Respect the 400,000 Waiting for Homes

GOOD Statement by Suzette Little, GOOD Deputy Secretary-General & City of Cape Town Councillor:

The GOOD Party stands firmly with the people of Cape Town in opposing the planned auction of more than 50 parcels of public land on 26 February 2026.

More than 400,000 residents remain on the City’s housing waiting list. Many have waited decades. They followed the rules. They trusted the process. Yet instead of prioritising well-located land for social and affordable housing and community development, the DA-led administration is moving to dispose of public assets without meaningful engagement and without placing the housing crisis at the centre of its decisions.

This is not routine administration. It is a matter of constitutional responsibility.

In a formal motion, GOOD called for an immediate halt to all land sales until:

• The impact on the 400,000 people on the housing database has been properly assessed.
• A lawful, inclusive, and transparent public participation process has taken place.
• Affected communities have been meaningfully consulted.
• The City has demonstrated, openly and with evidence, why these parcels cannot be used for social housing, social facilities, safe houses, sports facilities, public amenities, or other community infrastructure.

Public land must be evaluated not only for financial return, but for social return. In many communities, land is urgently needed for housing, early childhood centres, clinics, safe spaces for women and children, recreational areas, and youth sports facilities. These decisions cannot be based on internal assessments alone. They require open, transparent evaluation in partnership with the communities who live there.

Cape Town remains deeply unequal and spatially divided. Public land is one of the few tools available to correct that injustice. Selling it off without first exhausting its public purpose risks entrenching inequality for another generation.

The GOOD Party will not support the continued disposal of public assets while 400,000 people wait for housing and communities lack basic facilities.

We call on the City of Cape Town to immediately suspend the auction, release all technical and financial reports underpinning these decisions, and conduct a transparent, community-driven assessment of the public need for every parcel.

Public land must serve the public good. Nothing less.

GOOD Manifesto on Community Safety: Strengthening community safety initiatives.

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