The community near Marks Park is demanding for Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) to leave their public land alone after learning of a possible sale, or lease, of the sports complex.

This potential sale, which the community is fighting vehemently against, covers more than just Marks Park. As Ward 88 councillor Nicolene Jonker explained, the erf listed includes other vital greenspaces, such as the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens, Emmarentia Dam, and surrounding greenbelt areas.

JPC denies there are plans to sell, saying they drafted a report to council seeking its approval to conduct a public participation process. “The public participation process will address the requirements of the municipal asset transfer regulations, enabling the community to give their input on the possible plans to develop the property,” said spokesperson Lucky Sindane.

Read more: No formal oversight over neglected park in Ward 88

A report Jonker describes as misleading. “It pretends this is just about Marks Park, the sports club, but they’re talking about 173ha, not just Marks Park. It includes the UJ Sports Grounds, Westdene Dam, Froggy Dam, Melville Koppies, the botanical gardens, Protea Sports Club, and all the greenbelts around them. Calling this just a sports club lease issue is not the truth.”

Being of the opinion that processes cannot start on the basis of half-truths, Jonker formally objected to the report in its current form, launching a petition to stop it from even being tabled at council. “The city must withdraw it and leave these public spaces alone. You can’t let them start a process based on lies. That opens the door to them doing what they like with the land later.”

This is not the only aspect of the report she finds to be factually wrong, as she also pointed out that JPC calls the land non-core, “when public open space is a core municipal function, and the land actively serves its purpose.”

She added that her third issue is JPC’s claim that this is just public participation, “when their documents clearly show this is the start of a formal alienation process, which is the first step to getting rid of the land.”

When asked what JPC’s ultimate goal with the sale of Marks Park is, Sindane said: “Once the public participation process has been finalised, a best use study analysis will be conducted. These processes will advise how this asset can be best managed, in terms of its zoning to address community needs whilst addressing the city’s objectives.”

Jonker said land use is simply what the land is zoned for, and what it’s supposed to be used for. “In this case, it’s zoned as public open space, and that’s exactly how it’s being used. What the city is trying to do here, is to kick off a process that would let them sell it off or lease it out, which would take it out of public hands and put it into private ones. Once that happens, the community loses access, and the land is gone for good.”

The councillor emphasised that this is not just about a sports complex. “Once the city declares the land ‘not needed’, it can sell or lease it, and there’s very little you can do to stop them after that. They’re misrepresenting what’s happening, and if you let this through, unchallenged, you can expect to lose access to these green lungs permanently.”

Jonker said they are demanding that JPC withdraw this report now, fix their lies, and leave our public land alone.

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration!