Municipality to acquire Mac Maharaj House
Newcastle Municipality has expressed interest in acquiring the birthplace and former family home of influential political stalwart and anti-apartheid activist, Mac Maharaj.
Residents’ complaints regarding the state of disrepair of Lennoxton heritage site, the Mac Maharaj House, could finally be addressed.
Newcastle Municipality has expressed interest in acquiring the birthplace and former family home of influential political stalwart and anti-apartheid activist, Mac Maharaj. Media reports stating Newcastle Municipality owned the plot on which the house is situated are untrue.
Negotiations between with the property’s current owner, a relative of the original Maharaj family, and municipal officials are under way.
The owner of the property is reportedly willing to sell the property, but has declined to comment at this stage. Being a non-essential item, the project was added and withdrawn from the municipality’s budget numerous times since being introduced five years ago.
“It has been a drawn-out process, but council has resolved to purchase the property and we are currently at an advanced stage of negotiations,” said Muzi Shozi, Director of Housing and Land.
The site was also part of the Provincial Tourism Committee’s tour of Newcastle’s potential tourist attractions on July 16.
Should the municipality succeed in acquiring the property, it has been earmarked to be restored and turned into a museum to be marketed as a full-time tourist destination in future.
