Religious precints to be discussed in 2015

It was postponed to 2015.

Speaking to the NEWS, Clr Shaun Le Roux of the DA, said there has been a delay of 14 years; there were important issues to be interrogated about how the precinct will work.

“For instance, there must be a feasibility study on how such a precinct will work. If you do not have a plan, you can’t bring this to council,” said Clr Le Roux.

She said the issue of how much religious communities will pay must also be discussed thoroughly.

“We will have a clear understanding of the issues when the matter is brought back to council next year,” she said.

The Department of Human Settlement, as quoted in the conceptual framework, responded as follows: “It is suggested that the principle to establish these precincts be further investigated in terms of financial viability, spatial location in terms of transport, accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, ratio of parking to be provided if NMT will be the main mode of transport, clustering of mixed land uses vertically or horizontally.”

A mixed bag of suggestions came out of the Religious Summit of 2013, lead by the executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mondli Gungubele.

Over 1 200 religious leaders attended the summit. The purpose of the summit was to articulate the problem statement facing the municipality regarding religious land and to propose options to the religious community.

The following options came out, as recorded in the conceptual framework of the precincts:

Short term solution – Option 1: The leasing of schools owned by the province.

Short term solution – Option 2: Leasing of council facilities, like halls.

Long term solution – Option 1: Leasing of council-owned land.

Long term solution – Option 2: EMM to construct church precincts where space shall be shared by churches on a rotational basis.

Long term solution – Option 3: Sale of council owned land.