Cape Town - Ruyterwacht Community Association (RCA) chairperson Mandisa Zamile decided that the best way to tackle issues such as social housing was from within the structures of the City and therefore accepted the Land Party’s nomination as ward 30 councillor candidate in the upcoming elections.
Ward 30 covers, among other areas, Matroosfontein, Ruyterwacht, Epping Industria and parts of Bishop Lavis and Valhalla Park.
Zamile, who has often locked horns on behalf of the RCA with the powers that be at the social housing giant Communicare, said that if elected she would use her position to fight against poverty, especially among pensioners, single mothers and unemployed youth.
“I am a community activist. I really believe in socialism, which is lacking in our country, and when I looked at the Land Party and what they stand for, it resonated with my values and principles and how I see the future of the Western Cape as a whole, particularly on the issue of land and housing.
“The popular big political parties are not familiar with our struggles and they don’t have the political will to deal with our everyday challenges and hardships. Instead they turn a blind eye to our social needs,” said Zamile.
The Land Party manifesto for the local government election promises to “build new houses for the poor in predominantly white suburbs to end the apartheid spatial planning to allow people to reside closer to their places of employment and address the issue of integrating communities.”
The Wazimap website shows that 12% of households in Ward 30 are informal dwellings or shacks and 43% of the households in the ward are headed by women.