Pretoria -
Although the Gauteng legislature has recognised
Kleinfontein, a white Afrikaner-only settlement outside Pretoria, as a
cultural community, the City of Tshwane won’t declare it a separate
development.
The legislature’s decision comes after an
investigation by its portfolio committee on community safety into an
incident in which police officers were barred from entering the enclave,
30km south-east of the city in November last year, presumably because
they did not fit the community’s entry requirements.
The findings of the investigation were reported
in the legislature on Thursday, a meeting attended by one of
Kleinfontein’s founders and the chairman of the Kleinfontein board, Jan
Groenewald. He said the community co-operated fully with the legislature
and said rumours that police were denied access to Kleinfontein were
unsubstantiated.
The community is also in the process of
applying to have Kleinfontein declared an independent legal entity
within the City of Tshwane.
But while some have welcomed the
acknowledgement of the settlement as a “cultural community” as a first
step, the Tshwane mayor stressed that the city would not approve a
whites-only township development within the capital city.
“It would be in contravention of the Bill of
Rights for the City of Tshwane to approve a township development where
residence was exclusive for a particular race group,” said the mayoral
spokesman Blessing Manale.
In emphasising the supremacy of the
constitution and the Bill of Rights, Executive Mayor Kgosientso Ramkgopa
– who visited the settlement earlier in the year “to have a
conversation with the community” – said every citizen had the right to
“enter, remain and reside” anywhere in South Africa.
“We believe that there remains an open
platform, medium and institutions for every South African to practise
their legitimate cultural and religious rights, and to preserve and
celebrate their heritage without demanding separate development and
self-exclusion,” Manale said.
He described Kleinfontein as an informal
settlement because it had not been formalised nor proclaimed as a formal
township. There were about 40 such areas in the city.
Groenewald attended the legislature meeting on
Thursday. He said “rumours” that police were not allowed entry into
Kleinfontein were unsubstantiated.
“… the investigation led to an excellent relationship between the Kleinfontein community and the legislature,” said Groenewald.
The 800ha co-operative turns 21 this year making it a year younger than its sister town, Orania.
There are 450 shareholders in Kleinfontein with 300 homes and 1 000 residents – all of whom are white, Christian Afrikaners.
Those who live in Kleinfontein quote Article
185 of the constitution which defends the right to live with people of
the same cultural group, language and religion.
The Freedom Front Plus welcomed the recognition
of the Kleinfontein settlement as a cultural community, said Jaco
Mulder, FF Plus member of the legislature in Gauteng.
Mulder, who was part of the investigation committee, said numerous misconceptions about Kleinfontein had now been cleared up.
1 comMENTS:
They were doing it right in South Africa
As the Bible and Yahweh's Laws Command
Apartheid and Racial Separation
Move away from these Laws
And look what happens
Look at Europe today
Look at America
Do not Mix
Do not Mingle
Do not allow the Alien to reside within
Never allow an Alien to Rule over you
It's quite simple really
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