26 November 2021
Protesters wearing Jeffery Bezos masks stood on a Cape Town street corner on Friday and railed against a planned office precinct development that will house the African headquarters of retail giant Amazon.
Bezos, founder of Amazon and the second richest man in the world, according to the Forbes Rich List, has been targeted by opponents of the River Club development who say his link to the project contradicts his environmentally-friendly public persona.
The American entrepreneur, who has stated he wishes to get humans to Mars, this month pledged $2bn for restoring natural landscapes and natural food systems via his Bezos Earth Fund. But his African headquarters is set to be located on a wetland and provincial heritage site, much to the dismay of various civil society groups who have challenged the development in the Cape Town high court.
Friday’s protest near the site of the new development, on the banks of the Liesbeek River, also formed part of a worldwide “Make Amazon Pay” protest led by an activist group opposed to Amazon’s labour policies…
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