No using reserves for church services without permission, says metro
The metro was calling on churches to obtain its permission to avoid breaking by-laws which governed the reserves that it managed.
The Tshwane metro is urging anyone who intends to hold church services within its nature reserves to obtain its permission before doing so.
This came after residents near the Kruinpark Nature Reserve in Pretoria called on the metro to ban churches from holding services in the reserve.
According to metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, churches were not allowed to hold services in a reserve without permission.
“Kruinpark is not a nature reserve but a nature area, which is currently being managed according to Nempaa regulations (National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, Chapter 3 p11),” Mashigo said.
“Therefore, no church service may be held in the facility without prior permission.”
He further said all those who utilise the reserve were not allowed to make wildfires as the boards at the entrance clearly indicate the prohibition of such acts.
Rekord spoke to a Zion Christian church leader Goodwill Sithole who regularly holds services within the reserve.
Sithole believed the church deserved equal rights to everyone else at the reserve.
He said it would be unfair if the call to ban church services was affirmed.
“We utilise the nature reserve as a place of worship and we are only using a portion of space. It’s not like we take up the entire reserve.”
He said services were held mostly on Sundays and a few Saturdays.
Muckleneuk resident Marie Stoffel, however, felt some churchgoers were causing havoc at the reserve including starting fires.
“What if these fires get out of hand and the entire reserve burns to the ground?
“There are laws that need to be followed before one can just decide to utilise a space in this manner.”
She said they had reported the matter to the local ward councillor, Shaun Wilkinson.
Wilkinson said he understood that every citizen had rights and responsibilities as well as the human rights in the Constitution.
He said the challenge was to convince the churchgoers that they simply could not occupy open spaces and just “claim” them, saying that there were processes in the municipality that could guide them on how to use open spaces.
“The reserve has various by-laws that govern it. My concern is the sanitation and hygiene of the unauthorised use of the reserve.
“There are other issues like waste, litter, noise nuisance, open fires and removal of plants and flowers which are a part of the flora attractions in the reserve,” Wilkinson added.
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