“The sale of the building to a developer will allow for positive change within Kimberley’s CBD.”
THE HOME of the DFA for the past 36 years, on the corner of Bean and Villiers streets in Kimberley’s CBD, has been sold, allowing for the property to be developed for the greater good of the city and its people.
Since the relocation of the printing press to Johannesburg in 1999 the building has been totally underutilised and the option to sell it has been in the pipeline for several years.
Editor of the DFA, Johan du Plessis, stated that the sale of the building is just another positive development in the rich history of the newspaper. “The days of big newspaper houses are over as newspapers and media organisations adapt to a changing world,” he said.
“The sale of the building to a developer will allow for positive change within Kimberley’s CBD. We hope that the former home of the DFA will become a beacon of hope in our city as we all work towards developing our beloved Kimberley.”
The building was purchased by Maponya Investment Holdings and the company stated that more details on its development would be revealed soon.
The DFA has had several “homes” in Kimberley.
In 1878, when it was established, the DFA could be found on the corner of Stockdale and Du Toitspan Road. Just a year later it moved to the corner of Chapel and Du Toitspan and in 1901 it relocated to the corner of Stockdale and Market.
Nearly 50 years later, in 1949, it again moved, this time to the corner of Chapel and Currey streets. The corner of Permanent Way and Woodley Street became its home in 1961 before the newspaper relocated to Northern Cape Printers, on the corner of Bean and Villiers streets, in 1985.
Since then, as the printing industry changed across the world, the old Northern Cape Printers scaled down its operations, finally resulting in the last print press being moved to The Star in Johannesburg.
“The DFA relocating to other premises is nothing new. We have done so several times during its 143-year history. We view the sale of the building as a great opportunity for the DFA to move forward and we will find a new home that we can adapt to our vision and future plans,” Du Plessis said.
“I want to stress that we are going nowhere. The DFA is here to stay. We will remain the champion of the people. Although we have gone from a daily publication to a weekly publication, we have grown on other platforms.
“We have one of the biggest Facebook following in the Province with more than 85 000 people getting breaking news delivered to their devices. More than 3.5 million unique users have visited our website at www.dfa.co.za – where we bring you the latest news . . . all at your fingertips,” Du Plessis said.
He, however, added that “print is definitely not dead” .
“We still produce a weekly newspaper in an environment where many have closed doors. Next month the DFA will produce an exceptional supplement, celebrating Kimberley’s 150th birthday and we have plans in place to ensure that the future of the newspaper is bright and sustainable.”
He thanked all the newspaper’s readers and advertisers for their loyal support. “Your support allows us to do what we do well and that is to keep the people of our Province informed.”
Sandy Naude, CEO of Africa Community Media, publishers of the DFA, said that the company is delighted that Maponya Investment Holdings has elected to invest in Kimberley.
She thanked the residents of the city for their ongoing support as well as the DFA’s staff for their dedication and commitment.
“It is a privilege to be caretakers of the DFA’s legacy and we look forward to another chapter in its journey,” said Naude.
Further details on the relocation of the DFA will be released in the near future.
