The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has threatened to take the City of Cape Town to court for allegedly failing to resolve issues surrounding the refugee tent erected in Maitland and wants to force it to "protect" residents.

The PA, who recently won its first ward in Cape Town – Ward 56 – has been breathing down the City's neck over the refugee tent that was erected in 2020.

In a statement over the weekend, the party said the "City's dismissive response to the urgent concerns raised by ward councillor Cheslyn Steenberg is a slap in the face to the residents of Kensington, and an insult to the mandate on which he was elected".

Under the DA-led administration, the City has displayed a glaring double standard, according to the PA.

"When affluent Green Point residents demanded the removal of illegal foreigners from their area, the City jumped into action. But now, they have simply dumped these people in a tent in Kensington, leaving the community to bear the consequences.

"This blatant disregard for the welfare of Kensington's residents exemplifies the structural inequality that has become the hallmark of the DA's administration in Cape Town," it said.

Last month, Steenberg wrote a letter to the City's municipal manager regarding the refugee tent site. In the letter, Steenberg requested that the tents be moved to a different location.

The letter read, "The residents of Ward 56 strongly oppose the City of Cape Town's decision to erect a tent on a vacant piece of land and allow homeless persons and undocumented foreigners to live there. They strongly believe that this decision has had a negative impact on their quality of life."

Steenberg has given the City 14 days to respond or the PA will approach the court.

In response to Steenberg's letter, the City's acting manager Vincent Botto said the Wingfield refugee site was the responsibility of the national government.

"Specifically, the owner of the land, the Department of Public Works (DPW), and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA)", he added.

"The DPW offered its Wingfield site to relocate the refugees from unlawful occupation at Greenmarket Square. At the request of the DHA, the City assisted at the time with the initial site set-up and costs," he said.

Botto said once the site was established, ongoing intergovernmental discussions resulted in an agreement that Home Affairs would initiate a repatriation and/or reintegration programme.

"On this basis, the DHA assumed full operational control for the sites accommodating refugees. Accordingly, the national government bears the costs and, as the owner of the site, is responsible for any rehabilitation of the site once vacated," Botto added.

The PA said it had engaged a "top law firm to bring a class-action lawsuit against the City to ensure they fulfil their duty to protect and serve all residents".

During the Covid-19 pandemic, hundreds of refugees occupied the Central Methodist Mission Church in Greenmarket Square. The group was then forcibly removed from the church and relocated to tents in Maitland and Paint City, Bellville.

"The City neither owns, operates nor bears the costs of the Wingfield refugee site any longer," City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said.

"This is the responsibility of the national government, specifically the owner of the land – the Department of Public Works and the Department of Home Affairs."

Former public works minister Patricia de Lille's spokesperson, Zara Nicholson, said: "The tent was erected by the City of Cape Town and was handed over to the Department of Home Affairs to manage in September of 2022."

The Department of Home Affairs did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.