Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has let it slip that the controversial sale of the Good Hope Centre is no longer set to go to a Nigerian church.
Speaking in an interview with community talk station Radio 786, he revealed that the City is now considering the second-highest bidder, a Muslim institution, to acquire the property.
Before that revelation, when he was asked whether the City would be reviewing the sale, Hill-Lewis explained that the sale to the original highest bidder fell through because of financial constraints.
“It’s not that we’re reviewing the sale, it’s the person… I don’t think that the person actually had the money that they said they had and so they were unable to pay for it,” said Hill-Lewis.
News of Good Hope Centre’s auction came under public and political scrutiny, especially after Pastor John Anosike of Spirit Revelation Ecclesia announced that his church had bought the property.
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After noting that the centre would not be “taken over by a Nigerian church”, Hill-Lewis then disclosed that the City was considering the second-highest bidder.
“The first highest bidder was a church, the second highest bidder was a mosque.”
He added that the church’s winning bid was R135 million, while the Muslim institution offered R130 million.
Hill-Lewis also noted that the second bidder’s development proposal includes affordable accommodation on the site, addressing criticism that housing had not been incorporated into the original plans.
“Now we start to go through the money checks, and everything for the second bidder. Let’s now hope that they do have the finances to,” said Hill-Lewis.
The City of Cape Town says it is currently reviewing an external due diligence report on the Good Hope Centre’s bidding process.
“A full report will serve before the relevant Council structure in due course. The City is unable to comment further on bidders or process details while this is under consideration.”
This article has been updated to include comment from the City of Cape Town.
