in the province during the past year. The Premier highlighted strides made in the economy, tourism, education, and agriculture sector; however, questions have arisen about the work being done to curtail the housing crisis within the province.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Tuesday, Acting director of Ndifuna Ukwazi, Mpho Raboeane, argues that the Premier has missed a crucial opportunity to address the issue of land, which greatly undermines the issue of land in addressing the core problems within the province, stating:
“It’s quite disappointing to see that Premier Winde seemingly doesn’t prioritize housing as a key deliverable for his administration. In his address, he said absolutely nothing about human settlements, and when he did mention land, it was only with respect to rural development and reform. This shows us that he doesn’t realize the value of land for human settlements and its social value in terms of unlocking key economic and social issues in the province. “
Interprovincial migration has been cited as being high in the Western Cape, wherein South Africans from other provinces migrate to the Western Cape for various reasons, largely for better economic prospects. This has seemingly created a housing issue, wherein the province struggles to address the housing of local denizens while trying to assist South African residents from outside the province. According to Mpho, the Premier’s lack of attention to this matter will eventually lead to greater issues in the future.
“I think there was some irony in that he correctly noted how the province was experiencing high levels of migration. And if you look at this in line with the rapid levels of urbanization, I mean, the province would have no choice but to look at affordable, well-located housing solutions, because the sooner they do that, the sooner they deal with things like occupations and informality,” said the civil activist.
Mpho concluded by arguing that Winde is not concerned with the conditions of the everyday Capetonian, who struggle to afford their first home, but rather is concerned with the affluent.
“The Premier is not looking at the wellbeing of the ordinary Capetonian; the Premier is looking at those who hold dollars and euros; that’s the key constituency of the Premier.”