‘EK WAG NOU NOG’ - Ouma, 98, says she snubbed vote over City’s broken housing promises

STRANDFONTEIN pensioner Gadija Jaffer, 98, snubbed the recent local government elections after waiting almost 60 years for a promised government house.

Jaffer, who still reads, walks independently and retains a sharp memory, says she first applied in 1968, the City says its official records log her application date as August 1988.

The ouma said after years of waiting, she would not make her way the poles.

Jaffer said: “They promised me a house and still I am waiting, that is why I did not vote.

“They said I must go to an old age home but I asked them if there is space for my daughter because I will need someone to look after me. I want a two-bedroom house because my daughter who looks after me will be with me.”

Her daughter Sharifa Jaffer, 72, who cares for her, questioned the municipal records and disputed claims regarding another relative.

“I casted my vote, my mother voted all the years but this year when they came around for the Special Vote process, she said she does not want to vote,” Sharifa explained.

“How can [my sister] get a house in my mother’s name? My mother was the applicant. They don't know when to stop with their lies. Where is the title deed? She does not have the title deed.”

The City of Cape Town disputed claims of neglect, explaining that a 2020 data audit revealed Jaffer and her daughter previously received an individual housing subsidy. Although registered in the daughter's name, the purchase counted as a municipal housing benefit under applicable policy. After that home was sold in 2011, Jaffer’s registration date was reset to November 2012 following renewed contact.

Consequently, the City noted Jaffer cannot receive another subsidy-linked home and can only qualify for non-saleable municipal rental units. While officials reviewed her case for priority placement at a pensioner cottage, the family declined because the facilities cannot accommodate a live-in caregiver.

The City explained that its pensioner cottages are designated exclusively for elderly residents capable of caring for themselves, as municipal infrastructure lacks full-time frail-care support. Provincial social development officials also engaged the family in February, noting they declined elderly care programmes because they specifically seek a family house. The City confirmed Jaffer remains active on its Housing Needs Register for future rental vacancies once her waiting-list date is reached.

Former Ward 43 candidate Riyad Isaac criticised the municipality's response: “It saddens me to see that I have been addressing this matter with the City for so long and every time, there seems to be a better excuse than the previous one.”