PILGRIM’S REST – According to the executive head of AfriSake, Mr Cornelius Janse van Rensburg, the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) is continuing with its campaign to drive business owners from the town. This follows after it opposed an application to extend an existing interdict against the unilateral suspension of the lease agreements of business owners.
The application, originally set for December 9, has now been postponed to 2014 due to being opposed. Janse van Rensburg said the DPWRT still hadn’t furnished all documents related to a controversial tender process, as ordered by the Gauteng High Court in 2012. He said it seemed that the department wanted to prolong the proceedings to force business owners to give up, seeing as many were increasingly being negatively affected financially by the situation.
The DPWRT served the eviction notices on July 4 last year stating at the time that the concerned people had not responded to the advertised tender notice.
Tenants responded by turning to the court, assisted by AfriSake, the business section of civil rights group AfriForum.
Departmental spokesman, Mr David Nkambule, insisted that it had not withheld any documents.
Yesterday (Thursday) the department responded, “On December 5, 2012 the Office of the State Attorney delivered to the applicants’ attorneys of records; the documents as ruled by the court. The applicants were ordered to launch review proceedings within 30 days from receipt of the tender documents failing which the court order would lapse.
“After delivering the documents to the applicants’ attorneys, the state attorney did not receive any correspondence from the said attorneys up to date.”
