Khoi and San people did not give full consent to R4bn River Club development – Commissioner
CORPORATE sponsored events attempting to peddle a narrative of full consent by the Khoi and San regarding the River Club redevelopment were false.
These were the words of High Commissioner Tauriq Jenkins of the Goringhaicona Khoena Council and chairperson of the A|XARRA Restorative Justice Forum, based at the Centre for African Studies at UCT. He said this in response to the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT) announcement of the signing of a Heritage Social Compact with indigenous representatives of the Western Cape First Nations Collective Trust (FNCT), in relation to the redevelopment.
Despite opposition by indigenous groups and housing activists, the City gave the green light to the R4 billion development.
The redevelopment of the site, on a 15-hectare parcel of land, is set to include shops, restaurants, offices, a hotel and a school. US retail giant Amazon will be the anchor tenant, opening a base of operations on the continent.
“The Social Compact is a model of co-operation, between the Khoi and San collective and the private property owner, to commemorate and celebrate the rich history and heritage of the First Nations on the site, for the sake of future generations,” the LLPT said.
A dedicated Cultural, Heritage and Media Centre would be constructed, which will be operated and managed by the First Nations – an indigenous garden, heritage eco-trail and garden amphitheatre, to function both as sites of memory, and living cultural practice and celebration, the LLPT said.
Chief Garu Zenzile Khoisan, representing the FNCT, said: “We, as the First Nations, have fought a battle for almost three decades. What we did here at the River Club was an act of radical reconciliation.”
Jenkins said heritage was not for sale.
“Our rivers and embankments will be protected. The developer, his friends, security guards, and their doting mayor continue to walk a path towards a gross violation of our country's spiritual and environmental sanctity.
“The Amazon nightmare, of 150 000m² of concrete bulk on a floodplain, is a clear and imminent danger to our heritage. It would appear that the City's seeming ‘mollycoddling' of divisiveness among the Khoi and San is becoming a signature trait,” he said.
In response, mayor Dan Plato said Jenkins was trying to create division.
“The First Nations, representing more than 200 groupings as a collective, have embraced and celebrated the signing of the social compact, except – disappointingly – for Jenkins' faction.
“Mr Jenkins' statement is attempting to discredit a legitimate and ground-breaking agreement, which will right some injustices of the past.
“It is unfortunate that his faction is the one which is seeking to create division in the ranks of the First Nations.
“Jenkins' comments smack of opportunism and are riddled with inaccuracies and insults.
“In assessing the development application, it was clear that the development will celebrate heritage, create economic opportunity, and rehabilitate the surrounding environment,” said Plato.
“The Amazon nightmare, of 150 000m² of concrete bulk on a floodplain, is a clear and imminent danger to our heritage
TAURIQ JENKINS High Commissioner, Goringhaicona Khoena Council