{"id":858986,"date":"2026-05-01T17:57:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=858986"},"modified":"2026-05-01T18:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T16:00:03","slug":"close-knit-community-in-south-africas-billionaire-town-says-enough-is-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/858986\/close-knit-community-in-south-africas-billionaire-town-says-enough-is-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Close-knit community in South Africa’s billionaire town says “enough is enough”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jamestown residents, a close-knit community with a rich heritage on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, are unhappy with how they are treated by the municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamestown, also known as Webersvallei, is a tranquil settlement on the southern side of Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is nestled beside the renowned Blaauwklippen Vineyards and is known for its blend of residential and agricultural landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the highlights of the year is the Jamestown Strawberry Festival, which draws visitors from across the province to celebrate its farming heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010, a heritage committee was established to preserve Jamestown’s history, restore historical buildings, and participate in local festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite Jamestown\u2019s charming appeal, all is not well in the community. Many residents are unhappy with recent developments from the Stellenbosch municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, 1 May 2026, the Jamestown Action Group organised a protest to hand over a memorandum to the Stellenbosch mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group is tired of municipal mismanagement, safety concerns about temporary relocation accommodation (TRA) in the area, and the loss of its heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BusinessTech spoke to residents at the protest, who said that they were sidelined by the Stellenbosch municipality because they are not rich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One community member raised concerns about the pressures of rapid urban development and gentrification on Jamestown\u2019s social fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told BusinessTech that their voices are ignored by the Stellenbosch municipality as they are considered sub-economic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that their heritage and community are under attack and that they are being torn apart by decisions made by the municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong community support for the Jamestown Action Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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There is strong support for the Jamestown Action Group, with many Stellenbosch residents sharing their concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite this support, the Stellenbosch municipality is accused of sidelining the Jamestown community when it comes to decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A community leader said that Jamestown\u2019s fight is everyone\u2019s fight. \u201cAll the little towns are systematically broken down to make space for bigger complexes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We spoke to the Stellenbosch mayor last year. He had a few nice words about our concerns, but nothing happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One community member said that they are never approached when decisions which influence them are made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe municipality claims that they publish the plans, but we never see them, and they never discuss these plans with us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another community member at the protest said that they are tired of becoming a place for squatters, which hurts the Jamestown community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite voicing their concerns, the municipality is accused of moving ahead with its plans without considering Jamestown residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday\u2019s march substantiates that the Stellenbosch Municipality does not pay much attention to the Jamestown Action Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said that although the peaceful protest was arranged well in advance to hand over the petition to the mayor, he did not arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jamestown Action Group said that the mayor confirmed that he would be available to accept the petition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe did not pitch, and neither did he send his deputy or any of his cabinet members. This is disrespect of the highest order,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jamestown Action Group protest photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jamestown residents, a close-knit community with a rich heritage on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, are unhappy with how they are treated by the municipality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":858989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[25318,25317,25320,25321,25319],"class_list":["post-858986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-blaauwklippen-vineyards","tag-jamestown","tag-jamestown-action-group","tag-stellenbosch-municipality","tag-webersvallei"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858986"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859012,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858986\/revisions\/859012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}