“Who’s going to say they don’t want Christel House, which has a R100 million budget, in their ward?” Subcouncil 17 chair Elton Jansen asked.
The subcouncil had indeed said “no”, but not because they didn’t want the independent, no-fee private school, Jansen clarified, when the item appeared on the subcouncil agenda for the third time in three months.
At the most recent meeting, on Monday 16 March, Jansen explained that the ground the City of Cape Town officials has earmarked for another potential Christel House in Strandfontein had already been designated for other long-term projects by the subcouncil.
When the item reappeared on both the January and February agendas, Jansen advised, that the school reapply for a different piece of ground, adjacent to the erf requested, instead.
“Subcouncil 17 does not endorse the disposal of erf 43996 for educational purposes,” Jansen said at the meeting in February. “But we recommend the property opposite.”
He said that not only were there already plans for erf 43996 but the ground on the opposite side was fenced and already zoned for education by the province.
Jansen agreed to meet with the school’s CEO and to get clarity from City officials on when the application was received and why ward representatives had not been consulted earlier.
School seeks Strandfontein footprint
Christel House South Africa is a non-profit organisation, which operates no-fee scholarships to students from some of Cape Town’s poorest neighbourhoods and supports them for 19 years (from Grade RR to 12 and five years post-matric) through character-based and career-focused education.
It caters to children from marginalised communities and provides transport and full support to learners.
Councillor demands proper consultation
At Monday’s meeting, Jansen said that he had met with the school and now understood that there were legalities preventing the use of the fenced erf. He said he was still investigating the legalities, but if they could not be resolved he would reluctantly endorse the school’s bid for erf 43996.
“It’s bittersweet because who doesn’t want a wonderful school like Christel House? I do give my in principle support, but I still have a few other things that I need to sort out first before I give my 100% support.”
However, Jansen, who is also the councillor for ward 43, expressed his frustration that the application had proceeded without proper consultations.
“You cannot continue… you had to engage me first,” Jansen told the official at Monday’s meeting.
Provincial alternative explored
Jansen requested two weeks to engage with the Western Cape Education Department and provincial ministers about potentially using the provincial land.
The City officials handling the application acknowledged the consultation gap and agreed to consider engaging ward councillors earlier when such applications are received.
The application is continuing to circulate among various city departments for comments and potential objections as part of the standard approval process.
However, officials have agreed to await the ward councillor’s feedback before proceeding further with the Strandfontein proposal.
The proposed school would serve underprivileged learners, addressing the identified shortage of high school facilities in the Strandfontein community.
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