The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Inkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, supports the response of Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza, to the City of Cape Town to use the 2012 Redevelopment Plan.
The redevelopment of District Six will always be a critical flagship in government's commitment to redress the historic wrongs perpetrated against the people of District Six. For this reason, any redevelopment of the area must embrace a consultative process that involves those affected.
“The committee is on record opposing gentrification of District Six and Bo Kaap and stands by this principled position. As the Portfolio Committee we will exercise our duty of oversight and ensure that any redevelopment embraces the community’s consultation process and addresses concerns over gentrification,” said the Chairperson, Inkosi Mandela.
“Furthermore,” he added, “we must ensure that the long-standing frustration with redress and restitution in District Six is dealt with and therefore we support the District Six community structures in the quest to accelerate the restitution programme. We remain open to engaging with them and to add our weight to the cause of finalisation of all outstanding claims. It is a blight on all of us that 26 years into our democracy, so many claimants are still awaiting the settlement of their rightful claims.
“The committee calls on the City, Western Cape Government and National Government to commit to a firm time frame to settle all outstanding claims and ensure that justice is done. We therefore call on Minister Didiza and the department to accelerate the engagement to give effect to the fulfilment of government’s promise to the people of District Six.
“It's nearly two decades since President Nelson Mandela handed back the first keys of restitution. The memories of a community uprooted and destroyed by apartheid will continue to haunt us as long as a single claim remains unsettled. We must ensure that District Six takes its true place as a symbol of our people's opposition to white privilege and a living example of the post-apartheid society that we are committed to build.”
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the Committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Sureshinee Govender
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 2239
Cell: 081 704 1109
E-mail: sugovender@parliament.gov.za
