The Cape Argus headline “Court reprieve for Camps Bay Bowling Club” August 25th is an awful recap of, how selfish people can be. Parents of Camps Bay have struggled for years to reason with the bowling club to access municipal land to expand an existing school. It is vital to note, that the parents were prepared to pay from their own pockets for the construction saving other taxpayers millions.
The parents need the land which all political parties including myself agreed to in a council meeting long ago. I therefore wish to express my support with Jessica Shelver, spokesperson for MEC Debbie Schafer when she said, “the situation was unfortunate for the pupils of the school. The effect is that the club can continue using its facilities for the benefit of its few members (about 65) of the club, whilst the children will continue to be denied access to sport and recreational facilities, especially given that there is another club within 1,2 km which could easily accommodate members of both clubs”.
What is evident is that these few super elite that belong to this bowling club have little respect for the unanimous opinion of every Councillor in the City of Cape Town that supported the school expansion. These elite also have little regard for the needs of their particular school community or for the tax and ratepayers who will benefit if the land is utilized optimally.
Many decades ago the Muslim community leadership surrendered a historic graveyard so that High Level Road linking the city centre to Sea Point could be built. Amid great community upheaval, the leadership knew better. Abrahamic epistemology which includes Jewish, Christian and Islamic thought, places the genuine needs of the community and collective social progress above the needs of the few, no matter who the elite may be.
How Court decisions are made nowadays often defy genuine community needs. Our judges have replaced common sense and justice with various interpolations of words they construe as laws.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress