Cape Town - In the ongoing battle over intangible heritage resources at the Two Rivers Urban Park in Observatory, the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT) has filed court papers seeking leave to appeal the entire judgment by Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath.
The judgment effectively halted construction of the R4.6 billion River Club development.
Following an urgent application by the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) and Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC), the court granted an interim interdict to stop the construction of the River Club development, pending meaningful engagement and consultation with all affected First Nations peoples.
The judgment further made it clear that no construction may proceed until a final determination had been made with respect to the validity of the rezoning and environmental authorisation.
LLPT trustee and spokesperson James Tannenberger said: “It is clear that the court failed to consider properly, or at all, the evidence that by interdicting the LLPT from carrying out any construction work, the LLPT and the wider community would suffer severe and irreversible harm, out of all proportion to that which might be sustained by the applicants.”
The LLPT wants to appeal the judgment based on what they believe to be multiple errors made by the court, which would result in “crippling financial liabilities” for the group if the order were to remain in place.
He said 750 workers were told to go home when the ruling was delivered and the judgment jeopardises 6 000 direct and 19 000 indirect jobs, which may be lost due to the order.
In their notice of appeal, LLPT noted that the First Nations Collective, who they consulted with during the planning phase, would be “deprived of the only feasible prospect of manifesting their intangible cultural heritage at the River Club property.”
They also claimed: “The broader community will lose the significant socio-economic and environmental benefits which would have flowed from this development.”
The group indicated that the court largely erred in the finding that the consultation process was flawed due to lack of participation by various groups that may have had an interest in the development situated in the Two Rivers Urban Park.
Tannenberger further stated that Leslie London (OCA) and Tauriq Jenkins (GKKITC) had no legitimate claim over the intangible heritage at the broader Two Rivers area.
Following the notice of appeal, OCA and GKKITC said: “We are of the view that by repeating spurious claims against the Goringhaicona, on matters which have been dealt with in court already, this is an attempt to smear its high commissioner. It is not the first time that the developer arrogates to itself the entitlement to decide who is a legitimate indigenous traditional entity.
“Let the courts decide if this arrogant and colonial attitude of diminishing the Goringhaicona has any credence as evidence; let the courts examine whether in-filling of the Old Liesbeek Channel and the devastation of the floodplain are heritage and environmental crimes; let the courts examine whether consent can be forced on indigenous peoples.”
rafieka.williams@inl.co.za