Latest news:

Steve Kretzmann

River Club opposition excluded from Obs ward committee

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The award-winning Observatory Civic Association, which has led the opposition to the River Club development, has been excluded from the ward committee in ward 57 following new rules being adopted by the city in January.

Ward committees were established by the Municipal Structures Act “in order to enhance participatory democracy in local government” and are supposed to be a direct link between communities and the municipality.… Read more

Staffing crisis at Home Affairs

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Almost two-thirds of civic service posts are vacant in the department
The once efficient Cape Town office now has block-long queues from 6am

There is a critical shortage of staff at home affairs, resulting in day-long queues becoming a permanent feature outside their offices, and it won’t be sorted out in the near future.… Read more

The Sweetest Thing: irresistible tarts

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he cynics among us believed it was never going to happen. After cable thieves brought the Metrorail southern line to a stop at Retreat in October last year, the coastal section to Fish Hoek would simply rust away over time and become another relic of a looted state.… Read more

Heritage rights at stake

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Court set to rule on interdict to halt River Club development

  • The development, which would include a regional headquarters for corporate giant Amazon, is opposed by the Observatory Civic Association and by the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council.
  • The applicants say they were left out of consultations and only the First Nations Collective, a group supporting the development, was consulted.
… Read more

Mediterranean fare down south

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It’s just been announced that Metrorail’s southern line to Fish Hoek is open again, so if you want to take a trip out of town but don’t want to deal with the mad traffic, Kalk Bay is a good option. Of course, there’s always a cost; you’ll have to endure the grimy metrorail coaches.… Read more

New Amazon HQ not dependent on River Club site

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Claims thousand of jobs would be lost if River Club development did not go ahead are false
Court case delayed as urgent interdict sought to prevent continued construction

Much has been made of the thousands of jobs the new Amazon regional headquarters being built on the River Club in Observatory will bring to Cape Town.… Read more

Media CEO link to River Club developer

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  • Local publication punts River Club development while CEO has boardroom connections to developer’s interests

The boardroom deal which saw Highbury Media CEO Kevin Ferguson become a director in a company with direct links to the River Club developers, came after an editorial criticising the development was removed from Highbury’s Cape{town}etc publication without explanation.… Read more