Coup is a strong word, especially with what just happened in Zimbabwe, but what went down in Obs is not without its suspicions.

As with any community that cares about what happens to their surroundings, Cape Town’s Observatory has a civic association, affectionately referred to as the OCA.

Consisting of residents and local business owners, the OCA supposedly represents the interests of the community. At least those who are able to pay an annual fee of R50 to be a part of it.

As with its surrounding neighbours, Observatory has “historically faced issues with gentrification and large developments,” explains GroundUp, and the OCA is just one committee that has played a role in keeping the suburb from being developed.

But on October 31, when the OCA held its annual AGM and a new committee was elected, it was clear that those who found themselves in prominent positions had their own agendas. Here’s who made the cut:

• Property developer Theo Kruger, founder of TwoFiveFive Architects, was elected chairperson. Their buildings are super average.
• Property developer Ebrahim ‘Himmy’ Abader was elected secretary. Read this to see how his “forward thinking” ideas are just a ruse to make money.
• Architectural technologist Tertius van Zyl became committee member for architecture and heritage. He works on projects like this.

While the OCA doesn’t necessarily have “direct control over the approval of proposed development projects”, its endorsement does matter and, as a supposed representative of the community, the municipality is obliged to take its concerns into account.

However, now:

A question of conflict of interests has arisen as both Kruger and Abader have faced opposition from the OCA or unsuccessfully lobbied it for support for developments they were involved in.

Is the old committee just butthurt they aren’t retaining power, or do they have a reason to suspect something’s up?

Let’s take a look.

Leslie London, who was elected committee member for Large Developments, explained how on that fateful night of October 31, there were “a number of irregularities”:

The register showed several entries that lacked addresses, had incorrect addresses or addresses outside the OCA’s boundaries. To be eligible to vote one has to be a paid up OCA member with proven ownership or occupancy of a property or business in Observatory.

“One member gave as their address a site that was a vacant construction site where a building had just been demolished,” said London. “There were other alleged issues about new members being welcomed to sign up long after the AGM had commenced, members having their membership fees paid on their behalf so that they could sway the vote and a number of other reported irregularities.”

London said 17 of the 59 people who voted were of questionable eligibility to vote.

Sounds like an episode of Deadwood.

The outgoing chair, Carolyn Neville, soon declared the elections null and void, although not without a fight:

She cited ineligibility of the irregular voters according to the association’s constitution. A mail announced a re-run to be held at a new AGM on 28 November. The outgoing committee would manage the OCA in the interim.

Neville had received a letter from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), lawyers representing Kruger, Abader and Van Zyl, threatening to interdict the AGM at her cost. The same letter contested the claim that ineligible voters had swung the vote, citing section 7.1 of the OCA constitution: “The membership shall be open to all owners and occupiers over the age of 18 years of property in Observatory”, and saying those who were ineligible were too few to impact the election result.

Neville resigned and Tauriq Jenkins, vice-chairperson in 2016, took over as acting chairperson.

But it didn’t end there:

At an OCA committee meeting held on 23 November, Jenkins scheduled a Special General Meeting (instead of an Annual General Meeting, as initially scheduled) for 28 November at which an independent chair would preside over a discussion of the irregularities in the October election and a vote on the course of action would be taken. According to London’s email, Kruger, Abader and Van Zyl were present and raised no objection.

But the next morning, Jenkins received a letter from CDH threatening to interdict the SGM at his cost and citing the points made in the letter previously sent to Neville.

Kruger also sent an official OCA email out to members declaring that Jenkins and Neville had no authority to convene any meeting of the OCA and that claims about irregularities in the election had “no basis in law”.

He also told members that a monthly OCA meeting was to be held on 28 November in place of the SGM scheduled by Jenkins, at which he invited members to raise concerns about membership and the OCA constitution.

In response, there was this online petition, opened in an effort to get signatures to null and void the new committee. It was signed by 260 Observatory residents, including 69 OCA members.

And last night, at the Special General Meeting which was apparently a whole lot of fun, the old committee was reinstated.

This is the follow-up email received not long after the meeting:

Viva indeed.

Asked to comment on allegations of election rigging, Abader told GroundUp that:

[T]he old OCA’s policies were actually good for him as a developer because they “contribute to increasing property prices and rentals”. He said that the OCA should rethink its policies on property development in line with his vision to build an “all-inclusive society” through the relaxation of heritage and parking restrictions.

“Blocking each and every proposed development is not good for our area and community,” he stated.

In my mind, Observatory is one of the most inclusive societies in Cape Town. Have you ever been to Stones? Go fight your battle somewhere else, boys.

[source:groundup]