Court settles sisters’ dispute with mall developers

March 16, 2009 Edition 1

Karen Breytenbach

Source: Cape Times

THE Western Cape High Court has settled a long-running dispute between the developers of a shopping mall in Gugulethu and a small business that was evicted from the former Eyona Mall to make way for the new R300 million development.

The opposing parties, new land owners West Side Trading 600 Pty Ltd and SS Skhoma’s Butchery, which had occupied the site in NY3 for 25 years and is run by sisters Thandiswa Kama and Noluthando Koyana, clashed in the Cape High Court last Wednesday.

West Side Trading brought an application to evict the butchery, while the butchery sought to interdict the City of Cape Town, small business financers Business Partners, Khula Enterprise Finance, Khula Business Premises, West Side Trading and property developer Mzoli Ngcauzele, who owns the popular Mzoli’s Place butchery and braai restaurant.

The property was legally transferred to West Side on January 14 from the previous property owner, Khula Business Premises, which had its lease agreement with the butchery cancelled before the changeover.

SS Skhoma’s Butchery refused to vacate the premises, backed by the Anti-Eviction Campaign, whose members protested against the development on behalf of small business owners who felt their demands had not been met by the developers.

The sisters did not oppose the development, but argued that they should have been given the right to buy the land.

After looking at the papers filed by both parties and meeting their legal representatives, Judge Anton Veldhuizen ordered the butchery to vacate the premises by March 31.

Veldhuizen ordered that Skhoma’s be temporarily relocated to premises provided by West Side, either in the nearby Cuba building or any other suitable premises, at West Side’s expense. This would include West Side relocating and storing the butchery’s equipment and movables at premises they provided.

The butchery is to be housed in the relocated premises until the new 32 000-square-metre mall is completed, possibly by the end of September.

Up until the completion of the mall, West Side has to pay the rent for the relocated premises. West Side is also ordered to offer the butchery suitable premises in the new mall so that it can carry on with its butchery and braai business.

If and when Skhoma’s moves into the new mall, it will be entitled to pay the same rent it paid to Eyona, for the first 18 months. After that the rent can be adjusted to market rates.

West Side will also make 5 percent of its share capital available to the former Eyona tenants.

It was recorded that this order was a full and final settlement of all claims and disputes between the parties on this issue. Each party was ordered to pay its own costs.

karen.breytenbach@inl.co.za