Dam shore 'exclusion'

HARTIES ROW: NOISE COMPLAINTS AMPLIFY RACIAL FAULT LINES >>> Black festivals policed, white parties pass without any protests - claim.

- Sipho Mabena

The low-key “race war” waged on the shores of the North West's Hartbeespoort Dam is far from over, with claims of human rights abuses now extending beyond land leases to noise complaints against black-owned establishments.

A resident, speaking anonymously, said that for the past 18 months, weekends have been dominated by “thunderous” live music at Legacy on the Dam, continuing into the early hours of Sunday.

“These disturbances directly infringe on rights to dignity, privacy, and an environment not harmful to health or well-being, rights that apply irrespective of race,” he said.

The resident argued this reflected a broader pattern of regulatory noncompliance compounded by ineffective enforcement.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) finding of systemic racial discrimination and administrative failures in the allocation of state-owned land along the dam shoreline, where black applicants were sidelined in favour of white occupants.