The Cape Malay Choir Board will be staging a second protest against the closure of the Good Hope Centre after Ramadan, according to chairman Shafiek April. The Cape Malay choir fraternity are up in arms about the iconic venue’s pending lease to a film production company. The Board claims they were not informed by the City of Cape Town that the venue would be closed down. Following a meeting with the South  African Clothing Textile Union (Sactwu) on 30 June, it was decided a demonstration will be organised. The Cape Malay choirs protested outside the City a month ago, and handed a petition to the City.

“The City is ignoring the Board and the people of the community’s pleas. If the lease is still for the malay choir, why are they hiring it out to other people,” says April.

The alternatives for a new premises for the malay choirs include Grandwest Casino and Kenilworth Racecourse. The Board was told they could no longer use rhe Centre on 4 June, however, the lease ended on 4 July.

“It’s like they want us out of Cape Town. There is an endless list of people who are being moved out of Cape Town,” says April.

April says they will be mobilizing another meeting to organise the additional march.

“People have the right to utilize the facility available to them,” says April.

The Board has liased with the representatives of various associations such as the District 6 Working Committee, Bokaap Civic Association and Sactwu’s Fachmy Abrahams. These organisations will be supporting the protest.

Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Economic Development, Councillor Garreth Bloor, has previously stated that the City has offered to assist long-standing tenants of the Good Hope Centre to find alternative venues for their events.

“All users of the centre, SACTWU included, were advised that the City’s assistance comprised of finding other suitable City-owned venues. In addition, the City would provide financial support for either public or privately owned venues, where the costs of alternative locations were disproportionate to the preferred venue, should that be required. All applications must be lodged with Events Office at least 120 days prior to the event to be able to be considered for financial and non-financial support,” he said.

Long-term plans for the centre and the land will take three to five years to develop. In the short-term, Bloor said Cape Town’s film sector has seen a boom in film and related activities to the extent that all three of the city’s current commercially operated film studios are fully booked for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

“The City’s considered view is that the centre will have a far greater economic and job creation impact as a temporary film studio. There have been suggestions that the Cape Town Stadium be used to house film studios, but this is not a viable option. We are seeking a long-term financial solution for the Cape Town Stadium. The leasing of the Good Hope Centre is a short-term measure to generate much needed income from the facility.” VOC