97-year-old Gadija Jaffer’s six-decade wait for a government home

Strandfontein resident Gadija Jaffer, who recently celebrated her 97th birthday, is at the centre of a housing dispute that has persisted for nearly six decades. On Sunday friends and family gathered  to honour her milestone, but the celebration was overshadowed by ongoing frustrations regarding her long-standing wait for a government home.

Jaffer’s daughter, Sharifa Jaffer, claims that city officials have mishandled her mother’s housing application, alleging that a house allocated to Gadija was given to another family. “My mother has been waiting since 1968 for a house, and every time I go to City officials, they place her application backwards,” Sharifa stated during an interview with the Cape Argus.

Despite numerous visits to City officials, including ward councillor Elton Jansen, Sharifa expressed her heartbreak over her mother’s plight. “They told me that there was a house allocated for her, but where is this house?” she asked. “If they want to say my mother refused a house or that she was aware of the house, why did they not let her sign? She has never refused.”

Sharifa further said that the property in question had been allocated to someone else without her mother’s knowledge. “He (Councillor Jansen) called me and asked how old my mother was. I said 96 and asked for her identity document, which is in Paarl. He came to visit her, and she told him that she is still waiting for her house. Do they first want my mother to die, and then who will the house go to?”

Last year, the Cape Argus reported that there were 600,000 people on the housing waiting list in the Western Cape, with 350,000 applicants from Cape Town alone. Jaffer’s situation has drawn the attention of Riyad Isaac, a resident and leader USA, United South Africa, who has contacted City officials and called for an investigation into the matter.

“What’s happened to Mrs. Gadija Jaffer is not just a bureaucratic failure. It is a moral failing, and one that should haunt the conscience of every official in this city who has sworn to serve the people,” Isaac said.

Born on 25 May 1928, Gadija Jaffer applied for a government home in 1968. “That was 57 years ago, an entire lifetime of waiting, of hoping, of being strung along by a system that seems to have forgotten she exists,” Sharifa lamented.

Despite her mother’s persistent efforts to seek answers, her application date has reportedly been altered multiple times—from 1968 to 1994, and later to 2012—without her consent or explanation.

Councillor Jansen responded to the claims, stating that he fully supports the Jaffer family. “She (the daughter) informed me that she is currently not happy with her own living arrangements and brought to my attention that apparently her mother has been on the housing waiting list since 1968. I informed her that we will continue to follow up with Human Settlements regarding her status on the housing database,” he said.

Jansen added that following an investigation, he learned that Jaffer was on the City housing database since November 2012, and the matter is still under review.

The City of Cape Town acknowledged the situation, stating that a housing subsidy was allocated to another daughter of Jaffer’s, which inadvertently affected her records. “The City is aware of Mrs. Gadija Jaffer’s matter, and our teams have tried to make contact with the family to assist with information regarding their case directly,” a spokesperson said.

“The City reviewed the housing record of Mrs. Gadija Jaffer and found that she was originally registered on the City’s Housing Needs Register on 1 August 1988. However, during a routine data clean-up process in 2020, it was discovered that Mrs. Jaffer and her daughter,  had previously benefitted from a housing opportunity through an individual housing subsidy.” The spokesperson clarified that while the property was registered in a relative's name, it constituted a housing benefit under the policy at the time.

“The property was sold in 2011. In keeping with the City’s Housing Allocation Policy—ensuring fair access to housing opportunities for qualifying beneficiaries—Mrs. Gadija Jaffer’s registration date was updated to 15 November 2012. This decision was made in accordance with the applicable housing policies to ensure fairness and consistency across the system.

"The City remains committed to working with all housing applicants in a transparent manner and encourages Mrs. Jaffer and her family to contact them directly for further assistance. 

 Cape Argus