Have your say in renaming the Old Granary

The public has until Saturday September 30 to comment on the proposed renaming of the Old Granary building in Buitenkant Street, to the Desmond and Leah Tutu House.

The City’s deputy mayor and chairperson of the naming committee Eddie Andrews, encouraged residents to comment.

He said the City’s economic growth directorate, which oversees the Old Granary, made the proposal to rename the Old Granary building to honour and memorialise the life and work of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah Tutu.

At its meeting on Monday August 28, the City’s naming committee endorsed the initiative and subsequently, mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis gave the go-ahead to start with a participation process.

The City’s mayoral committee member for economic growth, James Vos, said the vision was to carry on the legacy of Desmond and Leah Tutu who have made notable contributions to the political and socio-cultural identity of Cape Town and South Africa, and are global icons for virtue and fortitude of character.

The Old Granary Building is the home of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation and the Archbishop Tutu Intellectual Property Trust.

The Old Granary was originally constructed between 1808 and 1813, and has lived many lives: as a bakery, a grain storage site for the Castle, a customs office, a women’s jail, a magistrate’s court, and an office for the Department of Public Works.

Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation CEO Janet Jobson said these multiple identities and layers of history have been beautifully preserved in the restoration of the building – which was done as a partnership with the City of Cape Town.

“For a few decades prior to its renovation, it had been lying derelict and vacant, without an appropriate use being identified. Around 2015, the City approached Archbishop Desmond Tutu to enquire whether he would be interested in using the building as a base for his Foundation – the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.”

She said when the suggestion was made, the Arch was excited to accept and felt it was a closing of the circle of history – that a building likely built by enslaved people, where slaves were traded, was being turned into a centre dedicated for peace.

The building is now used as a peace centre, archive centre, a museum, and City of Cape Town office space.

Ms Jobson said Archbishop Emeritus Tutu was one of the most iconic South Africans – having led the struggle against apartheid from his place in the clergy.

“He was a giant of moral courage, and left a powerful legacy. We were delighted to engage with the City around the potential to re-name the building. By dedicating the name of the building to Desmond and Leah Tutu, we will be noting the fundamental change of the building from one characterised by suffering and oppression, to one dedicated to peace and justice.”

She said as part of preserving the history of the Old Granary, the foundation hosts the Old Granary exhibition, which tells the story of the building and its role in the development of Cape Town across the centuries.

The Old Granary Exhibition, as well as the Truth to Power exhibition of Desmond Tutu’s life and impact, are open to the public from Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

To comment on the name change, send an email to naming@capetown.gov.za; visit www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay; or drop a written comment at the nearest Sub-council office or library.