This odd little koppie, straddling Roodekrans and Hennops River, is one of the most popular sites on the eastern side of the Conservancy. It has considerable historical, archaeological and geological interest. The many generations of amaNdebele families living here regarded it as sacred, calling it Thaba ‘nkonja. So sacred, in fact, that they were not allowed to point at it, believing if they did, their loin cloths would fall off! They were only allowed to point at it with their elbow or chin.
In times of drought the amaNdebele elders and young girls would go to the summit and perform a ceremony. The elders would pray while the young girls would scatter seeds. Martin Masilela, a local cattle farmer whose ancestors here go back four generations, is adamant that the rains would come the afternoon after the ceremony!
Two caves can be found at the base of the rock face on the south side of the koppie (hidden by the trees on the right hand side). Potsherds (broken pieces of earthenware) and stone tools have been discovered outside one of the caves on the southern slope. A large Early Stone Age hand-axe made from chert (a flint like form of quartz) was discovered near the south-western base.
Stone-Age Tools
The Early Stone Age occurred about 2.5 million to 250 000 years ago. Early hominids (members of the early zoological family that includes present-day and fossil man) started making very primitive stone tools and by about 1.6 million years ago tools like hand axes were being made. This continued into the Middle Stone Age which occurred about.
A Middle Stone Age cleaver (250 000 to 20 000 years ago) made from chert was discovered on the southern slope, and a knife from the Late Stone Age (about 20 000 years ago) was found on top of a boulder at one of the south side caves. As the life-style changed the stone tools became smaller and more refined and poison arrow heads and other sharp microlinths (very small stone implements usually used with a haft) made an appearance.
Chief’s Kraal
On the summit at the centre of the north-facing side of the koppie stands a large circular structure dating back to the Iron Age. Large lumps of breccia (rock consisting of rough stones cemented together by lime) have also been found on the summit. It is surmised that they were perhaps taken from the caves lower down and used in the building of this Iron Age circle or ‘kraal’. A variety of stones was used in the building: breccia, weathered grey dolomite (rock of calcium magnesium carbonate) and quartzite.
On the highest point of the Koppie close to the very old karee tree is a prominent kraal joined to a number of other stone circles by walling. It is thought to be the Chief’s kraal because of its position, with the “Makgotla” (the meeting place of the men) behind it. Next to the Chief’s kraal is a “stone throne” specially propped up and levelled using a large piece of breccia bone fragments.
General
Diggings - fairly overgrown - can still be seen in a wide circle around the koppie where prospectors searched for lead and silver in the past century.
Beautiful rock figs hug the boulders on the slopes. After a visit in May 2008 members of the Tree Society of SA remarked on the unusual variety of vegetation around the koppie.
During the World Environmental Summit in 2002 several foreign visitors were stopped from loading Koppie rocks into their vehicles. Where they heard about the Koppie and what significance they attached to it, is unknown.
Daisy Farm was used as an interrogation centre by Craig Williamson, an apartheid-era security forces spy involved in the murder of Ruth First, wife of former Communist Party leader, Joe Slovo, by means of a letter bomb in Mozambique in 1982.
TRC
The farm was mentioned a few times in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Johan Horak, a former journalist and security force member, mentioned the farm during gave evidence at the TRC. He referred to Daisy Farm by saying: “.. if you go to the Establishment’s farm in the Pretoria District, from there in fact they’ve got apparatus today that you can listen into any phone call, anywhere in the world. And I say, anywhere in the world, without going near the phone or without going near the post office.”
Daisy Farm also came up in the TRC hearings on 22 September 1998 in connection with security forces’ plans to capture and imprison Joe Slovo. The plan was to imprison him in a basement at Daisy Farm and Craig Williamson admitted that they referred to this basement as “Slovo’s Suite”.
Joe Slovo
According to the representative of the Slovo family, George Bizos, who cross-examined Craig Williamson, he could produce witnesses who would testify that there had been a steel ring in the basement to which the police had intended to shackle Joe Slovo, “just short enough to prevent him killing himself in the way Steve Biko had done” (Sapa report - 2 August 2008).
Williamson said the farm was purchased with funds he had received from the International University Exchange Fund, telling the IUEF that it would be used for “youth development”. He had been used as a police spy to infiltrate this organization. Instead he used the farm to train security police.
Isolated
Daisy Farm was perfectly suited for this task considering its isolated location, at that time even more ‘private’ than it is today.
Craig Williamson applied for amnesty for the murder of Ruth Slovo, Jeanette Schoon and her 6 year-old daughter Katryn in Angola in 1984 and his involvement in the 1982 bombing of the ANC Offices in London.
During the past two centuries gold, lead, lime and silver have been mined in this area. There are two silver mines in Roodekrans - at 35 Roodekrans (owned by Jason Berry) and another on the property of Tanya Gomez, opposite Tatz Junction on the R511.
Background
During the Anglo-Boer War, a British Officer, John Hepke, was wounded in a battle at Kalkheuvel (near Alpha Conference Centre) and was sent home to recuperate. The bullet that shortened his stint in the British Army was not removed but years later he was diagnosed with lead poisoning and had to have it removed.
To his surprise Hepke discovered the removed bullet had a high silver content. His curiosity brought him back to SA, and with the help of an old Afrikaner farmer he returned to the site of the battle. When he queried what had happened to all the spent cartridges he was told they had been collected for re-use. The farmer took him to the small mine where the lead for the bullets had originally come from. All the evidence points to this being the Silver Mine cave on Berry’s farm.
Silver Mine
Hepke bought the farm and began working the mine again, calling it the Lonely Hand Silver Mine. His son, John Hepke Jnr, later sub-divided the farm, selling off portions but kept the property bordering the R511 and established the Silver Hills Gemstones shop, a popular curio shop that later burned down in the 1990s and is now part of Tatz Junction. The original Hepke homestead was bought by former cabinet minister, Pik Botha, who has since sold it.
Murder
The latter-day Hepke built the road now known as the Gemstones Road to get to his mine. Sadly his wife, Irene, who ran the curio shop, was murdered in puzzling circumstances in the 1990s. The crime was never solved and Irene is rumoured to haunt the property! Hepke later sold the shop to a potter, Gerdus Brönn, who sold it to artist Rob Hughes, who has since moved to Australia.
The area around the present Tatz Junction pub has been “excavated” to show the fascinating “elephant rock” just under the surface. The Heaven on Earth nursery around the pub makes clever use of this unusual feature to display its plants.
This is one of two game reserves in the Rhenosterspruit Conservancy. Abut 350ha in extent, it is the result of about half a dozen adjoining property owners dropping their fences and consolidating their properties.
Unlike the surrounding grasslands the reserve is savannah, providing a mixture of grass, trees and bush. It abounds with game - zebra, mountain reedbok, gemsbok, wildebeest, warthog, red hartbees, blesbok, impala, kudu, eland, springbok, giraffe, ostrich, waterbuck, common reedbuck, lots of jackal and over 280 bird species - and operates a lodge and several small weekend self-catering cottages.
The game lodge, on the hill overlooking the reserve, has magnificent views over the three mountain ranges to the north - Schurveberg (with the distinctive Rhenosterkop), Witwatersberg and Magaliesberg. The main threat is winter veld fires which often sweep through from the north, endangering the game and destroying their grazing. (www.loosens-lodge.com)
Mzilikazi
Adjoining the Roodekrans Game Reserve is the home of one of the descendants of the clans under Mzilikazi that occupied the area from the early 1800s, Martin Masilela. He and his forbears have lived and farmed in Roodekrans and Hills and Dales since then.
There are Late Iron Age ruins in the area dating back to before Mzilikazi (1795 – 1868) who ruled in the area from 1827 to 1839. Mzilikazi was one of Shaka’s top generals. He fell from favour in 1824 and fled with the Khumalo tribe, which settled in and around the Magaliesberg. He later trekked westwards to what we know today as Zeerust and ended up in what is now Zimbabwe.
The tribe most likely to have taken up residence in Hills and Dales and Roodekrans would have been the BoPo baMogale, part of the Southern Transvaal Ndebele.
Late Iron Age settlers
The early settlers’ presence is still visible through the circular stone-walled structures and pieces of distinctively patterned pottery. These structures are found in Hills and Dales, Roodekrans and Doornrandje (to the east of Hills and Dales). Due to the grassland in the RNC being mostly sourveld, only small groups of pre-colonial Sotho-Tswana or Ndebele would have occupied the area on a permanent basis. The stone circles are often only visible in winter when veld fires expose them.
Ladybird Hill in Hills and Dales is crowned with a mysterious ruin. Nobody knows who built and abandoned this weird place with its long surrounding wall, crumbling arches and odd cellars. For that reason some of the residents of Hills and Dales refer to it as “Zimbabwe” - ruins of a structure built by people unknown.
Views
The views from here are stunning. To the north lie range upon range of hills and mountains: first the Conservancy koppies, then Schurveberg with our flat-topped sentinel, Rhenosterkop, beyond that the Witwatersberg and the Magaliesberg. The Magaliesberg range, by the way, is older than the Himalaya!
Far to the south rises the Joburg skyline – the Hillbrow and SABC towers clearly visible, as is the Dome in Northriding. If you look past Lanseria Airport’s runways, the hills of the Cradle of Humankind lie to the south-west. And at the foot of Ladybird Hill flows the Jukskei River.
The inner stone walls of the ruin are covered by millions of clustered ladybirds, all year round. Hence the name!
A recent Scorpion Walk, part of the RNC’s Conservation Calendar, attracted 45 curious people to learn more about creepy crawlies. This took place at Ladybird Hill where upturned the rocks and stones revealed many scorpions hiding underneath. It was quite an experience for everyone, to come so close to a creature that most people fear. The kids were the bravest, allowing the tour leader to place a live scorpion in their hands! Nobody got stung and everyone went home with greater appreciation of the magic of the veld and its inhabitants.
House burnt down
Visible down the south-east slope is Howard Williams’ lovely thatch-roofed house which burnt to its foundations two years ago after a runaway veld fire swept through the area. The house has been rebuilt on the original spot. Veldfires are a major problem in the Conservancy. Many landowners make the required firebreaks but fires sweeping over properties where there are none, easily jump firebreaks. In Hills and Dales a group-SMS system alerts the community and everyone turns out to fight the fire/
Just beyond Howard’s place is a failed three-hole golf academy. The owner launched into this endeavour without the necessary approvals (from GDACE, Water Affairs, etc) and was ordered to rehabilitate the land at a cost of thousands. The GDACE Scorpions were instrumental in sorting out the issue.
Cob house
Down the east slope of Ladybird Hill is the Armstrongs’ cob-house-in-process. Alastair, an engineer, is involved in various forms of “natural” building – cob, straw bale, rammed earth etc - and is building a rammed-earth house for an architect in North Riding at the moment. alastair@insynch.co.za.
New developments
To the south-west Monaghan Farm and the Blair Atholl Golf Estate are visible. Monaghan has 260 erven on both sides of the Jukskei. Its focus is “green” development – incorporating solar power, rainwater tanks, one-storey buildings, etc as far as possible. Blair Atholl has 330 stands and an 18-hole golf course.
This area, the southernmost part of the RNC, was originally one farm owned by Daniel Oosthuizen and called Rietfontein. According to the oldest inhabitants, the Masilelas and Mahlangus, Oosthuizen grew “the biggest watermelons you’ve ever seen”.
Con-man
In these early days a local estate agent called Flattery (now deceased), sold most of the Hills and Dales properties. He sometimes sold one property to three people at the same time (they eventually figured out they were being conned), and he would blandly change details on the sale documents to suit himself. He also sold fencing material belonging to one owner to unsuspecting neighbours and in one case managed to mark out the wrong boundary so that the owner found his expensive dam had been built on someone else’s property. He was impervious to the animosity he aroused and merrily swindled most of the early landowners in some way or another. Whenever neighbours got together, Flattery’s latest exploit would be high on the agenda.
Crash
One of the first landowners, Louise Balfour, remembers the day (in the early 1970s) when two light aeroplanes with eight people on board collided above a corner of their place and plunged to the ground. One plane belonged to the owner of a nearby property who had his own airstrip. He had just taken off from his small airstrip with his kids on board when they collided with a plane flying out of Lanseria. All eight passengers were killed. The Balfours were the first on the horrifying scene which gave them nightmares for years afterwards.
Notta River
This little river which runs into Hills and Dales got its name in the 1980s when a landowner with more money than sense built three illegal dams in the stream which flows in from the wetlands in Doornrandje and down to the Jukskei. He had planned to do serious farming, sunk 29 boreholes (so the story goes...) and when he couldn’t find decent water, he embarked on dam-building in the river. When neighbours objected (seeing everything downstream dried up), his lawyers declared he could do what he liked because this was “not a river”, just a stream. The “stream” had other ideas. It came down in a mighty torrent after a storm and all three dams were washed down to the Jukskei. His lawyers then accused the neighbours of sabotage. That’s when the name stuck: Notta River – “not a river, just a “stream” which became a Lotta River for the occasion!
Norweto
In 1986, the old Transvaal Provincial Administration decided that all Hills and Dales properties would be expropriated to make way for 50 000 low-cost houses - a proposed new township dubbed “Norweto”. As before, the township was to be located far from urban centres, work opportunities and major transport routes. There was no “consultation” in those days, just the decision to expropriate.
It was a chaotic situation and the Greenbelt Action Group was created within days to challenge the TPA. The proposal was withdrawn, finally, after a monumental fight, but everything had changed. One of the positive things that came out of it was that people suddenly discovered neighbours they’d never met and the foundation of a community was created.
Kareebosrand
Another positive outcome was the creation of the Kareebosrand Conservancy in 1987, covering mainly Hills and Dales and Roodekrans. This was the forerunner of the Rhenosterspruit Conservancy. To introduce the area to people who appreciated nature, hikes were started over weekends and a game-scout was employed to patrol the area on horseback, removing snares, keeping an eye on irregular activities and leading the hikes. (continued on the back)
Gold rush
A further threat to the area arrived in the shape of two major mining companies that wanted to explore for gold. They started buying up mineral rights and planned to sink test holes (the heavy equipment was standing ready at a site near Lanseria). Using the strength of the Conservancy as a lobbying tool (and with the help of SABC’s 50/50 and the many valuable allies made during the weekend hikes) Kareebosrand was able to stop the prospecting. The Kareebosrand name still appears on certain maps.
Crisis or catalyst?
The next crisis struck in 1997, when a Lanseria-based businessman called Brussouw, bought seven properties in Hills and Dales and announced that he was putting up 24 000 low-cost houses. Brussouw offered to buy most of the landowners out for a land-only price, presuming most would not want to stay.
However, Conservancy members used this as a catalyst to motivate Hills and Dales, Roodekrans, Doornrandje and Hennops River landowners and residents to throw their weight in with the Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservancy that had been established on the west of the Jukskei and Crocodile Rivers. Within two months the size of the Conservancy was doubled to 10 000 ha.
Lady Luck smiled – before he could take his plans much further, Brussouw was caught smuggling illegal immigrants into South Africa and the property sale fell through. He managed to skip the country.
Egoli Granite Grassland
Egoli means “gold” and about a quarter of the RNC sits on it – Egoli Granite Grassland (EGG) – found mainly in Hills and Dales and Doornrandje. Why is this grassland so valuable? Because it’s species-rich and there’s very little left of this endangered biome, endemic to Gauteng – meaning it is not found anywhere else.
Originally there were about 110 000 hectares of EGG in Gauteng. More than 50% of it has already been “transformed”, a polite word for “destroyed”. While the target is to conserve 25% of this grassland, only 0.67% was under formal protection by 2002. Currently only 26 ha is formally protected.
Now the focus is on areas such as Hills and Dales and Doornrandje to save more EGG from destruction. About 300 ha have already been purchased by a developer in Midrand as an “off-set” for EGG land that will be destroyed there by development over several hundred hectares. This off-set has been given to the Gauteng Province which has put GDACE in charge of its protection. Eventually it will be proclaimed a nature reserve or a protected area.
This portion of land had been bought before by a developer, intending to create a fenced-off upmarket housing estate. The RNC objected to the application, on the grounds that such an estate would create a domino effect, making other estates possible and fragmenting the whole region. It got a negative ROD from GDACE, and lost an appeal as well. If this application had been approved, the EGG land would have been lost forever.
Where possible, adjoining properties will be purchased to enlarge the nature reserve. Owners of properties where houses have already been built will have the option of a Biodiversity Stewardship agreement. Such a “Conservation Area”, registered with GDACE, could be an entire property (or selected portion) that is voluntarily conserved and managed by its owner(s). There is keen interest from landowners in this Stewardship option.
On the corner where Vlakfontein meets Hills and Dales is a tiny cemetery where several generations of the oldest inhabitants of the area, the Masilelas and Mahlangus, have been buried. One in particular is interesting –Maria Masilela who was born in 1896 and died in 2002 – spanning three centuries! Maria told how, as a little girl she watched the Boers and Brits fighting on the plains north of Koppie-Alleen during the Anglo-Boer War (1899- 1902). The British soldiers used to give the children biscuits – good PR, in those days!
Floods
Whoever drew Vlakfontein’s borders had a fit of misplaced creativity or a hang-over. The map merrily follows the two rivers, sweeps around the koppies, meanders through the valleys and finally shoots kilometres up north, squashed between the Roodekrans border and the Crocodile River.
The Jukskei divides Vlakfontein into two; when it floods the low-level bridge disappears under a sheet of rushing water, cutting off all residents to the north. Neighbours recently took photos of a Prado being swept off the bridge – its lights still flashing forlornly! The occupants got out in time – safely. This stretch of the Jukskei is very popular with canoeists.
First gold
The first gold in the old Transvaal was panned in 1853 by Pieter Jacobus Marais in the Jukskei River close to its confluence with the Crocodile. On 21 Vlakfontein, now owned by Mervyn Gaylard, is a gold discovery plaque commemorating the discovery of gold in South Africa.
Next to the Gaylards towers Castle Alice, the extraordinary home of Veronique and Colin Sharp, editor of Habitat magazine. This area boasts several spas and a detox lodge: Lethabo, Castle Alice and Tranquil Waters. Tucked into a fairly inaccessible valley is a rose farm, which also boasts a few giant rock pythons (and a myriad of other snakes!). Cameras have been set up by SanParks to monitor the pythons, one of which measures 5 metres.
Pritchard’s pig heads
On the Vlakfontein road but actually falling in Riverside Estates, is Frank Pritchard’s property with its unusual collection of buildings. A mystifying row of pig heads wearing witches hats used to ogle you from all around the eaves of his house. The pigs’ origins go back some years to the saga of the property next door to Frank that he wanted to purchase. He decided on a creative approach.
A sign proclaiming “Piggery to be built on this site. Contractor: Don Corleone & Sons” appeared on his property. Enquiring estate agents and prospective buyers were engaged in lively discussions by Frank on farming and slaughtering pigs. That’s all they needed. There were no buyers.
Once Frank had secured the coveted piece of land, visitors asked: “Where are the pigs?” Frank blandly wanted to know: “Which pigs?” His secret weapon was honoured on the wall of his home – witch pigs. They have since been removed – pity!
New Vaalie
The story behind Frank’s “New Vaalie” (or “Snake House” or “Onion House”) at the top of his property is equally intriguing. This wildly colourful mosaic structure stands near the entrance to the Vlakfontein road. Described by Frank, the “architect” as the “product of a frustrated mind” New Vaalie has mystified inquisitive building inspectors for years. When asked what it was, Frank would reply: “I really don’t know.”
Since it‘s neither a house, nor a store, nor a barn it defies classification and remains a defiant monument to the independent spirit of country living.
Riverside Estates is characterised by a plethora of long, narrow properties, each with a beautiful piece of Crocodile River frontage. It is also the home of the Oori Game Farm, the other game reserve in the Conservancy, boasting a large variety of game, including the lonely giraffe, George, whose mate was struck by lighting. The Oori (with 60+ owner/members) covers about 1 500 hectares. Internal fences have been removed and entrance is via a boom gate just off the R512.
“Traffic”
One complaint from residents in the Oori is the “traffic” – the time it takes to cruise safely through a herd of wildebeest on the way to work! The Rhenosterspruit, from which the Conservancy takes its name, flows through a narrow gorge into the Crocodile via a large, deep dam. Unusual in Gauteng is its clear turquoise-blue water.
On the confluence of the Crocodile and the Jukskei lies Two Rivers, the rock castle and B&B of Gina Vorster, widow of the renowned artist, Gordon Vorster. Set across the river from a steep rocky hill, Two Rivers is filled with beautiful artworks by Gordon and Gina, an artist in her own right.
(083 252 5588)
SOS
Travel further into the Oori to the SOS Village, where the “mothers” for the many South African SOS Children’s Villages are trained. The river here flows past vertical cliffs, showing large clusters of stromatolites, fossilised algae, billions of years old. If your eyes are sharp you may spot the breeding pair of rock pythons on the opposite side of the river…
Near SOS is Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Pam Orbell’s dream of a wildlife rehabilitation centre came true after years of training and efforts to get the necessary permits. It’s been a tough ride for Pam and her partner, Jo-anne Hulley - patients from the wild are not charged for their treatment! Fund-raising is a permanent job. Pam: 083 624 9642.
Cobra bite
Pam needed treatment herself some time ago. “I walked up to the bench in my kitchen and felt something sting my toe with tremendous force,” she tells. “As I pulled my foot back, a metre-long Mozambican spitting cobra followed, still attached to my foot!”
From there it was a race to the nearest hospital – 20 kilometres away. The pre-warned clinic got hold of a snake expert who arrived with the necessary anti-venom. Pam spent a couple of weeks in a wheel-chair but recovered fully with no permanent damage to her foot.
Eshelby Castle
Further along the river is another “castle”, belonging to the Eshelby family. Creative genes run strongly in the Eshelby family. For a quarter of a century Jimmy and Helga and their sons, Ray and Déon, have expressed their artistic talents in a variety of art forms. Déon is a fifth-generation piano restorer. His great-great-great-grandfather, Edwin, was a director of Steinway in London in the 1800s and Déon learnt the craft from Jimmy. Restoration is painstaking work because a piano can have about 12 000 bits to put together. His workshop contains an amazing collection of grand pianos, uprights, ancient and modern pianos in various stages of repair. Some date back to 1817.
In the main house Jimmy’s artistry is evident everywhere. Carved wooden arches over doorways, pelmets skilfully created from decorative pieces salvaged from old pianos, dressers, tables – all have Jimmy’s stamp on them. The house and tiny chapel feature Helga’s stained glass windows and abound with Ray’s wrought-iron creations – chandeliers, shelves, plant holders, furniture – many with a musical theme. Ray also makes solar cookers. helga@eshelbypianos.co.za.
The Hennops River valley is a rich tapestry of bushveld and grassland, the winding river, koppies, the steep sides of the Schurveberg mountain, caves and farms. Several sightings of leopard and brown hyena spoor bear testimony to the unusual wildlife still present in the area.
Tourism attractions are situated on the R511 as it snakes towards the mountains and Hartbeespoort Dam: Hennops Picnic Spot, al Fiume / Riverplace Restaurant, Rhuslancea Conference Centre and Wedding venue, AlXclusif Health Spa.
Lazy River Road exits from the R511 and follows the Hennops River to the west, where it ends at Tokyo Sexwale’s villa/mansion/residence situated near the confluence of the Hennops and the Crocodile Rivers. From there the Crocodile winds around Rhenosterkop, past Pelindaba, through Broederstroom towards Hartbeespoort Dam.
Close to Lazy River Road is a sacred spring, well-known to traditional healers. The water is said to have healing powers and to help with infertility problems.
The valley hides a multitude of caves; many of which are home to thousands of bats, including Schreiber’s Long-fingered bat, a Red Data species. Most common though, are the insect-eating Yellow House Bat and the Cape Serotine Bat. Some species can eat up to 1 200 insects per hour. The RNC hosts a yearly bat evening as part of its Conservation Calendar. This is presented by bat fundi, Nigel Fernsby, who lives in the Hennops valley. The bat caves are generally not open to the public, to protect the bats.
There is abundant evidence of early human occupation of the Hennops valley, dating back a million years ago. Stone tools such as acheulian hand axes, picks and cleavers from the Early Stone Age have been found and later Middle Stone Age tools, mainly made of chert, have been found in profusion along the upper banks of the Hennops River.
On top of the Schurveberg are the remains of a heliograph station, dating back to the Anglo-Boer War. Messages were flashed from the Brits/Rustenburg area and relayed by the heliograph towards Heidelberg. (Was this a forerunner of our present SMSs?!)
The Schurveberg portion of the Conservancy, on the northern slopes of the mountain, has seen three applications for upmarket housing estates. All three received negative Records of Decision from GDACE. One of them (a 357-residence proposal) appealed and lost the appeal. This portion lies way beyond the Urban Edge and it is in the proposed Cradle Buffer Zone.
The developer has now decided to sue GDACE, Tshwane Council, the Development Tribunal and the RNC. The Conservancy’s main “sin” was to register as an Interested and Affected Party, sit through the Tribunal Hearings and list a number of concerns and objections. This is an obvious attempt at intimidation of I&APs. The matter is being dealt with by lawyers for the different parties at the moment. The deadline for response is tomorrow!
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