City celebrates Mama Leah Tutu’s birthday at Granary Building

14 October 2017

The City’s Mayoral Committee for Assets and Facilities Management, Councillor Stuart Diamond
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Area North, Councillor Suzette Little
City councillors
Our guest of honour, Mama Leah Tutu and the Arch
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation CEO, Mbulelo Bikwani
Foundation staff and guests
Members of the media

Good morning,

It is my great honour to be with you all on the birthday of a woman I have great respect and admiration for, our dear Mama Leah Tutu.

Mama, happy birthday from all of Cape Town. We are indeed honoured to have you and the Arch in our midst as icons of peace and reconciliation.

Just a week ago, we celebrated the Arch’s birthday and today it is your day. I wish you a blessed and wonderful year ahead.

Thank you for being a woman who we can all look up to: strong, dignified and always cheerful.

Thank you for your contribution to our country and for standing by the Arch over many, many years through it all and thank you for sharing the Arch with us.

I also extend my thanks to the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation for their R12 million contribution to the restoration of the Granary Building.

Today we are standing in what will soon be the home of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation’s Peace Centre.

In September 2014, the City of Cape Town Council resolved to lease the 204-year-old Old Granary Building to the Foundation for this purpose.

The Granary has come full circle from a very disturbing past, including being a women’s prison and having gone through world wars.

It has been the backdrop to a changing society – from our colonial past marked by slavery and hurt, through to the divisive apartheid regime, and finally seeing the start of our vibrant democracy.

The Granary will no longer be just the 17th century bakery or the late 1820s building that was used as a ‘House of Correction’ for women when the Cape Town jail could no longer accommodate the increasing number of incarcerated women. The increase was apparently due to local constabulary being told not to beat women.

In the past, the building was also used as a Customs House, a court and police office, a granary, a post office, and offices for the Public Works Department.

The building has undergone a great deal of restoration which did not plaster over the building’s history, but preserved its historic characteristics.

The refurbishment of the building commenced in March 2016 and is on track to be completed by mid-November 2017.

We have worked very hard on the restoration and I want to thank all of the people involved in the work.

Much of the historical restoration work involved the delicate cleaning of ancient plaster and painted surfaces, sometimes exposing old graffiti on the walls – an example being the ship in one of the exhibition rooms on ground floor.

The historic building was re-plastered using a lime plaster to allow the ancient clay bricks to breathe.

Old timber windows and doors were serviced back to working order. Existing timber floors were repaired where necessary and cleaned carefully by hand using a natural product.

The newly restored building’s front courtyard where the olive tree will be planted today as a symbol of peace will reflect the desire for a meditation and contemplation garden and stand as a distinct monument to the life work of the Arch and Mama Leah.

Although many additions and changes have taken place to the entire building over 200 years, the historic façade which faces Buitenkant Street remains intact.

The use of the Granary Building as a peace centre is indeed an exciting turning point in our history and that of this building.

The building will now be a beacon of reconciliation and a testament to the Arch and Mama Leah’s sheer force of will to build an inclusive and caring society.

The Granary will house the Foundation’s offices, which include exhibition space, an archive, boardrooms, a tearoom and a media room, as well as spaces for non-governmental organisations involved in peace work.

The lease of the Granary to the Foundation will strengthen its work of using its resources and voices to spread a message of hope and Ubuntu to promote the flourishing of people and our planet through forgiveness and reconciliation with respect, integrity and joy.

This is indeed in line with our commitment to building a caring and inclusive city through promoting peace, tolerance and reconciliation.

We are building a Cape Town where we remember our past, but design our own shared future and where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

To help us on this mission, we can draw wisdom and guidance from giants such as Tata Madiba, the Arch, Mama Leah and the many other heroes of our struggle for freedom and democracy.

The Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation Peace Centre is committed to creating a society that nurtures tolerance and understanding among all people. This embodies the City’s own commitment to redress the ills of our colonial and apartheid history.

The Arch and Mama Leah’s legacy acts as a constant reminder of all that we wanted to be and could become if only we embrace the principle of reconciliation.

As we celebrate this new chapter today, may we all be reminded of our collective duty to emulate the examples of the Arch and Mama Leah and constantly strive for peace and reconciliation between ourselves and others.

In doing so, we will make greater strides in building a caring and inclusive city.

Thank you and God bless.

End

Published by: