As you know, Judge Patricia Goliath delivered a groundbreaking judgement on March 18th to halt the construction at the River Club site pending the High Court review of the rezoning and Environmental Authorisations decisions. On May 5th, Judge Goliath further refused the respondents leave to appeal as there were no convincing grounds that another court would come to a different decision. The developers have now indicated they will apply to petition the Supreme Court. We have not heard further.
The Review Hearing is rolling out. The City and Province have just submitted their grounds for decision last week so we will now prepare our responding documents.
In the meantime, the developers have announced on Facebook they are effecting some repairs to the river, which they claim are in line with the approved EMPr. It’s not entirely clear that is the case. What they are doing is rectifying the disastrous situation they have created by infilling the old Liesbeek channel (which has severely aggravated the flood risk to adjacent properties and the risk of damage to the site) and they are repairing parts of the canal wall that had collapsed following work on the site.
In fact, they have to effect repairs to prevent an environmental disaster when the winter floods arrive, which is a situation entirely of their own doing – brought about by recklessly proceeding with the infill of the Liesbeek River Channel while the interdict was still being considered. Since they commenced with the infill of the Liesbeek River AFTER the interdict was heard in court in January, they were fully aware that the ongoing construction was at their own risk. By infilling the Liesbeek and starting to excavate alongside the canal, they have created a flood disaster risk – including for homeowners and businesses situated in the lower parts of Observatory where stormwater will back up because it will not be able to be carried in the Liesbeek since its brutal infilling. It is entirely predictable that this was a disaster in the making so it is entirely appropriate that the LLPT take responsibility for it.
The developer’s hubris extends to calling this a victory because they will require workers to conduct this work – as if they are creating jobs. But that is entirely as it should be since they created this mess in the first place. We will update you as soon as we hear further.
I want also to draw your attention to a range of very rich updates, comments, testimonies and resources on our FaceBook page. For example, I draw your attention to the powerful testimony from !Aru||Khuisi |Xam Chief Piet Barendse of the Kalahari |Xam, about why this particular piece of land is of such importance. He states (translated from Afrikaans): "I'm !Aru||Khuisi Piet Barendse, I'm from the Kalahari, originally from up home in Upington. But from the start of the court case, I have been in the Cape. So, the reason why I’m standing here today in front of the buildings of the Liesbeek – where the buildings are being built. The reason why I’m speaking from my heart as a bushman, as a product of nature, as a product of the earth, I’m standing here to make my plea to our people. This place is a historical place for the values of our ancestors who walked along here. Such a place is very important for us to practice our cultural values, here. So, this place is exemplary of our values, where we can pass them on to the next generation.”
The Liesbeek Action Campaign will be hosting a Public Meeting to explore what Chief Barendse says when he says his cultural values are “a product of nature”. We will host speakers from the South African Astronomical Observatory, Friends of the Liesbeek, the Khoi and San Unit at UCT and a community climate and food activist, who will explore the deep and profound links between heritage, the environment and starlore in light of what is happening at the River Club. As Chief Barends indicates, this is important not just to dwell on the past, or to challenge injustice in the present, but to assure a world where future generations retain their connections to the environment, to nature. Feel free to attend – 4pm on Thursday 26th at the Observatory Community Centre, Rawson Street Observatory.
Lastly, please remember that we are completely reliant on Crowd Funding to cover our legal costs. If everyone who signed this petition was willing to donate R20 (or $1), we would be able to fight our court battle on an even footing. So, please help us fund our legal costs by making a donation – for whatever amount you can - at our fundraising site. Donors outside of South Africa might find it easier to donate via our BackaBuddy site.
You will find more information on the campaign at our website. Follow the Liesbeek Action Campaign on twitter: @LiesbeekAction.
Make the Liesbeek Matter!