Five Years of State Inaction on the Release of Military Land Which Could Address Cape Town’s Affordable Housing Crisis
Civil society organisations to host a community workshop to mark the fifth anniversary of state inaction on the release of under-utilised military land in Cape Town for the development of affordable housing. Click the image above to watch Ndifuna Ukwazi’s video.
7 November 2025
Nearly fi ve years have passed since a group of civil society organisations called on President Cyril Ramaphosa and the national government to immediately release three large, well-located and under-utilised military sites in Cape Town for the development of aff ordable housing. The three pieces of nationally-owned land – Ysterplaat, Wingfi eld and Youngsfi eld – have the potential to create 67,000 homes for low-income households, addressing Cape Town’s gross spatial inequalities and aff ordable housing crisis. Despite sustained advocacy, Parliamentary oversight and budget allocations, these parcels remain trapped in political inertia – with no formal transfer or meaningful development having taken place.
The original submission, which was delivered on 7 December 2020 to the Presidency, and the Ministers for Public Works and Infrastructure, Human Settlements and Defence and Military Veterans, identifi ed the legal mechanisms through which the state could release the sites, how the state could incrementally develop the sites using existing housing programmes, and off ered schematic plans for how to develop each site.
The coalition, which includes the Cape Crisis Committee, the Development Action Group (DAG), Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU), has participated in a number of follow-up engagements regarding the release of the sites, with the latest engagement taking place in the fi rst quarter of 2024. This meeting took place prior to last year’s elections with the offi ce of the Deputy President in Cape Town. During this meeting, it was agreed that a subsequent meeting would be convened by the Deputy President’s offi ce, involving Ministers and their representatives from Public Works, Human Settlements, and Defence.
The most recent correspondence from the Deputy President’s offi ce proposed scheduling this meeting for 16 April 2025. However, it was postponed due to the unavailability of representatives from the National Department of Human Settlements.
To date, no signifi cant timelines have been established, and the ongoing under-utilisation of these military sites is becoming increasingly untenable in light of the escalating housing crisis. The DAG and CORC have been calling for the release of these sites since 2002.
A History of Misuse: Refugee and Migrant Containment
Between 2020 and 2025, Wingfi eld was repurposed to accommodate over 700 asylum seekers who had been evicted from Greenmarket Square. A second group was moved to a parking site at the Bellville Public Transport Interchange, which became known as Paint City. Conditions were overcrowded, unsanitary and insecure. Rather than being developed for permanent housing, public land has been used as temporary holding zones, denying displaced communities dignity, integration and access to opportunity.
A Renewed Call to Action
The state – at all levels – has a legal and moral obligation to expedite the release of well-located public land to enable the urgent development of aff ordable housing. In response to years of inaction, the coalition is hosting a workshop to amplify the voices of low-income communities and renew calls for the state to rapidly release these sites for the development of low-income housing in Cape Town
Community Workshop to Develop a Plan of Action
- Date: Saturday, 15 November 2025
- Time: 9am – 2pm
- Venue: Community House, 41 Salt River Road, Salt River.
- RSVP by the 10th November: Zinzi Gatyeni Zinzi@dag.org.za
Contacts:
- Akhona Siswana (DAG Programme Coordinator): akhona@dag.org.za / +27 62 688 5595
- Yusrah Bardien (Communications Offi cer at Ndifuna Ukwazi) yusrah@nu.org.za / +27 82 470 1441 (whatsapps welcome)
Housing Potential: Density-Based Yield Estimates:
The submission was endorsed by Abahlali baseMjondolo, Bishop Lavis Backyarders Forum, Bonteheuwel Ratepayers and Tenants Association, Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC), Delft Backyarders, Development Action Group (DAG), Eerste Rivier Backyarders Forum, Federation of the Urban and Rural Poor (FEDUP), Gatesville Tenant Committee, Informal Settlement Network (ISN), Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), Khayelitsha Peacebuilding Team, Kraaifontein Economic Drivers, Langa Residents Ratepayers Association, Land and Accountability Research Centre (LARC), Legal Resources Centre (LRC), Madalay Montclaire Business Forum, Maitland Garden Village Housing Forum, Mitchell’s Plain United Residents Association, Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU), Phuhlisani, Reclaim the City, Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute, uTshani Fund, and Women Zone.
