In March 2023, The Herald reported on a Gqeberha community’s desperate plea to save the building which had for decades housed their local post office.
The Gelvandale post office in Gail Road — just a stone’s throw from the Gelvandale police station — was being stripped by vandals after its closure a few years before.
Spearheading the campaign to save the building at the time, the Union of People Against Poverty wanted to ensure the post office did not become “just another eyesore in the northern areas”.
But it has become just that.
Instead of being saved, the building has slowly, but steadily, been stripped even further over the years.
Today, only a shell exists.
In May, communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi, who wants all abandoned properties owned by the SA Post Office to be turned into skills development centres, especially those in communities plagued by crime and drug abuse, visited the structure.
He described it as the worst he had seen.
Acknowledging the post office’s woes, with branches closing and staff being retrenched, Malatsi said it was sad to see government infrastructure in this state.
“It could be used to assist in tackling some social ills experienced in this community,” he said.
Now, an ambitious group of northern areas residents is turning the eyesore into an entertainment hub to foster the artistic talents of the youth in the area.
The group of about 50 volunteers from the Northern Star Creative Hub has started to clear the debris in and around the post office with the aim of establishing an open-area theatre to stage everything from concerts to poetry and jazz nights.
Led by Afda (African Film Drama Art) student and Barcelona resident Andrina Jantjies, the group hopes the project will emerge as a platform to expose the talent of youth.
Jantjies said they were grateful for all the volunteers.
“We realise that we face many challenges, but our commitment and eagerness will overcome any obstacle.”
And it is our hope that they do, indeed, overcome any and all obstacles — with the support of the immediate community.
We love what this group has envisioned for the site and cannot wait to see it being used by its rightful custodians, instead of vandals and criminals.
Let what has been, for the past few years, an unsightly crime den, become the breeding ground for our future stars from the northern areas.
The Herald
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