GOOD press statement by Suzette Little,
GOOD: City of Cape Town Councillor
03 April 2022
Three years after the City of Cape Town promised to amend its noise by-laws to exclude the Muslim call to prayer from the definition of “noise disturbance”, the amendment hasn’t been made.
The City’s website continues to include “Church singing/bells” and “Calls to Mosque” as examples of “noise disturbance” – alongside nightclubs and industrial noise.
In an effort to force the City to fulfil its promise, the GOOD Party has submitted a formal proposal to amend the By-Law relating to Street, Public Places, and the Prevention of Noise Nuisance.
The matter has been outstanding since May 2019, when, in the middle of the holy month of Ramadaan, a noise disturbance complaint was lodged against the 100-year-old Zeenatul Mosque in District Six for the call to prayer, the Athaan.
The City’s leadership publicly promised to provide for an exemption from noise control regulations for the Athaan and church bells.
To date this has not happened, and there has been no indication that the amendment is under consideration.
GOOD has therefore proposed that the amended Section 3 of the by-law reads as follows:
- No person shall in a public place—
(a) cause or permit to be caused a disturbance by shouting, screaming, or making any other loud or persistent noise or sound, including amplified noise or sound; or
(b) Permit noise from a private residence or business to be audible in a public place, except for the purposes of loudspeaker announcements for public meetings or due to the actions of street entertainers.
(c) Places of worship, such as churches and mosques, operating lawfully in terms of the Cape Town Planning By-Law and its Zoning Scheme, shall be exempted from the provisions of the WESTERN CAPE NOISE CONTROL REGULATIONS and from the provisions of this by-law, for the purposes of religious sounds of calls to prayer, ringing of bells and singing.
In the absence of City leadership on these matters, GOOD further undertakes to submit a separate motion dealing with those parts of the by-law which victimise homeless people.
GOOD will propose a motion providing for a more holistic solution to address the reasons why people migrate to the street and begin to develop a dignified and humane reintegration process.
The homeless spoke for themselves in 2016, but their words fell on deaf ears. We look forward to sharing not only the amended by-law but our solution to an enduringly difficult human problem in Cape Town and many other cities around the world.
Media enquiries:
Suzette Little, GOOD: City of Cape Town Councillor
Cell: 073 321 5036
Email: suzettel@forgood.org.za
Samkelo Mgobozi, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 079 231 5977 (whatsapp) / 082 968 4021 (calls)
Email: samm@forgood.org.za