Friends of Plumstead Library has expressed its despondency at its seemingly futile efforts to engage with the City of Cape Town on the pending closure of the public facility located at Village Square.
In January, the City confirmed that, due to budget constraints, Plumstead library would close either at the end of February or March 2023.
At the time, Patricia van der Ross, Mayco member for community services and health, said the decision not to renew Plumstead library’s lease, taken on Wednesday 15 December last year during a full sitting of council, meant that the library would be closed, “in line with council’s decision to delimit external leases”.
Among the residents expressing their outrage at the news was Toni Balona, secretary of the Friends of Plumstead Library. In an appeal to the City to reconsider their decision, the Friends group contacted the local Ward 73 councillor’s office (Eddie Andrews) and requested for the community’s concerns to be included in the agenda of the monthly councillor meeting.
A petition, protesting the closure of the library, was also drawn up and circulated among residents for their signature.
“We have a poster at the Pick n Pay in Gabriel Road, and our petition has gone well. I think we have about 500 signatures,” says Balona.
However, she fears that the Friends group has reached a stalemate.
“I don’t hold much hope in changing the council’s mind. It’s a brick wall. I have spoken to Eddie Andrews and felt he was not interested in helping. I felt our conversation went nowhere; he kept telling me ‘they have options’,” she says.
Balona adds that the library’s new book allocation was also recently removed.
“So that’s telling you we are done,” she says.
People’s Post contacted Andrews for comment but at the time of going to print, none had been received.
The suggestion to consider the closure of Plumstead library, among other public libraries, was first made by the Department of Community Services and Health in a “report to the Executive Mayor together with the mayoral committee and council on the library and information services: reconfiguration of services”, dated (Tuesday) 21 September 2021.
The report also stated that it was “imperative that decisions with respect to the non-renewal of external leases be timeously taken to allow adequate time for engagement with the community”.
Asked in February what the City’s plans for community engagement were, Van der Ross said that the details of community engagement were being finalised and would be communicated to residents.
Balona says, to her knowledge, such a meeting has not yet happened.
“It was not advertised or notified.”
In the meantime, an article published in People’s Post’s sister publication claims that the City had failed to follow a proper public participation process in the pending closure of another public library – this one housed inside the Tygervalley Shopping Centre – has given rise to legal action.
Following the announcement of the imminent closure of this library (the facility was supposed to close at the end of April), a group of patrons officially started a group called The Friends of Tygervalley Library on Monday 4 April.
The group served a legal notice to the City on Friday 8 April, demanding council “take urgent steps to reverse its invalid decision on 15 December 2021 to terminate the library’s lease with the Tygervalley Centre”.
The letter stated that if it wasn’t done the group would approach the Western Cape High Court for urgent relief.
In correspondence seen by TygerBurger, the City confirmed it would not close Tygervalley library at the end of April, subject to urgent legal advice they had requested regarding the decision.
Asked last week when a public participation process would be held pertaining to the closure of Plumstead library, the City said they were in the process of determining next steps.
“Once these are finalised, the public will be engaged,” the City said.
With regards to budget allocation for Plumstead library, the City confirmed that a budget had been allocated for library materials for the 2022/23 financial year.
