CAPE TOWN – Residents are up in arms after the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) elected property developers to be the chairperson and secretary of its committee.
The outraged residents of the Cape suburb include people who had attended the meeting when the election took place s well as some members of the outgoing committee. They allege that there irregularities and corruption in the election procedure.
The OCA which consists of residents of Observatory and local business owners represents the interests of the community. The suburb has historically faces issues with gentrification and large developments.
The OCA held its annual AGM on October 31 where it elected its new committed. They elected Theo Kruger, founder of Two Five Five Architects, as Chairperson, while property developer Ebrahim Abader was elected secretary and architectural technologist Tertius van Zyl was elected committee member for architecture and heritage.
There was a question of conflict of interest in the election as Kruger and Abader have faced opposition from the OCA or unsuccessfully lobbied it for support for developments they were involved in.
An email was sent out to residents by Leslie London, who was elected committee member for large developments, says there were a number of irregularities on the night. The register showed several entries that had no addresses, as well as incorrect addresses outside the OCA’s boundaries.
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