The Steve Tshwete Local Municipality washed its hands of innocence about Botshabelo.
Even though the terrain museum is a time bomb that could explode at any moment, the municipality said in response to a letter from local lawyer Hilmar Kruger, that it should go and knock on the door of the Heritage Foundation.

No interest

Municipal Manager Mandla Mnguni outlined the history of Botshabelo’s takeover in a letter to Kruger.
He said a land claim was registered in 1998 and published in the government gazette.
The Department of Land Affairs investigated the credibility of the claim, and the site was transferred to the Botshabelo Community Trust in 2005.
The municipality managed Botshabelo until August 2006, and ratepayers paid until 2011 so that the new owners could become self-sufficient.
Mnguni said in the letter that the municipality no longer has any interest in the site museum and that Kruger should approach the South African Heritage Foundation to preserve the historic buildings and fort.

Tragedy

Like hundreds of other land claims, Botshabelo is a tragedy that is unfolding like a black-and-white thriller movie.
The historic mission church, the Merensky fort, the Pakendorf, and the Merensky houses are landmarks that beg to be saved.
Perhaps Mnguni should not be so quick to wash his hands of innocence.
The site falls within the municipal area.

Lotto money disappeared

Dear readers, who is going to pay for services when a thousand families move in there?
Yes, you guessed it, us… the taxpayers.
Who is going to be responsible for the services?
Yes, you guessed it again, the very Steve Tshwete Local Municipality that has now washed its hands of innocence.
The biggest tragedy is that the trust that controls Botshabelo could make millions of rands from tourism.
But they watched as millions of rands of Lotto money disappeared and one shack after another was built on the farm.

South Africa’s voice is silent

Meanwhile, there is a locked gate that controls access to Botshabelo. That same gate through which thousands of tourists from Germany, England, France and the Netherlands drove through daily in buses.
And 5km away, the old buildings erected by German missionaries beg for help.
They cry out, ‘Please save us’.
But South Africa’s voice is silent.
Except for attorney Hilmar Kruger, who declared last week, “The Steve Tshwete Local Municipality are forsaking their constitutional and statutory public responsibility towards Botshabelo Heritage Village, the land, and the Middelburg broader community. The Heritage Village had been neglected, looted, mismanaged, and subjected to criminality. Botshabelo is not ordinary restitution land. It is a public heritage asset that was historically integrated into the Middelburg Community, formally developed and managed by the previous Middelburg municipality and later by the Steve Tshwete Municipality as a community-driven heritage village.”

No one to speak to

• The chairman of the Middelburg Heritage Association, who also serves on the board of the South African Heritage Association, Rudi van Wyk, said they will speak to any legitimate person or persons about Botshabelo, but there is currently no one to speak to.
Since this decision was granted, there has been total chaos over the management, with two different trusts claiming to control Botshabelo.
This has led to court cases that have not yet been finalised. Van Wyk said there was an attempt to get talks started last year, but it ended in a dead end, because there is currently no legitimate trust or association to talk to.