PRETORIA – The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) has expressed delight that the City of Tshwane has reacquired the Tshwane Showgrounds , formerly Pretoria Showgrounds, which have been leased to self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s popular Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church for several years.
“Sanco in greater Tshwane region has noted with great delight the reports of the Tshwane Events Centre [returning] to the assets register of the City of Tshwane," Sanco greater Tshwane chairperson Abram Mashishi said on Sunday.
"Sanco has been at the forefront of trying to ascertain why this property was privatised and why the likes of the ECG church had leases there that looked like they would last forever without that being the original purpose of the property.
“This is not only a victory for the City of Tshwane and Sanco, but it is a victory for all residents of the city, as an alternative events facility for all Tshwane residents will now be availed to the citizenry and not for a foreign-owned church that has caused havoc in the lives of many,” Mashishi said.
Sanco congratulated the city's administrators led by Mpho Nawa "for their decisive and coherent leadership”. Earlier this month, Nawa announced the showgrounds, “a high-value capital asset”, would be used as a temporary field hospital for coronavirus (Covid-19) patients.
Last year, the ECG told the CRL Rights Commission that it paid between R800,000 and R1 million a month to use the venue. Before the Covid-19 regulations barred gatherings, the ECG church was credited as one of the major contributors to economic activity in Tshwane – with offsets in tourism, accommodation, massive informal trade around the church, supermarkets, and transport.
On Sunday, Bushiri’s spokesperson Ephraim Nyondo said the church was developing its own premises in Midrand.
“The Pretoria branch of the ECG in South Africa is already developing its own place in Midrand and we are no longer renewing any contract with Tshwane. We are are happy to be a church that contributes immensely to local tourism in Tshwane. We believe that everywhere we go, we will continue putting in place measures to ensure that the community benefits from our presence,” Nyondo said.
The gripe between Bushiri’s ECG and Sanco in Tshwane came to a head after a deadly stampede at the ECG in the showgrounds premises in December 2018 in which three women were killed. At least 17 other congregants were injured as they ran for shelter during a heavy rainstorm. In the aftermath, Sanco led street protests at the ECG, calling for the church to be expelled from the centre.
The property extends over more than 38 hectares and is valued at between R400 and R500 million. Tshwane Business and Agricultural Corporation (Tshwabac) was the registered owner of the property which used to belong to the city’s predecessor, the Pretoria Central Metropolitan Substructure.
The then council resolved to transfer the property to Tshwabac, which at the time was known as the Northern Transvaal Chamber of Industries, free of charge. The property was to be used for hosting exhibitions and diverse activities involving the community, or a portion of the community, as well as any other event which directly or indirectly related to exhibitions and activities, with the provision that facilities on the property could be leased to third parties.
From about 2016, Tshwabac’s finances deteriorated and creditors pursued it for their money. Tshwabac sought to sell the property to pay off its creditors and approached the city for consent to do so in 2017, but permission was refused. The entity also owed the city for rates and services at the time and still does.
The proceeds of the sale would have been used to pay Tshwabac's debt to the city, which then demanded that Tshwabac hand back the property in line with the caveat in the title deed, as it was no longer being used it for the intended purpose.
The city also pointed out activities were being carried out on the property that were contrary to the donation stipulations, including the setting up of Bushiri’s popular church which attracts thousands of people from different countries.