The Western Cape High Court has dismissed the provincial government's application for leave to appeal its decision to set aside the sale of the controversial Tafelberg property in Sea Point.

But the court has granted both the Western Cape Provincial Government and the City of Cape Town leave to appeal to the SCA against specific orders made in the initial judgment delivered in August 2020, notes a News24 report.

Judges Patrick Gamble and Monde Samela said: ‘We remain concerned that, rather than addressing core issues at hand, the province now seeks to take steps to litigate and protract further delays occasioned by its constitutional delinquency.’

In an initial order made in August last year, the judges found that the provincial government and the city had a constitutional and legislative duty to address spatial apartheid planning by providing affordable housing in central Cape Town.

It also declared the Western Cape Land and Administration Act unconstitutional, and that it did not give the public a meaningful opportunity to participate in the decision about state land. The court ordered both the provincial government and the city to develop a plan to do this by 31 May 2021.

Housing law group Ndifuna Ukwazi has been spearheading a campaign to compel both spheres of government to build affordable housing. They opposed the application for leave of appeal.

Full News24 report