The Housing Policy That Dare Not Speak Its Name


Yes indeedy. This weekend the ANC tried to campaign in the shack settlements. The police were on hand to make the ground safe for democracy, but even then, the KwaZulu-Natal Premier couldn’t get into the settlements safely.

Some of this is captured in an article in Durban’s Mercury newspaper here which, although it has my byline, was definitely a team effort by the good people at the Centre for Civil Society, notably Stephanie Lane, Richards Pithouse and Ballard and, of course, S’bu Zikode and Mnikelo Ndabankulu.

As a gloss to the many of you from outside South Africa who visit Class Worrier, Jayraj Bachu is the councillor in one of Durban’s more well-to-do mainly Indian neighbourhoods, in which there are a number of shack settlements. Bachu has recently been praised for his successes in clearing the poor out of the middle class ghetto. Bachu has the good sense to cloak his interventions in terms of “helping house prices”. Other folk, notably the poisonous Amichand Rajbansia man who led the Indian collaboration with apartheid – have been embroiled in scandal over the past week, for wanting to keep certain areas “for Our Indians“. Bachu wants to help the middle class. Rajbansi wants to keep Chatsworth Indian. But both are effectively calling for the same thing – out with the African poor. This is the post-apartheid housing policy that dare not speak its name.

One Reply to “The Housing Policy That Dare Not Speak Its Name”

  1. Oh dear! You’ve opened your mouth before engaging brain again!

    You are seriously uneducated Sir. And to be passing your theories to other of your illiterate class who im sure happens to be a certain class of the minority within your undereducated minority population, whose special & only talent is being the opposition.

    Keep doing it..it seems you good at doing nothing else but opposing what being done by people who are already doing what you keep saying cannot be done!

    You DO know what they say about those who can't do…teach or complain!

    SO keep your blog and continue your whining..men like Mr. Rajbansi have track record..while you sitting here plugged into your internet he is actually out there changing his workd, even if it is a minority world.

    So..not matter what he is – he is still doing more than YOU:-))))

    pps…so much for Fatima meer recently calling for formation of the "Indian" National Congress.. why not go hoot about that being minority Indian.. stinks of opporuntisitic..

    Amichand Rajbansi contributd to politics, whether through MF or whatever..BEFORE it became acceptable to bring back your Indian congress.

    GEt real..get informed!

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