The National Council of Provinces Local Government Week delegation to Khayelitsha has heard a harrowing story of 17 housing beneficiaries who died while waiting for houses to be built in a site at Silvertown, Town Two.
The NCOP delegation visited three projects around Khayelitsha – Mandela Park, Site C (Taiwan) and Silvertown in Town Two. Although meant to be housing projects, the delegation could only find flowers and grass and what looked like deserted sites.
The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Ms Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, said it did not make sense that 78-year-olds remained on the database, when 40-year-olds occupied houses. “In Site C, an elderly lady has had to leave to go to the Eastern Cape because she was told to demolish her shack in 2015 as a house was being constructed for her. That remains a pipe dream. The beneficiary list needs to prioritise women, the disabled and the most vulnerable of our society,” she said.
In nearby Taiwan, the NCOP delegation heard of how R28 million was spent on feasibility studies, and at the point of starting with the project, the province handed it over to the City. The local ward councillor, Mr Kaya Kama, said the project was a source of frustration and anger among the community. “The City had indicated that it wanted to start the project afresh, from design and implementation. I grew up here; nothing has changed in Taiwan since 1990 and yet this is the oldest informal settlement. Where we are standing is the community of shacks that had burnt recently. The bulk sewer infrastructure is collapsing, and everywhere you go there is just ikaka,” he said.
NCOP delegates could not hide their disappointment. Mr Thomas Kaunda, the Chairperson of the NCOP’s Select Committee on Cooperative Governance, said he failed to understand how the City of Cape Town can be referred to be the best run with the kind of services people of Taiwan were subjected to. He said an investigation into the entire project.
He added: “This is clear evidence that clean audits do not necessarily mean service delivery. This is what we must learn from the Western Cape. These living conditions are unacceptable.”
The community still relied on pota-potas, a sanitation system that uses bucket collection. A community leader, Mr Sithembile Mntantasa, said this was the reality of Site C. “Children cannot play anywhere; there is just smell. In winter we suffer floods, in summer we suffer the heat. That’s just our life.”
Officials from the provincial Department of Infrastructure and Human Settlements did not arrive for the visit and nor did officials from the City of Cape Town. Every street in Taiwan is filled with sewerage and a collapsing drainage system. The delegation emphasised that someone must account for the mess.
The delegation then moved on to Mahama project, where the City implemented a projected on land that turned out not to belong to the City but rather to the provincial Department of Public Works. Councillor Ryder Mkutswana said he has knocked at every door but has received no answer. “The City says the land belongs to Public Works, and Public Works says the land belong to the City.”
Delegates sought clarity on how rezoning would have occurred without a council resolution on the project and without knowing who owned the land. “The NCOP must get an answer on this issue by Friday,” said Mr Kaunda.
Other concerns that the delegation heard included the beneficiary lists, hijacking of housing projects, confusion around ownership and neglect. Ms Mtsweni-Tsipane said the NCOP will seek clarity and explanation from all concerned regarding the two projects.
Local Government Week continues.
Sibongile Maputi
18 September 2025
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