Crossing The Line | Disha Govender: holding the state accountable on land

Disha Govender, former head of the Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre, is the latest guest on the Crossing the Line podcast. She talked about some of the important cases the social justice organisation took on under her watch, including the sale of Tafelberg High School in Sea Point and the eviction of residents from Bromwell Street in Woodstock.

Disha Govender, former head of the Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre, is the latest guest on the Crossing the Line podcast. She talked about some of the important cases the social justice organisation took on under her watch, including the sale of Tafelberg High School in Sea Point and the eviction of residents from Bromwell Street in Woodstock.

The Constitutional Court recently ruled that the sale of Tafelberg High School was illegal and that the province should rather build affordable housing on the site. This came after then Premier Helen Zille tried to sell of the land in 2015, a decision Ndifuna Ukwazi and other organisations such as Reclaim the City immediately opposed.

The Constitutional Court ruling has huge implication for state departments throughout the country, at all levels of government, said Govender.

“The Court has made certain statements that will impact how the state goes about disposing of land, when it goes about disposing of land. It has clarified the scope in which people can participate in those decisions, which then shapes the decisions that the state makes about land. It also clarifies the right to access adequate housing.

“That is really important because the court said that location isn’t just a peripheral factor to consider when you look at providing housing. It is incredibly important. This means that, whatever province or municipality you are in, you need to be aware of that and will have to consider it when you make decisions, especially about where you build affordable housing.

“This is one way of pushing us closer towards desegregating our cities and a shift away from only thinking about building housing in peripheral locations, which exacerbates the vulnerability of the poor.

“The authorities have to think about how to bring people back into the cities that they were forcibly removed from and continue to be excluded from as a result of not just only past discriminatory practices, but even present-day market forces.”

Govender said it was important to hold the city and the province to account for implementing the Constitutional Court ruling.

“We have seen, since we started this process 10 years ago, that there have been some efforts, at least articulated and maybe not seen through to its final stages, that land will be released and that housing projects will be projects done.

“I’m obviously a little bit sceptic, but there’s hope there because at least you’re hearing people speak differently about land. You’re hearing people say, we do have a right to the city, and I think that matters more.

“Having people being able to express this and understanding their rights is important: I want to be able to express this.