EFF leader Julius Malema has accused the DA-led City of Cape Town of failing to provide adequate housing, sanitation and basic services to residents living in informal settlements.
Malema made the remarks during the party’s Tshela Thupa rally at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday, as the EFF stepped up its campaign ahead of Wednesday’s Local Government Elections.
He challenged the DA’s description of Cape Town as the best-run city in the country, arguing that many informal settlements remain without proper services and secure living conditions.
Malema specifically mentioned Khayelitsha, Dunoon, Philippi and Emfuleni, claiming residents in these communities continue to face challenges with sanitation, electricity and security of tenure.
“In the City of Cape Town, they boast that they are the best-run city in the country. But the City of Cape Town has failed to formalise informal settlements. Instead of providing serviced land and decent housing, it has allowed informal settlements to mushroom,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the impact of fires and heavy rainfall on informal settlement residents, saying families frequently risk losing their homes and belongings during such incidents.
“Our people in these informal settlements live without proper sanitation, without electricity and without security of tenure. When it rains, their shacks are flooded. When there is fire, they lose everything. That is the reality behind the so-called best-run city by the DA,” Malema said.
The comments form part of the EFF’s election campaign focus on housing, service delivery and conditions in informal settlements.
Wednesday’s elections will also be the first Local Government Elections contested by the EFF since the departure of its former deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, who has since founded the Mayibuye movement.
