South African communities mark three years of silence over state land applications
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Communities that applied for 24 parcels of state land for housing in 2023 say the Housing Development Agency, Public Works and Human Settlements have gone silent, leaving 12 suitable sites undeveloped.
On 23 August 2023, communities, social movements and civil society organisations applied for access to state-owned land for housing, submitting formal applications for 24 parcels across the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal under the State Land Disposal Act of 1961.
Three years later, the applicants say they have been met with silence. In an opinion piece published by GroundUp, Luyanda Mtamzeli of Ndifuna Ukwazi and Nonceba Ndlebe of Solidarity Space write that communities followed the prescribed process, took part in government engagements and assessments, and repeatedly sought information from the Housing Development Agency (HDA), the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and the Department of Human Settlements (DHS).
According to the authors, President Cyril Ramaphosa instructed the DHS and DPWI to set up an Inter-Ministerial Task Team after a march and engagement in August 2023, and the HDA was mandated to assess the parcels for suitability. It identified 12 sites suitable for housing, but the authors say those sites remain vacant and others are occupied.
The piece states that the HDA has said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town have not responded to its invitation to a meeting, leaving it unable to proceed. It adds that a formal letter to public works director-general Sifiso Mdakane requesting an update was never acknowledged, and that a promised follow-up meeting with DHS deputy director-general Mhlongo has also not taken place.
"Silence is not neutral: for the families waiting for this land, it has the same effect as a refusal, except that it comes with no explanation and no accountability attached," the authors write, calling on the three institutions to respond. Hlubikazi Mayekiso of Social Distance in Khayelitsha is quoted saying the state has no sense of urgency in resolving the housing crisis.