Writing in the Daily Maverick today, Isabella Hayden points out exactly how the development at the River Club, far from being the much vaunted biodiversity wonder sold by the developer, is actually a huge threat to many species of birdlife, fish and other fauna in the area. The notion of infilling the river and turning it into a swale is only logical if you are looking for a way to plant 150 000 square metres of concrete on the site. That’s far from the biodiversity dream the developers are pretending this development will be.

Filling in a watercourse and destroying a river ecosystem and conservation area that is home to 3 species of fish and 21 species of fish-eating birds dependent on this habitat, plus water fowl, otters and the endangered Western Leopard Toad is an act being perpetrated to facilitate the establishment of Amazon’s African HQs development on the Liesbeek. The City’s own Environmental Management Department warned that the proposal will not be compatible with preserving biodiversity but they were simply ignored. As was the Delft University study that shows clearly that that is more than possible, in fact desirable, to rehabilitate the existing river with ecological, biodiversity and climate benefits.

We agree with Ms Hayden and other environmental scientists who have spoken out that it is a heinous crime against the environment to fill in a watercourse hosting these species, particularly in light of the critical need to protect ecosystems, especially aquatic ecosystems. The River Club development proposes to bury a river bed, its banks and the floodplain to make way for a mega-development which the Chair of the Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT), in August 2020, compared favourably to Century City [a Cape Town mega-shopping and commercial development] when the MPT ignored all objections and rezoned the land. Not only will this mega-development fill in a river that is sacred to the Khoi, but it will bury a water course totally, in complete contradiction to the City’s own planning rules and environmental policies.  

What’s more bizarre is that the City can boast about making the A-List of best performing global cities for climate reporting and action, saying that “Cities must be champions for the people when it comes to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience.” But then when it comes to listening to its own environmental specialist staff, it simply overrides their concerns about biodiversity and harm to the City’s climate resilience.

It seems money will buy any amount of policy flexibility with our City. When the mayor rejected appeals against the rezoning, it was the Ruling Party in the Western Cape, the Democratic Alliance that hailed Amazon’s investment and welcomed the jobs it was said to create, describing the City of Cape Town as having “set itself at the forefront of investment and economic development in the country.”

Well that much is clear. If you have a lot of money, you can wield a lot of influence with our local and provincial government in the Western Cape.

Is this Ecocide?

Perhaps it’s time for the International Criminal Court to look into it.

Unlike Amazon, we don’t have a lot of money, so please support us because we need to raise a lot of money to have the opportunity for the High Court to review decisions we believe were flawed. Support us at our Fundraising Site.

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