Dear Editor
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is opposed to the sale, lease, or donation of the Pretoria City Hall to the Embassy of Iran to establish a so-called ‘cultural centre’.
From correspondence released last week, it is clear that Iran is not interested in a plan to revive the City Hall. Rather, it wants the City to ‘consider contributing a parcel of a municipal building’.
Why Tshwane would even consider gifting, or otherwise alienating, a historical cultural asset to a foreign government is beyond comprehension. All this is made worse by the initial denials by the Iranian Embassy that it has approached the city.
In the letter of 9 May 2025 to the Tshwane MMC responsible for property management Kholofelo Morudi, the Embassy touts various social and economic benefits of such a ‘cultural centre’.
This is apparently what prompted the MMC to give Iranian officials a tour of City Hall. But the benefits of Iran’s offer are dubious, at best.
Iran has a far stronger relationship with the ANC than it does with the South African people. Iranian investment in South Africa is minuscule compared, for example, with the United States.
For decades the ANC has confused its own interests with South Africa’s national interests. Their close proximity to Iran is one of the factors that has complicated our country’s relationship with the US.
The US, South Africa’s second largest trading partner, has an enormous stake in the automotive sector that provides tens of thousands of jobs to Tshwane residents.
Currently our country is, or ought to be, in negotiations with the United States to shore up the relationship between our countries. South African’s capital city should not undermine these efforts.
Regards
Ald Cilliers Brink
DA Tshwane Caucus Leader