‘Are they going to give me a house?’: 98-year-old Strandfontein woman appeals to mayor
A 98-year-old Strandfontein woman says decades of waiting for housing led her not to vote in the 2026 local government election. The City of Cape Town says she and her daughter previously benefited from a housing subsidy, while the family disputes the City’s account.
Strandfontein’s 98-year-old resident, Gadija Jaffer, has refused to vote in this year's local government election due to her long-standing wait for a house that was never delivered after more than four decades. She is seeking proof of ownership of a house gifted to her daughter instead of her. The City of Cape Town counters that Jaffer and her daughter received a subsidy, not making her ineligible but clarifying that the registration is in her daughter's name, not hers.
The City offered her a pensioner's cottage, but she doesn't meet the criteria as she requires frail-care assistance provided by her children. Jaffer, who lives with her daughter, has asked Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to personally visit her. She claims the city promised her a house and she did not vote, saying they told her to move to an old age home, but she needs a two-bedroom house for herself and her daughter. She reiterates her request for a house, asking, "Are they going to give me a house or what?"
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