The former arts and culture manager of the Catholic Welfare and Development (CWD), said he would fight not to have the Athlone Cultural Hub’s building “sold off to the highest bidder”.
Andre Marais, who was among the 49 staff members who were retrenched by the CWD at the end of last year, said the space in Lawrence Road was much-needed in the community, and that he would do anything in his power to continue the programmes there.
The Athlone Cultural Hub is part of CWD, which is the welfare arm of the Catholic Diocese of Cape Town.
Mr Marais said he learnt that the building was for sale — this despite a verbal agreement he had with the CWD to continue running the various programmes at the building independently.
“We were told the organisation was R16m in debt, and the first casualties were the staff.
“I wanted to take them to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), because I believe they did not follow due processes with the retrenchments. Alternatives were not explored, and the financial crisis was not of the staff’s doing.
“However, when I was given the surety that I can operate independently, I did not go the CCMA route. Now to be told that the building will be sold, is a disturbing development.
“This is an historic building. I don’t believe a building like this can disappear into oblivion,” Mr Marais said.
Some of the organisations who run programmes from the building include the Mountain Club of South Africa, Revolutionary Yoga, the Athlone Academy of Music, and a reading room with thousands of books is also housed there.
The space has also been used for many cultural activities, such as jazz events and book launches.
“The projects are flourishing. This is becoming a commercial space when Athlone needs a community, recreational and public space. This is a space worth saving.
“The CWD gave me no rental agreement, because they understood that it will take me some time to generate funding,” Mr Marais said.
Thurston Brown from the Athlone Academy of Music, said they have not received any official notification yet.
“We’ve heard rumours that the building will be sold. As a non-profit organisation, we are trying to rent at the cheapest rate. We don’t have stacks of money.
“If the building is sold, it will affect us tremendously. We cannot afford commercial rent. It will be disastrous for us,” Mr Brown said.
According to a report in the Sunday Weekend Argus, CWD board member Graham Wilson, said no decision had been made to sell any building.
He said they are “exploring all options” to settle CWD’s debt.
He said they had given Mr Marais use of the building, at no cost, adding that the CWD continues to pay the electricity, security, water and other costs of the building.