Arthur Greene
Construction is due to begin this month of Amazon’s African headquarters on land cherished by indigenous KhoiSan people.
The giant 70,000 square metre complex is going to be built on a verdant patch of land in Cape Town that has major historical significance to the Khoi and San communities.
In 1510, the Khoi and San triumphantly fought off Portuguese cattle-raiding soldiers against all odds. And a century and a half later, Dutch colonists launched a campaign of land dispossession there.
“This is where land was first stolen,” Tauriq Jenkins, of the Goringhaicona Khoena Council, a Khoi traditional group opposed to the project, told Reuters.
“We want a World Heritage Site. We do not want 150,000 tonnes of concrete.”
According to city authorities, the land was reportedly protected under a two-year provisional heritage designation. However, in April 2020, this protection ended, paving the way for commercial development.
In April, city authorities gave the green light to begin construction of the R4 billion complex.
Groups of environmentalists and conservationists are also opposed to the plans, arguing that the area must be preserved because it is at the junction of two rivers, making it ecologically significant.
Proponents of the plans, however, say that it will provide thousands of jobs in a time of economic crisis.
“We are acutely aware of the need to balance investment and job creation, along with heritage and planning considerations,” Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said in a statement, announcing his approval of the development.
Despite the imminent construction of the complex, activists have not given up the fight. Several marches have been held on the site in protest of the plans. Close to 50,000 objections to the development have also reportedly been lodged so far with city and provincial authorities.
“We will approach the courts,” said Martinus Fredericks, paramount chief of the !Aman Traditional Council.
“We will mobilise every single Khoi and San person in the country to stop that development.”
Image source: @NewAfricanFacts
