The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) conducted a walkabout in the historical Bo-Kaap to understand residents’ concerns over gentrification of the area.
The Western Cape High Court had ordered the commission to facilitate talks between developers and disgruntled Bo-Kaap residents following protests in the area. SAHRC provincial commissioner Chris Nissen said the visit was part of the court’s instruction.
“We are doing a site visit for the commission to understand fully. We are in the process of talking to the developers to request a meeting, as part of the facilitation,” he said.
Property developer Blok Urban Living had earlier this month brought forward an application to interdict against “all other persons trespassing, unlawfully conducting themselves or attempting to trespass or unlawfully conduct themselves” from entering and disrupting construction on erf 2970, which was granted.
Blok had purchased the site, in Lion Street, in March last year, and the City had approved the development of 56 residential units. Nissen yesterday said the two parties’ views needed to be balanced.
“The SAHRC’s provincial office, provincial manager, the civic association and other interested parties are briefing us,” Nissen said.
Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers’ Association executive member Mohammad Groenewald said they planned to appeal the court’s interdict.
Groenewald and more members of the association spoke with the SAHRC, and among their concerns were the preservation of the area’s culture and history.
The ancestors of the majority of Bo-Kaap residents arrived from 1658 onwards as slaves and political exiles. According to the Iziko Museums, “the history of the Bo-Kaap reflects the political processes in South Africa under the apartheid years. The area was declared an exclusive residential area for Cape Muslims under the Group Areas Act of 1950 and people of other religions and ethnicity were forced to leave. At the same time, the neighbourhood is atypical.”
“We can see, feel and touch our history, and Bo-Kaap is one of the few places in the country where you can do so. We are slowly losing Bo-Kaap through gentrification, and if we don’t preserve the area, I don’t think Europeans would want to come here to see other Europeans,” Groenewald said.