DA not keen on Ballito getting its first mosque

A portion of land in Townsend Park, Ballito will soon be sold for the building of a mosque – a first in the area, reports North Coast Courier.

Last Thursday, KwaDukuza council chambers erupted in debate over a proposal from the Zululand Islamic Society to build a Muslim worship site on part of the land that is currently used as a recreational park, opposite the All Saints Catholic church and next to the Ballito Lions Scouts Hall.

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KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) media liaison officer Sipho Mkhize told the North Coast Courier that the municipality would sell 400 m² of the land for R3.6 million, as the municipality had a responsibility to assist religious organisations.

He said that all political parties except the Democratic Alliance (DA) had supported the building of a mosque on the site, but that DA councillors want KDM to look for an alternative site.

“Councillors have agreed to sell a portion of the site to the Zululand Islamic Society. This decision was taken to redress the unjust decision of the apartheid government, whom, according to their spatial laws, prohibited non-whites from residing or having places of worship in areas that were demarcated for the white populace at the time.”

According to the proposal from the Islamic Muslim Society, an organisation responsible for building and maintaining mosques on the North Coast, the mosque will cater for international and local Muslims who visit and live in Ballito.

“There are currently no mosques in Ballito. Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day. The nearest mosque is 15 kilometres away in Shakaskraal, or in KwaDukuza which is 23 kilometres away, or Tongaat which is 24 kilometres away.

“The mosque in Shakaskraal was renovated to its current size 35 years ago, and was specifically designed to cater to residents of Shakaskraal.”

The DA took a caucus decision to call for further investigation into the sale of the land. The party has declined to comment further on the matter.

Despite KDM previously stating that Townsend Park belonged to the department of public works, Mkhize said the portion that would be sold belonged to KDM.

“The mosque will only take up a small portion of land, leaving an excess of about 11 000 m² free. We will soon be rezoning the site as a place of worship and will be transferring ownership. The land in question does belong to KDM, and the public participation process will be carried out with residents.”

During this process, the “finer details will be worked out,” he said, such as how the call to prayer announcements will be made and how often, as this was also brought up as one of the DA’s concerns.

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