GOOD Party Cape Town mayoral candidate Brett Herron has called for the R180 million allocated to the proposed wall along the N2 highway to be redirected towards upgrading the living conditions of the city’s poorest communities.
Herron argues that the wall, intended to shield motorists from informal settlements lining the highway, is a misguided priority that reinforces spatial apartheid rather than addressing its root causes. “The N2 wall is a symbol of a city that would rather hide poverty than solve it,” he said. “R180 million could build houses, upgrade informal settlements, and create economic opportunities for the very communities this wall is meant to conceal.”
His proposal has resonated with activists who argue that Cape Town’s budget priorities favour the wealthy and neglect the poor. They point to chronic shortages of housing, sanitation, and electricity in informal settlements across the city.
The City of Cape Town has defended the wall as a necessary safety measure, citing crime and pedestrian accidents along the highway. Herron counters that the funds would be better spent on interventions that improve lives rather than obscure them.
As elections approach, the debate has brought into sharp focus two competing visions for the city, one that hides poverty, and one that confronts it.
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