Ghost Eldorado Park library central to community fight for accountability

A modern celebration of design is sitting empty as residents ponder its purpose.

The Lantern Library, built on Goud Street in Eldorado Park in 2023, remains without books or people.

This award-winning centre of knowledge, recognised earlier this year for its striking aesthetic, is now the site of a standoff between the community and government officials.

Mystery signatures

The issue is twofold, with the community recognising the library’s potential but raising concerns about its obstructive location.

A group of community activists has been documenting the situation, revealing anomalies in the project’s origins.

Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements Tasneem Motara is set to visit the area on 30 October, with her focus of the residents of the flats and not the library.

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The community activists, jointly led by Milly Myburgh, have in their possession a letter seemingly signed by Motara’s predecessor Lebogang Maile.

The reason the library is not on the agenda for Motara’s visist is because the authenticity of Maile’s letter of approval and support for the project is in question.  

“I have seen the letter, however, there are no records of the letter with the department,” Motara confirmed to The Citizen.

“It must be noted that the letter which has been circulating is not dated and the MEC indicated to me that he did not sign such a letter. We are still verifying where the recipients received the letter from,” she explained.

Demolition pending

The library was erected on the common property of a block of flats, with Myburgh stating that the building is subject to a court case.

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Myburgh told The Citizen that a private company had funded the project but that the high court had ordered the demolition of the building, which is currently being challenged.

“One of the problems is that residents cannot use the yard because of the white elephant situation for over a year now,” Myburgh said, explaining the inconvenience the building has caused residents.

“We urge the housing department to intervene, as guardians of the land, to ensure the project’s lawful completion and the well-being of Goud Street flats residents,” she concluded.

A slow unravelling

In facilitating this compromise, the community is asking for an explanation on the library’s status as well as the condition of the flats.

The team of community activists have several letters containing the names and signatures of government officials, as well as a voice recording between local officials.

MEC Motara’s visit is just the first step in shining the light on the origins and fate of the Lantern Library.

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