Tafelberg an ‘ill-conceived pre-election ploy’

MOIRA SCHNEIDER

PHOTOGRAPH BY MOIRA SCHNEIDER

Pictured: David Polovin, deputy chairman of the Sea Point, Fresnaye, Bantry Bay Ratepayers’ Association, shares his stance on the controversial Tafelberg property matter. 

The sale of the Tafelberg School site on Main Road, Sea Point, by the province to the Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School (PJJDS) late last year, forms the backdrop to the matter. The sale was halted by the Western Cape High Court in early May following an urgent interdict brought by a group calling itself “Reclaim the City” (RTC) and the matter has now been reopened for public comment.

RTC wants the site to be developed for low-cost housing for those who are employed in the Sea Point area.

As for charges that failure to do so would conflict with the policy of affordable housing being geared to reversing apartheid spatial planning, Polovin says that the province and the city have taken this fully into account. “It’s not for people playing politics on the outside to second-guess what the city is going to do with its land.

“I think this whole thing is a pre-election ploy to embarrass the current (Democratic Alliance) administration. I think that it is not based on rational town-planning considerations at all, nor budgetary considerations or on the practicalities of what is available and can be done with a limited amount of resources.”

Polovin, a practising attorney, says moreover that the development of affordable housing on the property is not in the interests of the Sea Point community. “The province and the city are struggling with their budgets, which have been dramatically cut, and they have very little spending capacity.

“There is a budget for social upliftment projects, but those budgets are small and only one element is the construction of new housing. So, firstly, there is not money for it.

“Secondly, if there was money for it, the question arises as to whether it would be better spent in Sea Point or elsewhere. The Tafelberg site can potentially support housing for several hundred people, but there are far more strategic sites that can support housing for tens of thousands of people and if the city or the province are planning on spending money on social infrastructure, then they would best be spending that money where it’s going to benefit thousands as opposed to hundreds of people.

“Miring this property in litigation and arguments only means more of the same – the property will lie fallow, unused and derelict. This can go on for years as opposed to it being deployed for the benefit of the community and for schooling, which was its original destination.”

Polovin describes the accusations of racism levelled against him as “strategic” and to be viewed in the context of the forthcoming elections. “I think the object is to intimidate, to stifle debate and to obscure the real issues.

“They are palpably false, morally reprehensible and certainly anti-democratic.”

Polovin maintains that RTC does not represent the interests of those in need of housing. “We have never heard of them before, they seem to be Johnny-come-latelies, they suddenly seem to have arisen as a result of the Tafelberg project and as far as we know, they consist of three people.

“Certainly there’s no suggestion on anybody’s part that they’re representative of any community at all other than the community that they claim, Sea Point. So far I haven’t heard of any elections being held to vote for Reclaim the City or anybody else, when in fact there is a representative body for Sea Point residents and ratepayers – the Sea Point, Fresnaye, Bantry Bay Ratepayers’ Association.”

If the property is ultimately sold to the current bidder, the Phyllis Jowell School, the province will benefit to the tune of R135 million which can be used for social infrastructure spending, says Polovin. In addition, a property of that value would attract “significant” rates for the city “for the benefit of everybody living here”.

If the property is not sold to private enterprise, it would result in a financial loss for both the province and the city.  

Sea Point resident Thandeka Sisusa, who worked there as a domestic worker for most of her life and is the spokesperson for RTC, says its action is based on a commitment made by the city council in 1994 that the land would be used for low-cost housing. “They must do what they promised us to do.”

She says objections from the Ratepayers’ Association  are grounded in fears that property values in the area will fall. 

Sisusa, a fighter for the rights of domestic workers, says she “feels the pain” of their long commute from their homes. “Each and every person must feel welcome to stay in the Sea Point area.”