V&A Waterfront mum on black-owned businesses
THE ISSUE of equal ownership of business space at the V&A Waterfront is still a “fairly complex issue”.
The Cape Times probed V&A Waterfront management on the ratio of white and black-owned businesses in their prime spaces, but answers were not forthcoming.
Yesterday, V&A Waterfront spokesperson Donald Kau would not confirm how many of the businesses were blackowned.
“This is a fairly complex issue.
“I am not going to confirm or comment on it,” he said.
Instead, Kau invited the Cape Times to engage in a conversation about the “economic impact” of the V&A Waterfront. Asked if the V&A Waterfront did not track its B-BBEE footprint, Kau declined to comment.
“I would like to confirm my invitation to the Cape Times to give you an overview of the business. An economic impact report is compiled bi-annually on this, which we would take you through, including covering aspects of the businesses that operate here.”
This week, racism at the V&A Waterfront was highlighted when DA MP Phumzile van Damme was involved in an altercation in which she said she was forced to punch a man in the head in self-defence, after he and his family racially attacked and threatened her.
On Tuesday, Van Damme took to Twitter to vent her frustration after a woman apparently threatened to “push (her) aside” while queueing in a supermarket.
“This lady was filming me the entire time, so I tried to take photos and that little s**t in the black T-shirt came to my face and came within my face and [said] “voetsek you black” and threw [my phone] on the ground.
“He was threatening violence so in self-defence I punched him in the head.”
The matter was reported to the management, which said it would investigate.
Kau said: “The altercation occurred between individual visitors to the V&A Waterfront, and it therefore has no bearing on the make up of our tenants.”
Van Damme said after requesting the CCTV footage of the incident, she was told it could be retrieved only if the police requested it.
Kau said: “Any footage we have of the incident would be shared with the SAPS should it be requested.”
On Twitter yesterday, after accepting an apology from the V&A Waterfront Twitter account, Van Damme tweeted: “And to those who think this is the first time I have been subjected to racism.
“Anime nina (You guys must stop). Do you think being an MP shields me from what you suffer? Do you think I was born in Parliament. I always speak out and will continue to speak out against racism and all issues affecting SA.”