South Africa: Controversy over the location of Amazon headquarters
Audio 02:20
An Amazon hub in Staten Island, New York, April 5, 2021. (Photo illustration) Johannes Eisele AFP / Archivos
By: Romain Chanson Follow
6 mins
The Amazon group is preparing to build its headquarters for the African continent in the city of Cape Town in South Africa.
The online service and delivery giant will have its offices in a cluster of buildings consisting of offices, stores, housing and sports halls.
A village in the city and a boost for the economy of Cape Town, rejoiced the town hall.
She hopes for up to 19,000 indirect jobs.
But the chosen terrain is contested by part of the population.
Associations denounce the destruction of a natural area and a memorial site, a heritage of the first peoples.
Report at Cap de Romain Chanson.
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From the road, Edwin Angless observes the developments in progress on the private grounds of the River Club.
He is part of a neighborhood association that is fighting against a 15 hectare real estate project, a project on which Amazon must build its future African headquarters.
He denounces the destruction of an important wetland for the environment.
“It's almost a mini-village that they're going to build here, with apartment buildings going up to 10 stories. And so, this green part, between two rivers, they are going to fill it with concrete, to be able to build the headquarters of Amazon and other companies.
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The associations opposed to the project also underline the historical importance of the site.
The land was the scene of wars between the first peoples and the settlers.
For Tauriq Jenkins, one of the representatives of the descendants of the Khoïsan, this real estate project is a sacrilege:
"Rather than letting Amazon build its headquarters on our sacred land, why wouldn't the city of Cape Town make it a historic site that is protected and maintained in good condition?" A place where all South Africans could go and say: this is where it all started, this is the site of original sin. It is from here that we must resolve the question of reparations, the question of land. But what the city wants to do with it today is inhuman.
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Improvements will be devoted to the memory of the first inhabitants.
Nevertheless, the promoter's stubbornness in developing his project in this area is a lack of respect, believes Camille Meyer, professor at the University of Cape Town:
“I think that highlights the tensions that already exist: what is the place given to certain minorities or certain social groups compared to others. There we really see a confrontation between the economic imperative - because there is a huge economic imperative in South Africa; the youth unemployment rate is catastrophic - but the choice of the site is problematic because it is a sacred site, of great identity and cultural resonance for the Khoisan peoples and that I think is dramatic. "
Neither Amazon nor the developer wanted to respond to our interview requests.
The town hall refers to its press release which highlights the creation of more than 5,000 jobs for the construction phase alone.
The work should take between 3 and 5 years.
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