Rage over student festival venue
PLETTENBERG BAY - The proposed venue for this year's Plett Rage student festival - the first since the Covid-19 outbreak - is once again a point of contention with objections pouring in.
Organisers have applied for use of a portion of land in the Roodefontein area on the outskirts of Plettenberg Bay to use, not only for the festival, but also other events over the next five years.
One of these objections takes the form of a petition that has garnered more than 100 signatures claiming not only environmental and safety issues, but also ones of inconvenience for residents as well as economic losses. There has also been concerns over the historical and spiritual significance of the land, which has deep roots in Griqua culture. The application was done on behalf of the Griqua National Conference Development Trust to which the land belongs.
Previous venues have included Plett Central, Central Beach and Ganse Vallei.
According to the petition, the site would be unsuitable for events of this scale as it is situated in a marshland, right at the inflow of the Piesang River into Plettenberg Bay's Roodefontein Dam, which supplies drinking water to the town. They claim it is also difficult to access as it is 12km from the centre of town.
One of the negative impacts cited is local businesses not benefitting from the event due to the "isolated location". Another issue is the safety of students and danger of drowning due to its proximity to the dam. The petition also references traffic issues and poor road conditions, as the road to the venue is a steep and slippery dirt road ending in a jeep track with single access. They also fear possible contamination of Plett drinking water and damage to the environment as fish eagles and other birds are known to nest in the area.
A further complaint is that there would be noise pollution that would negatively impact on residents in the area. There are also concerns around the alleged lack of consultation with the Griqua community. "We urge local government and municipal role players not to approve the application," the petition reads. By the time of going to print, 130 people had signed it.
'Rage benefits Plett'
Owner and founder of Plett Rage Ronen Klugman has however countered the claims. About businesses losing out, he said that the festival brought thousands of people to the town benefitting
to the town benefitting hundreds of businesses. "The last survey we did in 2019, about R55m was spent in the town outside of our events," Klugman said.
About safety, he added that the event site is 50m from the dam. "In between this is a thick forest that you cannot walk through, besides the fact that we have security to control where people go." Klugman said the road to the site would also be graded, that only taxis would be allowed to have access to the farm and that the road would be made a double carriage or a loop system.
He further said that he had met with the Griqua leadership about the land use and would have follow-up conversations with them and the rest of the Plett community during the course of the week.
As a former trustee of the Griqua National Conference Development Trust, as well as a former chairperson of the Griqua Council of Chiefs, Cecil le Fleur also objected to the proposed venue.
"[The land is] inextricably linked to our rich Griqua history. Our founder, Paramount Chief A.A.S. le Fleur I, resided at that farm in the early years of the 20th century. Griqua people firmly believe that he was a man of spiritual power, received directly from God. It is therefore that the farm is not only regarded as an important heritage site, but it also became a sacred place, especially the area adjacent to the historical house of the
Kneg (servant of God)," he said.
He added that land of this type of significance is usually protected and sustained, especially by the owners of that history. "It is therefore unthinkable that a trust, that is supposed to watch over the interests of such valuable assets of a people, could stoop so low as to allow such wrong things to happen," he said.
"I hope that all Griquas and other citizens in that area will unite in an effort to stop this event from happening on that farm."
The deadline for comments on the proposal is this Friday, 15 October. Comments can be directed to municipal land use management official Olwethu Yonke on 044 501 3317 or oyonke@plett.gov.za.