Simelane seeks talks with Cape Town over Annandale Farm land release
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Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has asked for a meeting with the City of Cape Town over plans to release the 72-hectare Annandale Farm near Dunoon for development, as residents question whether the land will house them.
Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has requested an engagement with the City of Cape Town over plans to release a 72-hectare tract of land near Dunoon for development, amid concerns that residents who have waited years for housing could be left behind.
The land, known as Annandale Farm in the Milnerton area, was bought by the City for R184.7 million in 2017. The GOOD party says the purchase was funded by money redirected from a planned extension of the Wolwerivier Temporary Relocation Area to help address severe overcrowding in Dunoon, and the proposed development has reopened questions about whether public land acquired during a housing crisis will ultimately benefit those who need it most.
The City says the development is intended to include affordable housing and that a partnership with private developers could help deliver homes amid severe national funding constraints. Mayco member for human settlements Carl Pophaim said the land was acquired for affordable housing as part of a broader citywide strategy rather than exclusively for Dunoon residents, and that the public-private partnership would help cross-subsidise affordable housing while national grant funding is constrained. He said the national subsidy for fully subsidised housing is now limited to qualifying beneficiaries over 60, military veterans and child-headed households, and that households earning between R3,500 and R34,800 would be able to apply.
Dunoon councillor Bulelwa Mayende said residents believed the land had been acquired to address overcrowding in the community and that the City should have consulted them. Former councillor and ANC activist Lubabalo Makaleni said residents had been told the land was bought for their benefit after housing protests in 2023 and questioned how unemployed residents would afford homes in a privately developed scheme. “If the City doesn't reverse this decision, we will meet them on the street,” he said.
GOOD secretary-general and Cape Town mayoral candidate Brett Herron said affordable housing accounted for only 10 of the tender's 100 evaluation points, meaning a bidder could score nothing for affordable housing and still win. He said the party had lodged an application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act to compel the City to disclose the origin and conditions of the funding used to buy the land, and questioned whether Urban Settlements Development Grant money had been used. He put Cape Town's housing shortage at more than 680,000 families.
Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Tsekiso Machike confirmed that Simelane had requested an engagement with the City over the proposed sale. The City welcomed the proposal and said it was pleased to meet the ministry, the Housing Development Agency and the Western Cape government to discuss the property and its development approach, adding that it was not close to making an award in relation to the disposal.