A Tale of Two Cities - Cape Town, the most unequal city in South Africa, lays bare its stark contrasts with the informal settlements of Khayelitsha against the beachfront properties of Camps Bay. Phando Jikelo and Ayanda Ndamane Independent Newspapers
Organisations like the Social Justice Coalition have read the signs of the times more accurately than DA and ANC and matter more than most political parties to the future of Khayelitsha.
These were the sentiments of Policy analyst Nkosikhulule Nyembezi who added that elected representatives have not succeeded in improving conditions in Khayelitsha.
His comments come after DA federal chairperson Helen Zille elicited controversy on social media when she said that “The DA government does more for the people in Khayelitsha than in Camps Bay.”
She was responding to a story in which ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile expressed that the DA-led Western Cape government had failed to deliver services for the people of Khayelitsha.
“As a government, we will come with ministers and their deputies to work with communities that are neglected by the provincial government,” he said.
Mashatile’s comments come as ANC officials have descended on Cape Town ahead of the party's 113th anniversary celebrations to be held at Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha this weekend.
Mashatile vowed that his party would restore the people’s dignity by attending to their needs.
“Politically, our elected representatives have not succeeded in making Khayelitsha great. Individual infrastructure and socioeconomic projects are too small to affect local and national poverty-alleviation interventions, and when assessed collectively, they punch below their weight,” Nyembezi said.
“The bureaucracy moves too slowly and often with too many reservations and compromises to maintain Khayelitsha’s place among crucial communities that contribute to the city and national economy. Meanwhile, due to a dismal government failure to manage the historical spatial development legacy and its consequences, the political establishment in every sphere of government is losing ground to opportunistic populist voices.”
“The ANC has abdicated its role in history. So has the DA,” he added. “They have ignored implementing several report recommendations, including the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry on allegations of police inefficiency and a breakdown in relations between the community and police. The seventh national and provincial administrations must work with broad social partners in civil society and business that have the strategic clarity that so many politicians lack,” he added.
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor, Axolile Notywala said many townships in Cape Town had been neglected and failed not only by the DA but also the ANC.
“But today the blame cannot be put on the ANC on local government issues. The DA has governed Cape Town for the past 18 years, they cannot continue blaming the ANC, it is the DA’s own neglect that led to places like Khayelitsha and many other townships being in the state that they are.
“There’s always the excuse that the City spends 70% of its budget in areas like Khayelitsha. Since we began working in Cape Town, we’ve asked for proof of that because when the City plans its budget it doesn’t give (specific) information to say this is how much will go to Khayelitsha. There is no evidence that they do that, they are just taken on their word. If for the past 18 years the DA had been spending 70% of its budget in poor communities we wouldn’t be seeing Cape Town as it is today.”
He said the current state of Cape Town reflected deep inequalities.
“As highlighted by the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry, the types of services that are provided to informal settlements are the same type of services provided before democracy. Bucket toilets, some of them to share. The type of public lighting provided in many places in Khayelitsha are high-mast lights, which at the time were not provided to keep people safe but provided for surveillance. They don’t keep people safe, they create dark shadows in informal settlements. One tap for every 25 households is the standard.”
Meanwhile the City said in 2024/25, Cape Town was making South Africa’s largest infrastructure investment by a metropolitan municipality, “with a 75% pro-poor spend directly benefitting lower income households across the metro, including in Khayelitsha”.
The City said: “Lower income households will directly benefit from 75% - or R9bn - of Cape Town’s R12bn infrastructure spend in 2024/25. Just the pro-poor portion of Cape Town’s 2024/25 budget is bigger than the entire infrastructure budget of any other city.”
The City said its policing resources are vastly concentrated in crime hotspots in lower income communities, including Khayelitsha, rather than in Camps Bay. This includes increased LEAP deployments for Khayelitsha, Delft, Phillipi East, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu.
“Officers in Khayelitsha are supported by various safety technology, including dashcams, bodycams, automatic number plate recognition, CCTV, aerial surveillance and drone technology as part of a broader R800m City safety tech investment over three years.”
“Over the next 3 years, the City will spend R3,7 billion in informal settlement upgrades and BNG housing in Khayelitsha and lower income communities across the City.”
Additional reporting by Kamogelo Moichela.
Cape Times