The planned sale of the Tafelberg site in Sea Point to a private school has created a great deal of umbrage and has revealed elements of truth that seem befuddled. Since pundits are too timid to say the obvious, analysing the many comments is vital with regards to localised race relations.
It is palpable that there is a powerful lobby that is resolute to keep Sea point free of low cost housing and thus poor people. Ironically it seems logical if one studies their reasoning. For example, low cost housing is not possible as any development has material costs which are very expensive. Cement and the cost of bricks are similar across the city. Building with cheap materials in Sea Point is not an option. Thus building low cost housing will not happen as the taxpayer in in reality will pay much more to house a few people. Sea Point building standards equated to Delft or Gugulethu is not equivalent..
Furthermore, if racial integration is the key objective, what about a public housing development for the Black and Brown middle class in Sea Point? Must integration only advance the agenda of the poor?
Logic suggests that property value is dictated by the market, thus low cost housing in posh suburbs will have great value. Will the rates be equitable and if not, who will determine this minefield and who will benefit in the long term when the houses will be sold as they were in the Bokaap and so on.
The point is, everything each one of us does, for whatever reason in this reality, time and space, has costs that often reverberate through another time and space well beyond our ability to control.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress