Stellenbosch Municipality has denied claims by members of the Cloetesville community that they were not properly consulted before developments occurred in their neighbourhood.
“It’s as if things just spring up,” said Cloetesville resident PJ Plaze, who has been living in Cloetesville for over 40 years. He was referring to the informal trading site in Lang Road, built by the Stellenbosch Municipality, as an example of a development where community members feel they were not adequately consulted beforehand.
However, according to Stellenbosch Municipality spokesperson, Stuart Grobbelaar, the municipality has an Integrated Development Plan (IDP) which is tied to the municipality’s budget and “open for public participation and public meetings” before developments commence.
“Feedback is provided during the IDP public participation period, during which the municipality has open community meetings in all areas,” explained Grobbelaar in written correspondence with MatieMedia.
He said several developments were planned for Cloetesville over the next three years, including a new housing development called “Erf700”.
Construction on the informal trading site in Cloetesville commenced during the Covid-19 pandemic and was recently opened, according to Stellenbosch Municipality’s Stuart Grobbelaar. On the day of MatieMedia’s visit on Wednesday 23 February, it stood empty. PHOTO: Aiden Louw
“Die wit olifant”
According to Plaze, the informal trading site has since been dubbed “die wit olifant” by community members, as people do not use it to trade their goods.
Most vendors choose to sell their goods in central Stellenbosch where they are more likely to make money, Lawrence Seals, chairperson of the Stellenbosch Backyarddwellers Forum, told MatieMedia. Seals also claimed that they have no use for the large stall spaces in Cloetesville.
Plaze claimed that the municipality’s focus on such developments leaves their real issues, which he identified as housing and crime, largely ignored.
“We want to be more involved in the planning and so forth,” said Plaze. He claimed that municipal developments in Cloetesville obscure the “real socio-economic issues”.
Lawrence Seals is the chairperson of the Stellenbosch Backyarddwellers Forum, a non-profit organisation (NPO) formed in 2011. The NPO started in response to the growing Cloetesville community, which, due to limited housing opportunities, left many without homes, according to Seals. PHOTO: Supplied/Lawrence Seals
Seals maintained that he had been speaking on issues regarding sufficient housing on behalf of the Cloetesville community for years at the municipal IDP meetings and that he has yet to see adequate intervention.
“I go to all the IDP meetings… it’s just a smoke screen that they use to address people’s needs… but they have already made their decision,” claimed Seals.
The continued prevalence of housing issues, as well as perceived municipal spending on what some in the community might deem unnecessary developments, adds to Seals’ frustrations.
“You don’t get help from the people that are meant to reach down and help you… we have been left behind,” claimed Plaze.
PJ Plaze has been living in Cloetesville for over 40 years. He feels the Cloetesville community is ignored and left behind by Stellenbosch Municipality, despite the municipality’s community development efforts in the area. AUDIO: Aiden Louw