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South Africa's Constitutional Court has ordered the Western Cape provincial government to submit its affordable housing plans for Cape Town's inner city within three months, after ruling that it failed to make adequate housing available in well-located areas. The court found the attempted sale of the former Tafelberg school site in Sea Point unlawful and criticised the province for failing to conduct meaningful public participation. The government is also directed to provide details of completed, ongoing and planned affordable housing projects, with social housing activists given an opportunity to respond before the matter returns to court if necessary.

Coverage Comparison

AllAfrica reported the ruling in two separate articles, each highlighting different aspects of the judgment. One report focused on the immediate procedural outcome: the three-month deadline for the provincial government to submit its plans, the finding that the attempted sale of the Tafelberg school site was unlawful, and the court's criticism of the province's failure to conduct meaningful public participation. The other article emphasised the broader constitutional implications: the court ruled that the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town are constitutionally obliged to provide affordable housing in the inner city, and that high property prices and land scarcity—legacies of apartheid—do not excuse the government from its constitutional duties.

The court's ruling brings to a close nearly a decade of litigation over the sale of the Tafelberg School site in Sea Point. The case was brought by Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City, with the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa acting as a friend of the court.

Key Claims

  • The Constitutional Court ordered the Western Cape provincial government to submit its affordable housing plans for Cape Town's inner city within three months.
  • The court found the attempted sale of the former Tafelberg school site in Sea Point unlawful.
  • The province failed to conduct meaningful public participation.
  • The government must provide details of completed, ongoing and planned affordable housing projects.
  • The Constitutional Court ruled that the Western Cape government and City of Cape Town are constitutionally obliged to provide affordable housing in the inner-city.
  • The court ordered the government to submit detailed plans on how they are reversing spatial inequality through affordable housing.
  • The court case was brought by Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City.
  • The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa acted as a friend of the court.
The court, in a unanimous ruling delivered by Justice Nonkosi Mhlantla, directed both the municipality and the province to submit reports to the Western Cape High Court detailing their plans and projects to redress spatial apartheid and progressively realise the rights of poor and working-class people through affordable housing. Mhlantla noted that Cape Town is divided along racial and class lines, with poor, working-class communities excluded from "amenity-rich areas" such as the central business district and Sea Point. "Location is not a peripheral consideration in housing policy. It is integral to the reasonableness inquiry," she said, according to the AllAfrica report.