After a prolonged silence, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) has spoken out about the lease squabble with the current tenant of the Old Gaol Backpackers, Brian Peltason.
After a prolonged silence, the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) has spoken out about the lease squabble with the current tenant of the Old Gaol Backpackers, Brian Peltason.
Sahra has come out guns blazing against Peltason, accusing him of neglecting the historic building. In a statement released last week, Sahra Chief Executive Officer Sibongile Van Damme was quoted as saying that the Old Goal was “experiencing serious physical and infrastructural decay.”
According to Sahra, Peltason had been renting 26 rooms on the premises which he used as accomodation and a public bar for less than R3 000 per month.
“In return for this low rental they were required, in terms of the [verbal]lease agreement, to maintain the interior and exterior of the building in a good order and condition, including all windows, doors, the roofs and outside walls.
However, very little, if any, maintenance was done to the property and as a result it has fallen into an appalling state of disrepair,” said Van Damme.
When approached by Grocott’s Mail for comment Peltason said: “The landlord has been in the building with me for the past 10 years.
They can’t blame me for the disrepair of the building. The lease itself is questionable and it is with the lawyers at the moment.”
He refers to the fact that Sahra had, until recently, rented office space in the building itself, right next to the entrance to the backpackers.He told Grocott’s Mail that he had tried on numerous occasions to negotiate with Sahra, however his pleas fell on deaf ears.
“They’ve never ever wanted to sit at the table with me to talk about this. We’ve tried the negotiation process.
They want me out,” said Peltason. Regarding the rental, he said he has never been against increasing his monthly rental.
Sahra announced that they intend to use the Old Gaol as a heritage training centre. “The main focus of the centre will be to activate and maintain community participation in cultural resources management.
Heritage management is a cornerstone for rebuilding South Africa through reconciliation and building better communities.
There are considerable advantages in developing outreach programs that will change the perceptions of heritage management,” said Van Damme. The envisaged official launch date will be in September.
In a press statement it was written that the Rhodes Environmental Education Unit will assist Sahra in developing skills for “re-packaging the heritage content offered and skills they possess and other content from tertiary institutions into training support materials and tools that will be required for the technical training needs of provinces and municipalities.”
The statement further said the training will create opportunities for the community in terms of youth development anf heritage conservation.
