“Thursday the 24th March 2016 marks a sad day for Democracy and the principles enshrined in the South African Constitution.” Said Rev
Theunis Botha leader of the Christian Democratic Party (CDP).

“On this day the Tshwane Metro council, with an overwhelming majority and against the will of the residents of Valhalla, approved the donation of a valuable piece of ground to the Tshwane Islamic Centre Trust on which they intend to erect a Mosque. This monstrosity, in the centre of the residential area, will tower above the surrounding houses. One cannot help but think that skulduggery is at the centre of this decision and that the ANC will benefit from it in some way or another, especially with an election just around the corner.

“This travesty of justice took place amid a flawed public participation process, that can at best be described as unjust administration and was therefore referred to the Public Protector by the Christian Democratic Party. No feedback has been received to date. This means, that the
decision taken by council is invalid as the matter has not yet been resolved.

“Previously the ANC attempted to split Valhalla, through the demarcation process, by incorporating half of the residents into Laudium. When that
failed, they reverted to these deceitful tactics in an attempt to undermine the ethos and culture of Valhalla.
“In 2013 there was an attempt by the council to put this item through without any public participation. The community was only made aware of this 3 days before the Council meeting and responded by putting together a petition with over 2,600 signatures. The petition was signed by many in the community which included Afrikaners, Hindu, Portuguese, Greek, English etc. They did this because of their previous experiences with Islam coming into an area and forcing their culture on to an area and eventually taking over the area, through an increase in crime,
intimidation and intolerance.

“Here, we once again, get a glimpse into the dubious way in which things are dealt with by those who are presently in control of the Tshwane Metro. It is becoming increasingly impossible to trust this Mayor, his committee and the ANC majority as all their actions smack of ulterior motives.”