The Cape Malay Choir Board (CMCB) says they will not accept the proposed alternative venue suggestions from the City of Cape Town as the Good Hope Centre becomes a film studio. The City announced that the civic centre will be leased to a film company for a period of time and during this time, the much loved centre will not be available to stage local events. The CMCB have protested outside the centre this week, calling on Mayor Patricia De Lille to allow all cultural groups the use of the Good Hope Centre as a community centre.

The CMCB’s President, Shafick April says the annual Cape Malay competition has been held at the civic centre for decades now and has become a highly anticipated event for locals. April told VOC News that they will not consider the suggested alternative venues due to their moral standpoint.

The proposed venues include the GrandWest Casino, Kenilworth Race Course, Belhar Indoor Centre, Goodwood Civic Centre, Tafelsig Community Hall, Artscape, Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Athlone Stadium and the City Hall. All of which, April says, does not cater to the requirements of the Cape Malay competition.

“The Good Hope Centre is on bus route for us, it is in District Six, which they are also using as a community centre. This centre accommodates the capacity which we host. Just this weekend, you saw another Muslim community event which hosted over 40 000 people. How can we go and sing at a place where gambling takes place? This goes against our morals. We will need R2 million for the CTICC, we don’t have that type of money. And also, the Athlone Centre will push us back a whole R650 000 to set up a dome. All these suggestions does not work in our favour. Its like the City is trying to get us out,” April explained.

Mayoral Committee Member, Economic, Environment and Spatial Planning, Garreth Bloor says the City will continue in engaging with the CMCB but ultimately have leased the centre to a film company in an attempt to positively impact the economic growth of the tourism industry in the province.

“In the balance between job creation and events, we have got to ensure that we accommodate the entire economic and social aspects of the city. The film industry has grown tremendously, contributing tens of thousands of jobs and a R5 billion to the economy. The Good Hope Centre has been identified as a potential film studio for a period so that major shoots are not turned away from Cape Town,” Bloor added.

However, the CMCB says if the mayor does not respond to their demands, they have vowed to mobilise members in a mass march to the city centre. VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)