Kirstenbosch evictees get 12,35ha

On Sunday, 5 May 2002 a total amount of R805 000,00 was handed to 46 former tenants who opted for the Standard Settlement Offer for tenancy rights lost at the time of dispossession. Since this handover ceremony, negotiations with the City of Cape Town, the Dept. of Public Works and the National Botanical Institute has yielded some of the originally dispossessed land gratis for the remaining 86 claimants who have chosen the development option.

The signing ceremony will take place on Sunday, 24 September 2006 at 09h00 at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Kirstenbosch. A thanksgiving service will be held followed by a signing ceremony at the Stone Cottages opposite the church.

The agreement also makes provision for the establishment of a museum by the Protea Village Action Committee (PROVAC) in the Stone Cottages, in co-operation with the National Botanical Institute.

The Protea Village settlement, situated directly below Rhodes Drive and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens was initially the dwelling-area of the former slaves of the Protea estate, predating 1835. When Bishopscourt came into existence in 1848, Protea Village was incorporated into this area governed by the Anglican Church. The ancestors of the present claimants constructed the Church of the Good Shepherd which is situated in the former settlement, from stones which they gathered from the bed of the Liesbeeck River.

In 1957, a substantial area surrounding Table Mountain was proclaimed a White Group Area in terms of Proclamation No. 190 of 1957. In 1959 the Inhabitants living in the Bishopscourt Estate area were removed and had to find accommodation in areas like Lansdowne, Steenberg and Retreat. The hub of Protea Village was a large concentration of cottages called the Stegmann Cottages where most people lived as tenants. These cottages in which the majority of the claimant community lived are reported to have been built in the 1880's to house the men and their families who built the road from Groote Schuur to Hout Bay. Between 1960 and 1964 a number of households living in the Stegmann Cottages tried to spare themselves the trauma of a sudden forced removal and also moved to Lansdowne, Steenberg or Retreat.

A long wave of removals from the Stegmann Cottage area began in 1965 and reached a peak in 1968. The State wanted to build a white primary school on this land, it however never materialized. By 1970, all the inhabitants of Protea Village had been relocated to sub-economic accommodation in the different parts of the Cape Flats. The "Protea Villager" also played a key role in the development of the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens while living in the area.

Erven 212 and 242 which are owned by the City of Cape Town and the Department of Public Works respectively, have been secured for release to the claimants.

The settlement agreement includes R381 840,00 in the form of a Settlement Planning Grant and Restitution Discretionary Grant, and an amount of R2 101 954,92 in lieu of the shortfall of land due to the claimants, which belongs to the Botanical Gardens and the Rhodes Trust.

The City of Cape Town will provide the external link/bulk services to Erven 212 and 242 subject to budgetary restraints and the claimants at their cost will provide funds for the development of the land.

Claimants who have lodged land claims and have not collected their compensation yet must please contact the commission's offices urgently so that they can collect their compensation before March 2008.

For more information on the church service and signing ceremony, contact Willem Nero at 084 502 9242.

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