The Constitutional Court has reserved judgment in a case concerning housing activists against the City of Cape Town and others, regarding the Tafelberg site in Sea Point.

A Cape Argus report notes the matter was argued in the apex court yesterday following a SCA judgment handed down last year, which ruled in favour of the Western Cape Government.

In heads of argument, Disha Govender, head of Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre said: ‘The province admitted that it had not built any affordable housing in central Cape Town but argued that this is not an indication of their failure to redress spatial apartheid. The city argued that it was doing its best in its plans but depended on other levels of government for land, to build affordable housing. However in our view, the city failed to account why, despite having land of its own, it has not since the dawn of democracy delivered a single social housing or other affordable housing in Central Cape Town.’

Advocate Eduard Fagan SC for the Western Cape Government yesterday argued for the leave to appeal against the SCA ruling to be dismissed.

Advocate Nazreen Bawa SC for the City of Cape Town, said: ‘This relief now being sought is not consonant with the procedures of this court, which should not be lightly, and so flagrantly be ignored. Noticeably, again the national government is not to be subjected to this relief notwithstanding that it remains, on the evidence, a significant owner of land that the city has sought to acquire (and still does).’

Mpho Raboeane, executive director of Ndifuna Ukwazi said: ‘The Tafelberg case is a defining test of SA’s commitment to undoing spatial apartheid. Despite commitments to land reform, affordable housing in urban areas and undoing spatial apartheid, political will and decisive action remain in question. We now look to the courts to clarify the state’s obligation and uphold the constitutional vision of spatial transformation.’

Full Cape Argus report

See also full Cape Times report