Bo-Kaap residents intent on using the ballot box to send a message to WC's DA govt

CAPE TOWN - For some living in Cape Town's historic Bo-Kaap, the elections present an opportunity to send a strong message to the Democratic Alliance (DA) government, which is in charge of both the city and the province.

Bo-Kaap residents have been at constant loggerheads with the metro, most recently over the painting of Palestinian murals and the hosting of the annual minstrels' carnival.

GENTRIFICATION THREAT

They also raised an issue with the threat of gentrification, claiming it would come with high property prices that would drive the original residents out of the area.

They also believe this will strip their beloved Bo-Kaap of its rich culture and heritage.

For several years, residents of Bo-Kaap have been in and out of court fighting against the municipality and big property developers from erecting tall buildings in the area.

They're concerned that the developments will push property rates up and make living in the Bo-Kaap for many families unaffordable.

Bo-Kaap Ratepayers Association chairperson, Osman Shaboodien, believes there's a deliberate ploy by the city to gentrify the area.

"The one building that we had much to fight about was BLOCK. There's another one now that's going to be built, which we call the monster building, it's a 60-metre building and probably has about 30 storeys. Because we didn't want to be living in a fishbowl, where everything is high and you have this little enclave inside, we then agitated amongst ourselves and said if we don't do something about this, we're going to be in a very bad spot."

However, Town deputy mayor and Mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Eddie Andrews, has refuted this.
 
Andrews said they involved the association in every decision-making process, to ensure the community’s living heritage reflects in the future.

MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT'S LOCAL REVERBERATIONS

Conflict in the Middle East has taken centre stage in the Western Cape as political parties ramp up efforts in a bid to bring the DA under 50% in the general elections.
 
The DA has been widely criticised for not siding with the people of Gaza, as Israel continues with its retaliatory attacks in the region.
 
This has seen its own members, like Ghaleb Cachalia, sever ties with the organisation, calling it out for its "growing dysfunctional, undemocratic and authoritarian tendencies", after he was barred from supporting Palestine publicly.
 
The African National Congress (ANC) has been quick to try and take advantage of this, sending International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor to engage with communities at the popular Gatesville mosque.

'THE DA IS GOING TO LOSE QUITE HEAVILY'
 
As South Africans prepare to cast their votes, many parties are gunning for the country’s sizeable Muslim vote across parts of the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
 
The DA is one of those parties.

However, there's a sentiment amongst the Muslim community that it's more sympathetic to the Israeli cause when it comes to the current conflict, which has left more than 35,000 people dead.
 
In Cape Town, the Muslim community bumped heads with the DA-led City of Cape Town recently over the removal of a Palestine flag mural in Lavender Hill.
 
Shaboodien, from the predominantly Muslim Bo-Kaap community in the metro, believes the DA's posture on the war could cost it votes within the Muslim community.
 
"The DA itself is going to lose quite heavily, not only from a Muslim point of view, but that is also true - it's written on the cards - because they haven't even made any effort to defend it. If you look at their so-called black supporters, they don't have [any], they chucked them out with, like the baby with the bath water."

TWO-STATE SOLUTION
 
However, the DA says it stands in solidarity with both Palestinians and Israelis who seek a two-state solution.
 
But Professor Mahmoud Patel said there was no such thing as a two-state solution.
 
"We have seen all the hypocrites laid bare in South Africa, as well as internationally. From the Arab states to the Turkish states, as well as those here in South Africa who support the so-called nonsense two-state solution. There is no two-state solution, there's only one state, a free Palestine."
 
It remains to be seen whether the DA will indeed lose support at the polls over its perceived stance on the Israel-Gaza war.