Richmond Hill park pathway to be completed

The construction of a pathway in Richmond Park, Richmond Hill, can resume but no other upgrades are allowed until a public participation process is completed.

This was the verdict after a meeting of the Mandela Bay Heritage Trust, Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Agency (ECPHRA) and the Richmond Hill Special Rates Area.

Absent from the meeting were officials from the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality parks and cemeteries department.

The meeting was held at the Kardinal Guest House in Richmond Hill.

Upgrades at the Richmond Park stopped last week after blowback from the trust which warned that any excavation work might uncover graves and other artefacts from a historical cemetery below ground.

The park is believed to have been built on the graves of the Mfengu people who lived in the area in the 1800s.

In 2008, two graves were discovered on the land adjoining the park, scuppering plans for an SAPS 10111 call centre.

At the time, an impact assessment report by archaeologists Dr Johan Binneman and Celeste Booth, from the Albany Museum, recommended that the burial ground area be declared a no-go zone or be included in the proposed development as a memorial area.

Work on a pathway had to stop last week until an archaeologist was brought in and a meeting was held to determine the way forward.

Because the parks and cemeteries department did not apply for a permit beforehand, the ECPHRA said it would issue a repair order for the work already done in the interest of safety concerns from the unfinished walkway.

According to the National Heritage Resources Act, any alternations to historical sites must be done via an application.

“Because they have already undertaken illegal work, we will now issue a repair order but work can only be done along guidelines that will come from our archaeologists,” ECPHRA manager Azola Mkosana said.

But before other upgrades are done, Mkosana said that would be determined by a public participation process.

The pathway will be completed because it is a safety hazard.

“There now has to be an intensive public engagement before we issue a permit for any further work or alteration.

“We do not have Khoi or Xhosa people here for instance to give their inputs as it has come to light that they might have been buried there.

“Some people may not even be comfortable with people using that area as an exercising area,” he said.

Mkosana said the way forward could include the removal of the park, but only based on the demands of residents.

AmaMfengu chief Velile Mfunda, who was also at the meeting, criticised how the municipality had over the years failed to recognise the site as a burial ground.

“When Nceba Faku was mayor, the municipality wanted to build a playpark there, but that was stopped by residents after we spoke to them.

“I even referred the matter to Bhisho and we have been waiting for years, but nothing has ever happened,” Mfunda said.

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