‘No race is superior’: One Love Alliance targets housing crisis and GBV as it enters Cape Town race - IOL

One Love Alliance leader and mayoral candidate Duwayne Jacobs.

“This is not a Rastafari movement. We have people from all walks of life.”

That is the irie message from the newly formed One Love Alliance. 

The alliance has entered the 2026 Cape Town municipal election race, with leader and mayoral candidate Duwayne Jacobs promising to tackle land reform, housing, unemployment and service delivery.

The alliance launched its pre-election manifesto at the Royal Ras Centre in Hatton Estate, Athlone, on Saturday, unveiling a 10-point programme under the banner “Dignity, Land, Opportunity, Equality”.

The manifesto identifies gender-based violence prevention, youth skills, land reform and housing, economic empowerment, safety, basic service delivery, social development, affordable electricity, women’s economic empowerment and transparent local governance as its key priorities.

The alliance says its approach will be centred on measurable targets, public reporting and greater community participation in municipal decision-making.

NOT A RASTA PARTY: One Love Alliance launched its local government election manifesto in Cape Town on Saturday.

Jacobs, who has been involved in politics for several years despite the alliance being a new political formation, on Monday, 21 September, 2026, said that he was previously a member of the NCC before forming the One Love Alliance.

He said: “Being part of the NCC was great. But there were a lot of people that told us they wanted a movement that is not so fixated on the Coloured narrative. 

“Today you’ll see that the One Love Alliance is one of the most diverse political movements.

“This movement was established on the notion that no race is superior over another. 

“We told ourselves we need to entirely abandon and discredit that notion. This is not a Rastafari movement. We have people from all walks of life,” he added.

Land and housing feature prominently in the alliance’s manifesto, which proposes identifying suitable public and historically significant land for lawful development, while considering serviced plots, incremental housing and informal-settlement upgrades.

“Look at the Black River Cemetery. The City now wants to rezone that area for business purposes. What about our heritage and our people who are buried there? It seems like all the land is being allocated to the investors,” he said.

He also criticised what he described as apartheid-era spatial planning in the city and raised the issue of people waiting for housing.

“The courts have already agreed that this City is continuing with apartheid-like spatial planning. In the Western Cape there are over 600 000 people on the waiting list. In Mitchells Plain alone there are about 40 000 people,” Jacobs said.

The alliance’s manifesto further calls for stronger support for local SMMEs, cooperatives and emerging contractors, improved basic services and safer public spaces.

Jacobs said the alliance was already receiving support in communities including Mitchells Plain, Elsies River and Delft.

“Things are really looking good for us. We are receiving so much support. Wherever we go, communities rock up in their numbers at our events. We are confident of our victories here,” he said.