Cape Town – ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of failing residents in Cape Town’s KwaLanga area, alleging that the party ignored efforts to identify land for housing and instead labelled South Africans from the Eastern Cape as “refugees”.
Mbalula made the remarks while addressing supporters at Emamnedwini Hall in uMshwathi, KwaZulu-Natal, over the weekend, as political parties intensify their campaigns ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
“People want the ANC to die. The death of the ANC is the death of people in South Africa. We are seeing this happening in Cape Town. Our people are being called refugees in Cape Town,” he said.
The ANC secretary-general also blamed individual misconduct within his party for its problems, arguing that the organisation itself should not be held responsible for the actions of its members.
Mbalula’s remarks come as the ANC seeks to regain support in the Western Cape, where the DA has governed the City of Cape Town for years.
Mbalula said residents had resorted to building informal homes along a railway line in KwaLanga after efforts to secure alternative housing allegedly failed.
[WATCH] THE DA CALLS SOUTH AFRICANS REFUGEES HERE IN CAPE TOWN
Our people decided to build shacks on the railway line here in kwaLanga, Cape Town instead of following through on what I had initiated to get people houses, the DA ignored that and instead called our people, South Africans from mostly the Eastern Cape, refugees, that’s what the DA said. We found plots for our people to build houses but the DA refuses to help our people here in the Western Cape.
#MbalulaInWesternCape
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#BuildingCommunitiesTogether— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) October 25, 2026
“Our people decided to build shacks on the railway line here in KwaLanga, Cape Town, instead of following through on what I had initiated to get people houses,” he said.
He claimed that land had been identified to give residents an opportunity to build permanent homes, but accused the DA-led administration of refusing to assist.
“We found plots for our people to build houses, but the DA refuses to help our people here in the Western Cape,” he said.
Mbalula further alleged that the party had referred to South Africans, many of whom came from the Eastern Cape, as refugees.
“The DA ignored that and instead called our people, South Africans from mostly the Eastern Cape, refugees. That’s what the DA said,” he said.
The claims were made by Mbalula during his campaign address. The account provided does not include a response from the DA to his latest allegations.
Mbalula called on voters in Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Langa and Mitchells Plain to support the ANC, arguing that the party could improve conditions in communities facing housing shortages and poor living conditions.
“There is no need for our people to vote DA, because it leaves our people in squalor. We must not give up on Cape Town and the Western Cape, we must take back this city and deliver for our people,” he said.
The ANC’s campaign has also focused on persistent inequality in the province.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa argued that the “spatial architecture of apartheid” remained visible in the Western Cape, pointing to disparities in housing, infrastructure and public services between townships and wealthier areas.
The Citizen said the president called for township communities to receive the same opportunities and quality of services as other parts of Cape Town and the province.
Mbalula’s comments place housing and access to land at the centre of the ANC’s election campaign in the Western Cape, while renewing its criticism of the DA’s record in the province.
Picture: X/ X/@MbalulaFikile
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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi
Glaan Sibuyi
www.africaninsider.com