The end of apartheid in South Africa ushered in political rights and freedoms for all, yet enduring inequality persists, dividing the nation even as it approaches its seventh democratic election.
In many instances, the housing policies of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) have inadvertently perpetuated the spatial divisions created by apartheid rather than dismantling them. Seven years ago, activists from a movement called Reclaim the City seized the Woodstock Hospital in the darkness of night. Their goal was to occupy properties near the city center, recognizing that access to employment and services in this area is crucial for addressing the historical injustices of segregation.
According to leaders of the movement, what has emerged is “a new form of economic apartheid,” replacing the explicit racial laws that once confined black and colored (mixed-race) South Africans to impoverished townships on the outskirts of Cape Town. “The poor and vulnerable are now predominantly relegated to the outskirts of the city.”
Although residents now have the legal right to move, they often cannot afford the exorbitant rents demanded by developers in the city center. The ANC, which came to power three decades ago with the promise of housing for a population deprived of secure and comfortable homes by apartheid, has since constructed over three million dwellings. These have been provided either free of charge or at rents below market rates.