Leadership denies receiving any financial compensation from property developers

By Aidan Jones

“As a community we need to strive to adapt to change, yet uphold our rich cultural and religious beliefs and practices,” said Yasin Moses, an executive member of the Bo-Kaap Youth Movement (BKYM), during its first press conference in Cape Town on Thursday.

“Our objective has never and will never be self enrichment … We want to contribute positively towards uplifting our community and help create sustainable opportunities for the future leaders of our community,” said Adnaan Oesman, BKYM chairperson. “We wish to find common ground with all community stakeholders to uplift our community and preserve our heritage.” He said BKYM was formed in May 2018 and registered as a non-profit company on 23 August 2018.

BKYM has recently been accused of receiving money for agreements made over the development of 40 Lion Street in Bo-Kaap by BLOK. The leadership denied this. “We the Bo-Kaap Youth Movement … can truthfully and honestly say that we have not accepted any compensation in any form whatsoever [from BLOK],” said Oesman.

“To date, the only agreement that we have with BLOK is to find a peaceful solution going forward,” he said. BLOK confirmed this in an email to GroundUp. “We feel that BLOK should contribute towards uplifting our community,” said Oesman.

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