GOOD Statement by Axolile Notywala, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor:
The GOOD Party strongly condemns the targeting and intimidation of social housing tenants in Cape Town. As we approach Women’s Month, we are reminded of the ongoing struggle for dignity, justice, and safety, particularly for poor and working-class women who continue to bear the brunt of violence and exclusion in South Africa.
Following a tenant-led meeting on Sunday, 20 July at the DCI social housing facility in Goodwood, reports have emerged of intimidation, threats, and even physical attacks against those who attended or helped organise the gathering. The meeting, intended to address ongoing challenges at DCI, was disrupted by a DCI manager who insisted on speaking despite not being invited. Tenants perceived his presence as an attempt to silence dissent. It is also alleged that a group of young men tried to collapse the meeting by throwing bottles and stones at tenants and civil society representatives in attendance.
On 25 July, one of the tenant organisers reported being followed and physically attacked on her way to work. She has since approached the South African Police Service and filed an affidavit detailing the assault.
This pattern of intimidation is deeply alarming. DCI tenants, like many others across Cape Town, have raised concerns about unaffordable utility charges, unconstitutional rules, and unlawful evictions. Many now live in fear of victimisation simply for speaking out. In a city where collusion between politicians, developers, and criminal networks over land and housing has been well documented, these incidents cannot be viewed in isolation.
We call on DCI, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government, and the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) to act urgently by:
- Addressing longstanding issues in social housing, including exploitative utility costs and punitive rules that deny tenants access to their homes;
- Ensuring the safety of all DCI tenants, especially those facing intimidation or assault;
- Protecting the rights of tenant organisers and affirming the right of residents to organise without fear of retaliation.
Tenants at DCI and at other facilities, such as Conradie Park under the Own Haven Housing Association, have tried repeatedly to raise their concerns with the City, Province, and SHRA and have been met with silence. When they take initiative and organise themselves, they are targeted.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, MMC Carl Pophaim, Premier Alan Winde, and MEC Tertuis Simmers are quick to celebrate ribbon-cuttings and new social housing announcements but when problems arise in the very projects they’ve launched with fanfare, they shirk responsibility.
Tenants have rights. Their voices are essential in building inclusive, just cities. We stand in full solidarity with the tenants of DCI and with all women across South Africa who are organising to defend their constitutional rights.
GOOD Anti-Discrimination: GOOD stands against all forms of discrimination and promotes equality.
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