A row has erupted between community groups in Hangberg in Hout Bay over a mediation process involving city consultant Brian Williams.
Last September there were violent clashes between law enforcement officials and Hangberg residents who resisted the demolition of shacks erected in a firebreak on the Sentinel.
Later, the Western Cape High Court ordered the parties to seek mediation.
Williams, a consultant who had previously done work for the provincial government, was chosen to mediate.
This week Hout Bay Civic Association (HBCA) member James Davids said the association was refused participation in the mediation.
He said 39 people Williams said had been elected as Hangberg representatives did not have the whole community’s blessing.
“Williams knows about an elected civic association representing residents, but he started another group.
“This created division in our community. The 39 people don’t know organisation and don’t question him,” Davids said.
He said 324 residents had signed a petition recently giving the civic association a mandate to represent them.
Greg Louw, one of the 39 representatives, said the community chose Williams as a mediator and that Hangberg residents from each “block” had elected people to represent them in mediation.
He alleged some civic association members had pushed “a certain agenda” and that they and the ANC had “hijacked” a peace march after the violent clashes.
“With elections coming, they have their own agendas, but our community is saying it is time Hangberg people talk for Hangberg.
“Our people are tired of fighting,” Louw said.
He rejected allegations that Williams’s neutrality was affected because mediation was held on the City of Cape Town’s premises - as was a press briefing that followed on Tuesday.
“We used the city’s resources. It was us who asked the mayor’s office to invite the media. We don’t have resources or infrastructure,” he said.
Vanessa Witbooi, an ANC member in Hangberg, said: “The community is divided and this plays into the hands of the city. Williams should be neutral. A legitimate civic association wrote to him several times to be part of the process, but he ignored requests.
“His process of electing representatives is flawed. How can you invite people to a meeting 15 minutes before it begins? Then some were allowed in and others not.”
About Louw’s claim that the ANC had an agenda, she said: “The ANC branch has members affected. It assisted people arrested at the time and arranged legal support for them.
“After that the ANC decided to step back and let the HBCA and residents deal with the issues.”
Williams said the community’s lawyer Shihaam Samaai recommended him.
The parties, including SA National Parks, the province and the city had accepted him because of “my vast experience”.
Community co-ordinators had interacted with residents and made house calls and issued notices of meetings, he said.
“It is natural that sometimes people are not home when visits occur,” Williams said.
“These meetings are all clustered. There were meetings called for backyard dwellers, those in temporary structures or those in permanent structures - not compliant with the regulations. Three election meetings were called in different parts of Hangberg.”
He said 15 cluster election meetings were called and in 11, elections proceed.
He said parties in the mediation had afterwards all rejected the civic association’s request to attend.
In response to a question on who was paying him, Williams said: “I am a service provider - Brian Williams Consultancy - and currently the costs are shared by the parties.
“The community as one of the parties, however, do not pay me, but this does not affect my neutrality.” - Cape Times