This week our Campaign received two important communications.

Firstly, the South African Heritage Resources Authority (SAHRA), our national agency for heritage protection) notified us that they are investigating a Provisional Protection Order over the River Club site as a result of an application lodged by the Goringhaicona Khoi-Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council.  The application is the result of the imminent and unfolding destruction of intangible heritage on the site.  Whether the SAHRA Order is served soon enough to prevent further destruction of the intangible heritage of the site, we are unsure. But it is a signal that our National Heritage Authorities are deeply concerned at the destruction of the intangible heritage at the site.

In the photo above, you can see Chief Autshumao of the Khoisan Legislative Council embracing the land at the site during an In-Loco Inspection Visit by the Ministerial Heritage Appeal Tribunal in 2018. The visit was part of the appeal process against a similar Provisional Protection Order issued by Heritage Western Cape. You can watch here First Nation leaders attending the In-loco visit describing why they are opposed to the destruction of the open space on the site. SAHRA will be conducting a visit next week to the Two Rivers Urban Park site, in which the River Club is located, as part of their grading process for national heritage status.

A second letter came from the CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council which clarified the HSRC’s position related to the River Club redevelopment. The CEO confirmed that research by the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) Research Division in the HSRC had identified “the land along the Liesbeek River as a potential heritage site to be included in the National Liberation Heritage Route in a study commissioned by the National Heritage Council.” This is the land that SAHRA are currently busy grading for a National Heritage Site and parts of which the developers are speeding ahead with developing as quickly as they can.

It is very frustrating that our court dates are still not finalised but there is urgency to get into court so that the courts can settle this matter.

We do urgently need your financial support to reclaim the public commons and challenge the decision in the High Court. Please assist us with a contribution to our legal fees. You can contribute at our fundraising site or directly via EFT here.

You can also visit our website and follow the Liesbeek Action Campaign on twitter: @LiesbeekAction.

Now is the time to Make the Liesbeek Matter!