Good afternoon.
        
I would like to thank the Cape Town Press Club for the invitation.
        
This is the first time that I have had an opportunity to address the Press Club.
        
However, it is not the first time that I have been invited. When I was invited in 2018, the circumstances were different and a number of events conspired resulting in me not being able to be present. I would like to thank the Press Club for accepting my apology and for taking the initiative to discuss matters of mutual concern which had arisen.

I speak here today in my capacity as Leader of the Official Opposition in the Western Cape Legislature. The national and provincial elections held on Wednesday8th May this year allowed voters to speak. Their verdict was to give the ANC a strong mandate to govern nationally, as well as a further mandate to govern 8 of the 9 provinces. Here in the Western Cape, voters decided to give a further mandate to the DA, albeit with a smaller majority, making it more difficult for example, for the ruling party in this province to amend the provincial constitution.
        
There are 42 seats in the provincial legislature, with the following allocation of seats:
        

•         DA 24
•         ANC 12
•         EFF 2
•         GOOD 1
•         ACDP 1
•         Al Jam-aah 1
•         Freedom Front Plus 1

        
        The balance of power differs from that of the 5th administration which was:
        

•         DA 26
•         ANC 14
•         ACDP 1
•         EFF 1

        
As the official opposition in the provincial legislature we have resolved to be a united, effective, vigilant, responsive, hardworking and constructive opposition. We see our role as to ensure that the ANC policy platform and programme, as contained in our 2019 Election Manifesto and National Conference Resolutions are implemented in the Western Cape.
        
We do this not because we don’t respect the 8 May outcomes in our province, but because we believe that within our manifesto are policies and programmes, lie practical proposals to best tackle the challenges of unemployment, poverty, inequality , crime, violence , corruption, cronyism and nepotism that beset the Western Cape.
        
On the other hand, the DA have their policies and programmes and they will clearly do their best to implement their policies and programmes here.
        
 That is their right. Their policies are contained in their 2019 Manifesto.
        
What distinguishes this particular moment for us in the Western Cape, post 8 May 2019, referred to by our President as the “New Dawn” are, amongst others, the following factors:
        
        • A realization by all political parties in the legislature that the massive socio-economic challenges we face, including the legacy of Apartheid Spatial Planning and the threat of gentrification, will require pragmatic and solution driven thinking and united action. I am not saying that there is consensus as to the approach we should be following, but there is the realization that we will have to work across all spheres of government if we are to have any hope of addressing them. At the same time, we argue that in addition to a co-operative approach, we must place our communities at the centre of our attempts to deal with the pathologies we face. We must listen to their voices.
        • There are signs that elements of the “ blame and complain” politics of the 4th and 5th administration ( 2009 to 2019) are no longer as fervently embraced by the new administration led by Premier Winde
        • A willingness from us as the ANC MPL’s deployed to the legislature to try and find common ground in line with our commitment to being a constructive opposition
        • Greater coherence from within our caucus about the path we have chosen as the opposition
        • The call from President Ramaphosa that we heed the call from our people that our government must now “Khawuleza, Speed up, Maak Gou!” .Taking that call to heart, and in line with our commitment to be responsive, we have committed to respond to all email correspondence received within 24 hours. But we all know that responsiveness means direct contact with our communities in each of the 402 wards in this province and being able to deliver results by building trust and speed. It may sound like a Covey cliché, but with some level of trust, comes the ability to move with speed.
        
        
Already, for example, we have had a direct meeting with Premier Winde and MEC for Community Safety, Albert Fritz about the safety crisis facing our province. This meeting was attended by myself, our Chair of caucus, Lulama Mvimbi and our ANC Shadow MEC for Community Safety, Mesuli Kama.
        
I have been asked to speak about how we as the opposition will tackle homelessness, gentrification, the legacy of Apartheid Spatial Planning and our policy on Expropriation without Compensation, given the DA’s policy on these matters.
        
The answers I believe lie in our approach as the official opposition and a clear and non “sound bite” understanding of our policies (ANC 2019 Manifesto, National Conference Resolutions, NDP 2030) and also those of the DA, and in particular, how the ideological fissures within the DA and thus attitude to these ANC policies, will play themselves out in the Western Cape and nationally.
        
The answers will also lie in the leadership that will be provided at all levels – in other words, our ability to forge a genuine and sustainable social compact, especially with our communities.
        
Essential reading is the recently released “Final Report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture”. Not only is it essential reading but it is clearly the report, which once finalized, that will guide the process of land restitution, redistribution and security of tenure. It will also be the basis of policy for spatial planning in our country. Thus many answers to the topic under discussion today, will emerge from the process following the finalization of the report and its recommendations.
        
In his State of the Nation Address of 20th June 2019, President Ramaphosa said that; “…the recommendations of the panel will inform the finalization of a comprehensive, far reaching and transformative land reform programme. In the immediate term, government will accelerate efforts to identify and release public land that is suitable for smart, urban settlements and for farming “

This report has already been tabled at the National Cabinet where it was resolved that a two month period be provided to all Ministers to submit comments onthe report. In particular, it is critical to read the panel’s recommendations contained in pages 76 to 86. There are 11 recommendations:
        
        1. Consolidated integrated planning and land information system
        2. Allocation of already acquired land
        3. Availing land in the medium term
        4. Development of a proactive targeted land acquisition and allocation plan
        5. Land Expropriation
        6. Development of beneficiary selection guidelines
        7. Finalization of the national spatial development framework and the establishment of the spatial transformation fund
        8. Establishment of a land reform fund
        9. Review and refocusing of empowerment private partnerships
        10. Strengthening food systems and enhancing rural-urban linkages
            11. Land allocation and settlement policy
        
The ANC’s position on expropriation without compensation is clear. It is contained within our national conference resolutions. EWC is one of a number of methods to advance the three objectives of the land transformation policy – restitution, redistribution and security of tenure. The amendment to the constitution is about providing clarity about the circumstances under EWP will happen. We are all aware that that this process is now underway. The Presidential Panel has provided clear proposals as to the circumstances in which EWC should take place. The current Expropriation Draft Bill will also be aligned to these recommendations once the consultation process has been concluded. Our policy as the ANC is clear that EWC should not impact negatively on food security, the Agricultural Economy and the investment drive that our country has embarked upon.  
        
As the ANC we support different forms of ownership including state ownership, communal ownership, trust ownership as well as private ownership of property.
        
On expropriation without compensation, the Presidential Panel recommends as follows (page 80, par 5.1):
        
        Regarding the circumstances in which the EWC policy will be applied:
        That EWC is understood to be one of the several and targeted land acquisition strategies, and that it may commence immediately under specific conditions identified for “nil” compensation, including but not limited to:
        (a) abandoned land
        (b) hopelessly indebted land
        ©️ land held purely for speculative purposes
        (d) unutilized land held by state entities
        (e) land obtained through criminal activity
        (f) land already occupied and used by labour tenants and former labour tenants
        (g) informal settlement areas
        (h) inner city buildings with absentee landlords
        (i) land donations ( as a form of EWC), and
        (j) farm equity schemes “
        
        
        
        
Recently Premier Winde delivered his State of the Province Address. We had expected more, but we feel that he could have done much more to indicate a much clearer break from the “blame and complain” approach of the previous administrations.
        
Maybe it was the intimidating presence of the former Premier in the gallery on that day, combined with the reminder and advice of the DA boys club that there are local government elections looming, that gave the Premier cold feet. Unfortunately Premier Winde appears still to be beholden to the DA conservative liberal dogma of the open opportunity society.  We do not believe that he personally embraces the politics of that faction, so well represented now within the ranks of the Institute of Race Relations.

It is clear that the glib articulation of an open, equal opportunity society by the Premier and his party, the DA, does not provide real answers to the question we are grappling with today.
        
        • It talks of jobs, but never mentions ownership of the economy
        • It talks of education and skills, but says nothing about the need for redress for schools still impacted upon by the brutal legacy of Apartheid Education
        • It talks of unity, but ignores the demon of racism, as if the word “racism” is a swear word never to be mentioned in the same breath as an equal opportunity society.
        • It mouths platitudes about reversing Apartheid Spatial Planning, but says nothing about the fact that for the last ten years, not a single integrated housing development in the inner city and surrounds has seen the light of day.
        • The equal opportunity mantra obscures the blatant preservation of privilege by selling a prime public asset, the Tafelberg School in Sea Point, ideally suited for social housing by the provincial department of housing’s own admission, to private interests. Which opportunities and for whom we ask?
        • The equal opportunity society provides cover for the blatant attempt in the DA 2019 manifesto to allow employers to opt out of the minimum wage agreement of R20 per hour (plus minus R3500 per month) and pay R1800 per month- the same amount as an old age pension. It is there for all to see on page 12 of their manifesto.

So, what has to be done when the very vision of the DA as the ruling party of this province, is doomed to fail the majority of our people who are poor, working class and excluded from having a right to tenure in well located parts of our City and rural towns? In fact the middle class also find it very difficult to secure such rights.
        
What it means firstly is that the people of this province have to be active, engaged and willing to struggle for real people’s power to change their lived reality. It means communities have to intensify the struggle for socio- economic transformation and the reversal of Apartheid Spatial Planning in every corner of this province. This needs to be done with organization, with discipline, without violence and in unity across party political divides. Such mobilization must not lapse into populism.  We must place the people’s daily struggles at the centre of our efforts. So we will continue to support local efforts to resist evictions, which can be clearly traced to the rise of the gentrification phenomena.
        
In this regard the cynical sale of well -located City land by the DA has done nothing for the provision of affordable social housing, and in fact has provided the environment in which gentrification can take hold in communities such as Woodstock and Observatory.
        
What it means secondly is that we as the ANC must secure the active and ongoing support from our President and each and every national government minister to grow this province together and share its wealth. We will secure national investment and support as we work night and day to address the needs of all our communities.
        
But thirdly, it also means seeking out those issues around which we can co-operate and work together.
        
There are many international examples of how nations, in order to resolve fundamental challenges facing them in a war or post war situation or to overcome natural disasters, have formed united fronts to confront a common enemy.
        
As OR Tambo said, we should never reject ideas because they come from those we regard as the enemy or the opposition. His memorable words were and I quote; “In the process be prepared to learn from other people’s revolutions. Learn from the enemy also. The enemy is not necessarily doing everything wrongly. You may take his right tactics and use them to your advantage. At the same time, avoid repeating the enemy’s mistakes”
        
We have to and must work together.
        
We know that local elections are looming.
        
We know that there is always a real temptation to conduct ourselves in a way which places party interests first.
        
The time has arrived for a new approach in the Western Cape. As the New Dawn represents a moment of opportunity and hope under the leadership of President Ramaphosa, so too must this moment in the province not be lost.
        
We cannot simply do more of the same and expect different results. When we take decisions on narrow party political lines, we face delaying the resolution of problems, and ultimately it is our people, especially the poor and vulnerable, that suffer.

Ladies and gentlemen, many of the pathologies we face can be traced back to the brutal legacy of colonial dispossession and the evil system of Apartheid Spatial Planning. In our province, group areas removals, in both Cape Town and our rural towns, created emotional and economic scars that live with us today. Substance abuse and gangsterism can be traced back to these vicious laws. The Oudtshoorn municipality for example prided themselves in being the first municipality to enforce Group Areas.
        
Land, houses and thriving businesses were taken from those classified as African, Coloured and Indian. It was an unspeakable crime against humanity. As the ANC, we are driving land restitution, land redistribution as well as security of tenure as part of the overall land transformation programme. Central to this must be concrete steps to integrate Cape Town and all our rural towns by reversing Apartheid Spatial Planning.
        
We have noted Premier Winde’s call that for each portion of nationally owned public land provided, the province would commit a similar amount. This call has not been thought through and can be interpreted as a delaying tactic designed not to make sites currently owned by the Province and City available.
        
We do however support the principle of banking all public land available in one pool.
        
We have requested that we meet urgently with the Premier and talk about this and find a practical way forward. In the spirit of Khawuleza.
        
In addition we will call for a debate within the next two months in the provincial legislature to discuss the Western Cape’s input to the Presidential Advisory Panel.
        
While giving due consideration to the process underway regarding the report of the Presidential Advisory Panel, we as the ANC propose that each municipality must complete, a transparent and accessible land audit of all National, Provincial, Municipal and State Owned Enterprise properties. This to include both land and buildings. Such audit to also include well-located vacant private land.
        
        
Then, as per NDP2030, District/ or Local Municipal Land Committees need to be established. Proposals then need to be made for the release of such land via leasehold for human settlements, social development, recreation, and industrial purposes.
        
 We do not support the sale of state land. In this regard the announcement by the Minister of Public Works for a moratorium on the sale of state land is supported. The same should apply to public land owned by municipalities, provincial government and SOE’s.
        
However, it is critical that such moratorium does not prevent the immediate leasing of well- located municipal, provincial and national land for integrated human settlements and other social purposes. There also needs to be a clear time frame to conclude deliberations on the recommendations made by the panel. The city, province and all municipalities must discuss and engage on these recommendations.
        
As the ANC, we will oppose any attempt to invade land illegally. All this must happen within the framework of the law.
        
But speed is of the essence. As President Ramaphosa said, our people want us to Khawuleza! Ons mense se dat ons moet nou gou maak. We must speed up these processes.
        
That is why we as the ANC, in our capacity as the official opposition, will begin a process within all municipalities to identify parcels of land and buildings which we believe are priorities for land release. We will be drawing in interns who are studying in the built environment from our universities to assist us in this regard.
        
Valuable work has been done by NGO’s such as DAG and Ndifuna Ukwazi. We will study these reports and proposals in detail and meet with them.
        
While this is happening we will also intensify our local campaigns targeting particular land parcels for release and to unblock the blockages.
        
A new dawn in our province demands that we move with speed and with common purpose.
        
There is much more that we need to say about land pipelines, land release and policy and budgetary amendments. In preparing for this speech, I found the paper by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa, “ Bringing Life to Mortgage Markets in South Africa” very useful.
        
Land and finance are critical enablers to help resolve the sustainable human settlements challenge we face. I believe that we have a real opportunity now as the Western Cape to enter into a genuine, inclusive and lasting social compact to deal with the issues raised by the topic for this address.  
        
In conclusion I would like to talk about a very practical example which has the potential to assist with resolving some of our housing and homelessness challenges within our city and towns.

It has emerged now, having been a passion of mine since my time as MEC for Education from 2004 to 2008.
It’s about using underutilized school land to build houses for teachers at schools. But in fact, it’s about so much more than that. Let me explain….
        
Given that I have already spoken for 30 minutes as per the request of the Press Club, I am going to stop here and ask if there and questions. Hopefully time will also allow me to talk about the exciting pilot project of building houses for teachers at schools.
        
I thank you.