Roscoe Jacobs, youth activist for land, Hout Bay
Dear Mr President, Cyril Ramaphosa, as a youth I write this letter calling for action in honour of Ashley Kriel, Coline Williams and many unknown youth of the Cape Flats who fought for the political freedom we have today.
I cannot remain silent while we remain landless and economically oppressed.
I am heeding the call you made on Youth Day of being the agent of change, Mr President.
I write to you on behalf of a community in despair as the City of Cape Town is failing to address our needs and we need your intervention.
Mr President, we are tired of political rhetoric and correctness. Ons is gatvol. We want the security and comfort the Freedom Charter refers to.
I live in the community of Hout Bay, which is a microcosm of South Africa. Segregation is evident, poverty and inequality is for all to see.
I have edited this letter almost a 100 times, but then realised I don’t need to be politically correct.
Mr President, in Hout Bay our biggest challenge as poor working class people is accessing
land for decent
housing.
As the black majority, we are on less than 5% of the land in this beautiful bay. Mr President, let me not waste time, we need your intervention and assistance as a matter of urgency.
The City of Cape Town keeps on shifting the blame for its failure to our national government.
For us, we don’t want to hear this politicking. We want results.
I will not bore you with the history but will share it once we meet, as it is critical to our progression towards an integrated Hout Bay in which all residents can live peacefully and prosperously.
So here is what my community needs for you to do, Mr President: arrange a meeting with the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Minister of Public Works, the Minister of Land Reform, the Minister of Human Settlements, the mayor of Cape Town, the premier of the Western Cape and yourself.
The purpose of this meeting will be to address the land issue of Hout Bay. The development of a clear-cut project so that all government departments and spheres of government can know their respective roles in developing our community so that as a community we will know how they will benefit from this new dawn and the role we all play.
Dit is tyd vir aksie, Mr President! You have until Saturday June 30 to respond and set up a meeting date.
If you fail to do so, I will go on a hunger strike until you heed my call and help me make Hout Bay an integrated community in which security and comfort is not for the rich and whites alone.
I am prepared to die for access to land, my life is in your hands as is the future of my community.
