THERE was unanimous support for Save Our Berea at its third Monster Meeting on Tuesday night where the strong message to emerge was for ordinary citizens to fight to uphold their rights entrenched in the Constitution. It became clear to the good turnout of residents that the South African Constitution was under attack and was being severely eroded by corruption.
Chairman on the evening, Kevin Dunkley, warned that the days of residents sitting back and doing nothing are over, and public protector, Thuli Madonsela’s words that residents needed to do something about the trampling of the Constitution were apt.
“We have a wonderful Constitution, let’s do something to protect it. Rights belong to us, and we need to protect them in any way,” he said.
The big issue of the night was the 317 Currie Road development and Cheryl Johnson, co-founder of Save Our Berea said the issue was an example of how residents were being ignored by the eThekwini council.
“The trust between council and ratepayers has reached an all-time low. Save Our Berea is not behind any campaign to block development on the Berea, but we are deeply troubled by what appears to be laissez-faire rezoning across the Berea and a process that appears to be driven less by recognising the rights of citizens and more by a political agenda. It’s not about whether 317 Currie Road is a good or bad design, it’s not about taste or not wanting anything ‘other’, it’s entirely about the way the City conducts itself that flies in the face of the Constitution, that we object to,” she said.
Mischief making wont be tolerated
Guest speaker advocate Tayob Aboobaker, echoed Johnson’s words and pulled no punches in calling on city officials involved in the 317 debacle to explain themselves. He said the high court judgement had far-reaching implications. Not only did it re-establish the rule of law and restore waning confidence in the power of the courts, but it sent a strong message to developers and ruthless businessmen that “mischief making” would not be tolerated by the courts.
He said the judgement had “rattled the cage” of the municipality who had to be made aware that the courts and the people would rise when pushed too far. He warned banking institutions to be on their guard when loaning money to unethical developments as they would face the wrath of the public.
He described it as a “watershed judgement”which held out the promise of clean government being restored to the city.
In going forward, he said the power lay with the people. “There are a number of things which we can do. We can boycott unconscionable developers and the town planners and architects who assist them. Any professional associated with these type of developments should be blacklisted. The Municipality has gone on record to say it faces a claim for R60 million in damages. As I understand the matter such a claim can only be feasible if the developers hands were totally clean and no negligence can be attributed to him. The facts indicate exactly the opposite. I want to give notice to the municipality that the ratepayers demand a say in any decision to compensate the developer and demand such a claim if it arises be resisted at all costs.
He urged those who had the interests of the city at heart to assist in financing the 317 litigation. “The success of the litigation has far greater implications. It is a matter of public interest and has the potential once and for all to bring the city back to order and to eliminate mischief in the town planning field. It will be criminal if we give up the fight because we do not have the financial resources to take it further. Many would say that that is precisely what the developer and the municipality hope to achieve. It is the responsibility of every citizen of this city to ensure this does not happen,” he said.
Call for panel of experts
Speaking for the Institute of Architecture, Ruben Reddy said the institute had called on the municipality to reintroduce Elevation Controls and for a panel of experts with varying skills to be established to ensure better city plans were passed.
“Regarding ethics of architecture, we have a code of conduct which stretches decades, but there is no one in the municipality who assesses the quality of plans. We want this to change and are engaging with the municipality and universities on this. We do need to densify in the Berea, but we need to look at how to do this,” he said.
Know your rights
Speaker, Mark Heywood, executive director of Johannesburg civic group, SECTION27, said he was inspired by how the community stood up and linked up with lawyers to resist injustice in the 317 Currie Road case. He said this was the first time he had seen a case where there was a struggle between residents and corrupt municipal officials.
“In all cases we need to speak truth to power, be confident of our own power and band together. This struggle proves the value of going to court, and the efficacy of the law. We have come a long way, but there’s a long way to go. The biggest threat to our Constitution is corruption, as it affects the quality of life of citizens and eats away at the vision of a democratic South Africa. We might feel powerless, but the Constitution is the supreme law of the country and gives us power. Each individual needs to read it and learn it,” he said.
He called on people in Durban to take action on 23 September, when civic organisations, trade unions and ordinary citizens across the country will be taking a national stand against corruption.
“The power is in this room, within yourselves,” he said.
