CAPE TOWN - Cape Town may be the most sought-after place to live in SA, but questions still remain: Can ordinary people afford to live there?
This was the question posed at the We The Nation Election debate in Cape Town on Sunday to the Democratic Alliance (DA), African National Congress (ANC), Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP).
Freedom Front leader Corne Mulder is of the opinion that it's increasingly unaffordable to live in the mother city.
Mulder, who has lived in Cape Town for 30 years, questioned the city’s approach on municipal rates and taxes.
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In his view these disproportionately affect residents who do not fall within the majority that are shielded from the increases.
But the DA pushed back.
Cape Town mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis defended the city’s record on municipal costs and governance.
Hill-Lewis says Cape metro residents are getting far more value for their municipal rates compared to the City of Johannesburg and City of eThekwini.
“The big difference is that in those cities, the value of your home is being destroyed by bad governance. In this city, the value of your home is being greatly increased and improved by good governance,” he said.
Hill-Lewis conceded that Cape Town is expensive but attributed the increase in housing prices to the demand on housing due to the large number of people moving to Cape Town.
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He said efforts are being made to build more homes and make development accessible.
"You have parties like the Freedom Front Plus who want the best of both worlds. They believe in having their cake and eating it. They want no rates increases, but they want better services that have to be funded.
"They want more cheaper accommodation but also oppose the building of anything in Cape Town. So those are all mutually exclusive positions. They can't actually have the best of both worlds. That shows their lack of experience, the lack of governance credentials, the lack of ability to actually govern," he said.