The saga of prime Sea Point land belonging to claimants who were forcibly removed from the area during apartheid looks set to drag on.
|||Cape Town - The saga of prime Sea Point land belonging to claimants who were forcibly removed from the area during apartheid looks set to drag on as the City of Cape Town revealed that “new information” had come to light.
An investigation has revealed that the city does, in fact, have a say when it comes to the sale of the valuable tract of land and that it may be entitled to reclaim it as there has been no development on the site.
After battling for 14 years to develop the land, the Tramway Community Trust announced in June that it would have to sell Erf 1225 as a vacant lot because it owed Investec Bank R14 million.
But Thandeka Gqada, mayoral committee member for human settlements, said: “The financial institution that made funds available to the Tramway Trust for the development of the site contacted the city during last week to inform us that they are not comfortable with a decision that reads as follows: ‘The Council notes the intention of the Tramway Trust to sell their land.’”
The trust, set up in 2001 to represent the interests of claimants, failed to honour its development agreement with the bank. The city would have noted the Trust’s intention to sell the land at a full council meeting this week, but the item was removed from the agenda at the last minute because of the new information.
Gqada said the city did include a revisionary clause in the deed of sale that the land would revert back to the council if it was not developed.
Clause 6.10 of the deed of sale also prohibits the trust from selling, letting, or otherwise disposing of the land without the consent of the city.
George Lopes, chairman of the Tramway Trust, agreed to speak to the Cape Argus about the new developments yesterday afternoon. But attempts to reach him for comment later were unsuccessful.
The land in question, known as Tramway Park, was given to the Trust by the city in 2001 at no cost.
It was thought that 42 single residential erven would be constructed on the land, to accommodate the families who had once lived there. However, as many of the beneficiaries did not have the funds to develop the land, this was not a viable option. The trustees were also ill-advised about development options, resulting in numerous failed deals and plans, said Pogiso Molapo, executive director of human settlements.
Gqada said the matter had been referred back so that the human settlements directorate can investigate the performance of the trust.
anel.lewis@inl.co.za
Cape Argus
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