Bo-Kaap, the Cape Town suburb that nestles between Signal Hill and the CBD, is hard to miss. Rich in heritage, history and cuisine, it’s a regular attraction.
Its people no less so. Ever since they settled there in the time of slavery, the mostly Muslim community has resisted efforts by other — often wealthier — elements to squeeze them out. They even saw off the depredations of apartheid’s Group Areas Act.
Today, residents say, they are still worried about the future. They say new property developments and too many tourists are leading to gentrification that is pricing out locals.
Bo-Kaap Civic & Ratepayers Association chair Osman Shaboodien says it is important to remember what makes Bo-Kaap special.
“When we establish that and why people flock to Bo-Kaap, then we will understand what we need to preserve and how we balance [it with tourism]. When you have overtourism, it has a negative effect on the living heritage that we have. It damages it. A good thing has become bad,” he says.
“Bo-Kaap is a special place and it needs special intervention and promotion by the city.”
Tourism is booming in Cape Town. It has been named the world’s best city by Time Out magazine and mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis last week underscored that accolade, saying it will bring even more people to visit the city.
According to a report published by Wesgro, the official agency for promoting trade and investment in Cape Town and the Western Cape, Cape Town airport’s international terminal handled a record-breaking 3.08-million passengers in 2024. This represented a 10% increase on the year before.
Shaboodien says while tourism is a potential money-spinner for the community, locals are not benefiting enough from it. “This was put to the authorities many times. There needs to be a concerted effort from the outside to assist people in Bo-Kaap to take them to another level.”
He says there needs to be more regulation, such as having a designated area for buses to park when people visit the Bo-Kaap. Late last year, the community protested against buses coming into the area.
“So many buses in [narrow] streets creates congestion. [An allocated space for buses] is one of the low-hanging fruits that could have been done immediately.”
Rob Quintas, member of the mayoral committee for urban mobility, says a designated site for buses has been identified. “The proposal includes limited but reasonable tour-bus parking space nearby on Buitengracht [Street] and some changes to parking restrictions on Wale Street itself.” Wale Street runs from the centre of the city to Bo-Kaap.
He says a date for implementation is yet to be finalised, but will be communicated in due course.
The province is one of the most expensive places to live. According to a report by Stats SA, properties in the Western Cape registered the largest price increases in March 2024 compared with March 2023, rising 7.7% on average. Residential properties in Cape Town were also 5.7% more expensive. Some locals are concerned that increasing property prices are speeding up gentrification.
Deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning & environment Eddie Andrews tells the FM the city understands the community’s concerns. He says all development applications are assessed against the municipal planning bylaw and relevant city policies before a decision is made.
Andrews says the city is required to identify and protect conservation-worthy heritage resources. “It does [this] through the heritage protection overlay zoning. Bo-Kaap is a proclaimed [zone]. While the [zone] does not freeze development, it aims to ensure that any development does not significantly affect the heritage of an area or site under its protection.
We are ordinary people. We can’t be fighting against lawyers that these rich developers pay
— Osman Shaboodien
“In making a decision on a development proposal in the [zone], the city must ensure the least possible impact on heritage while also considering social and economic benefits,” he says.
Shaboodien, though, says the zone protection hasn’t been effective enough since it was implemented in 2019. “There should be criteria. For instance, if you want to build a house in Bo-Kaap you can’t go more than two storeys. These are the criteria that the city never gave.”
The city’s advisory panel for appeals is considering arguments for and against a six-storey hotel near the Auwal Mosque in Bo-Kaap, the oldest in South Africa.
“We have to fight every case. We are ordinary people. We can’t be fighting against lawyers that these rich developers pay. The city should be fighting them, not us. What is the worth of having [zone protection] when it’s not effective?
“That is another thing we need to debate in Bo-Kaap,” he says. “Investors are buying houses to turn them into Airbnbs. People can’t afford to stay. That’s all caused by tourism.”
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