Pastors pray, march over church land dispute with Sol Plaatje

LOCAL pastors prayed for what they believe is rightfully theirs outside the Kimberley City Hall before marching to the Sol Plaatje Municipality on Friday to hand over a memorandum demanding land to build their churches in Galeshewe.

According to the memorandum, the Provincial Church Leaders Organisation (PCLO), which represents numerous churches within the Sol Plaatje municipal area, stated that they had engaged with the municipality and the ANC since 2015, but their pleas for the allocation of suitable land for qualifying churches to serve the spiritual needs of the community had been rejected.

“Churches have been left marginalised and discouraged due to the lack of transparency and consistency in the land allocation process. Faith-based institutions contribute towards the spiritual, moral and social well-being of communities. 

“The situation undermines the constitutional right to freedom of religion, association and equality, and contradicts the spirit of the Batho Pele principles, which promote fairness, service excellence and accountability in delivery and governance. We call for immediate intervention to address injustices and respect the rights of churches.”

The secretary of the PCLO, David Setilo, said pastors would stand firm in their plan to stage land grabs before Christmas if their demands were not met.

The chairperson of the municipality’s Spelum Committee, Frikkie Banda, accepted the memorandum and said they would provide a response within the next 14 days.