Meyer backs high court application
Councillor Martin Meyer will be backing a high court application by Newmarket Stables members to get answers from the municipality.
WARD 27 Councillor, Martin Meyer, has accused the city of dodging his request for answers to questions he has raised around the lease agreement at the Newmarket Stables and Stables Lifestyle Market site.
Meyer said he was told last Tuesday afternoon that his question would be allowed on the agenda at a council meeting on Wednesday 30 September, despite being told days before by Speaker, Logie Naidoo, that his question would not be allowed as it had also been rejected at the previous meeting of council. Naidoo had rejected the question on a technical issue.
“When the question came up at the council meeting last Wednesday, Naidoo refused to answer the question claiming the matter was sub judice. When I said this was not possible as there was no case on the matter, he said there may be and would not respond. This makes a mockery of the sub judice law. I was told to take the question to the city manager, and then he shut me down. I want to know what the municipality is hiding. My question is plain and simple, I just want to know whether a lease has actually been signed between the municipality and Hoy Park, and whether due process was followed,” he said.
Meyer said he would now submit a PAIA application on behalf of the DA, but this could take up to six months, time which they don't have.
“I will be sending through all my information to Nadine Parker to support her High Court application. It is unacceptable that the City Manager is holding back information that should be in the public domain. It is shocking that they can keep secret public information regarding a valuable piece of lan. There is no legal reason for this. If they are trying so hard to hide something, then I'm afraid this whole deal smells very fishy. I won't let this go and I will keep digging,” he said.
Nadine Parker, who is fighting council's eviction of tenants at Newmarket Stables and Stables Lifestyle Market is currently making an application to the High Court in an attempt to get answers to the concerns raised over the Stables controversy.
