17 OCT 2021 —
The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) delegation had hardly returned to their offices after visiting the Two Rivers Urban Park (TRUP) on Wednesday, 13 October, as part of the process of considering the nomination of the TRUP for national heritage status, when they received an email from the Liesbeek Leisure Property Trust (LLPT) claiming that our campaign was spreading “incorrect and untrue facts.” In the email, the LLPT’s lawyer claimed that “there is no process of “grading the site” … at this juncture.”
Aside from the oxymoron of an ‘untrue fact’, this is sophistry with words. SAHRA’s mandate is to consider nominations for national heritage status and, as part of the process, will inspect the nominated site. Their email notifying the LLPT (as a property owner in the TRUP) explained: “Following Heritage Western Cape’s assessment, the Two Rivers Urban Park nomination was referred to SAHRA for consideration for declaration as a national heritage site. Further, SAHRA also received an application for the provisional protection of Erf 151832. SAHRA is thereby mandated in terms of Section 27 (1) to assess the significance of the site as nominated. SAHRA may in accordance to Section 25 (2) (c), inspect any heritage resource it may protect and therefore, SAHRA, as part of the assessment of a site, conducts such an inspection.”…