Cape Town - A scout group from Durbanville is racing against time to stop the auction of a property it has leased from the City and called home for 58 years.
The 1st Durbanville Scout Group which has been leasing the property from the City since 1964 said in late 2020 it was informed that by the end of this year, the City intended to dispose of it, thereby dispossessing them of their “home”.
The land scout group is home to kids between the ages of five and 25 and is one of the strongest groups in the province in terms of numbers and calibre of cubs and scouts.
A petition has been started addressed to the City in a bid to object its intention to dispose of the property to the highest bidder for development and to allow the 1st Durbanville Scout Group the time and opportunity to procure the property for its continued use.
In 2019, the organisation launched a crowd-funding initiative in a bid to raise R5 million for the purchase of the property.
The group said should the City dispose of the property to the highest bidder all the improvements and renovations done at the property over more than half-a-century for their use and other scout groups within the province, would be lost and destroyed, including the efforts and memories of thousands of children and adults that experienced scouting.
Nick Pieterse from the group said the loss of their home would be a huge blow to the kids that currently attend scouts, and to those that would still have to join.
Concerned resident Henning Lambrechts said the City, instead of taking away opportunities, should invest in the youth.
“Our youth are the leaders of tomorrow and we should invest in them, by giving opportunities and the resources to make a success of their lives. Is it really worth it to dispose of the land at the cost of our youth, leaving them with no safe heaven at the cost of making a profit?” he said.
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo confirmed that the current lease with the Scouts would terminate on December 31. Tyhalibongo said the City would look into the particulars of the Cape Argus enquiry.