Centurion residents question metro inaction on ‘trouble business’
For an owner of an establishment in Centurion, despite having been served non-compliance notices by the metro, it is business as usual to the frustration of complainants in the neighbourhood.
Residents in Centurion want to know why an establishment for functions at 241 Jean Avenue in Die Hoewes, is still doing business as usual despite a prohibition notice issued by the metro.
A notice was issued to the owner on August 14 under the Gauteng Noise Control Regulations as well as metro health regulations.
According to Nhlanhla Lebese, environmental health practitioner in Region 4, in line with the Certificate of Acceptability for General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the metro inspected the premises on August 21.
Lebese said their findings identified non-compliance with food premises standards and this led “to the issuance of a prohibition notice to Jay’s African Cuisine on August 14”.
According to Lebese, the premises must remain prohibited from trading until further notice.
However, the owner of the premises has refused to sign and acknowledge receipt of the notices the metro issued.
Lebese further assured that:
– further investigations and monitoring will be conducted as needed until the matter is fully resolved,
– regular updates will be provided to the complainants regarding the progress of the investigation and
– referrals to other departments will be done concerning other contraventions identified during the investigation.
Despite Lebese’s reassurances in August, residents said on December 8 they were once again met with very loud music until the early morning hours and the establishment still provides food.
One of the residents, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said on December 9 that “the establishment does not have a licence or have the approval to erect structures for events, but they still erect tents. They do not have approval or permission to arrange events, yet they still do”.
“They are arranging and advertising events and the sale of food on their Facebook page. They are advertising the cost per person, R150 admission fee for hosting events they do not have permission or approval for,” the resident explained.
Despite non-compliance with food premises standards that were identified, leading to the issuance of a prohibition notice to the establishment, “they still provide food. The international owner of the building is trying to get them evicted but they refuse to vacate the premises”.
“It seems the metro police cannot arrest the owner on any of the above-mentioned points. Why can this not be done?”
The owner of the establishment, Jay Tjale told Rekord on December 11 that “as an establishment, we do not wish to cause any disruption to the community and we are deeply sorry to hear of these claims. At our establishment there is no music played from Monday to Thursday, we only plug music from Fridays until Sundays”.
He explained that the establishment does not even own a music system.
“It comes with our supplier when we hire it and they tune the sound as per guidelines. It may happen that from time to time the level may need readjusting and for this, we deeply apologise. We have implemented a lot of corrective measures to ensure compliance. The sound is something I will continue to personally monitor closely to ensure that we do not go above the agreed level,” said Tjale.
He pointed out that they have had members of the police randomly visit their establishment since August and found nothing out of line.
“So all the complaints you heard about are from jealous people. All we wish for is to trade peacefully and within the regulatory requirements,” said Tjale.
He did lay a complaint after he felt that a compliance raid by authorities late in August was uncalled for but has heard nothing in response.
“I felt less stringent methods could and should have been employed to achieve the purpose,” said Tjale. “They came and saw that I was complying. I do not understand why this thing is continuing.
I always comply with the law and even when we do big events, I actually involve the police to come so that none of our clients are robbed or hijacked. My business is also on business premises and not run from the street. I have been in Centurion since 2007 and know all the regulations of this place, we do not play music loudly after midnight. I don’t sell drugs. I am just a black businessman trying to survive while giving jobs to 35 people. I really don’t know what is going on,” said Tjale.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo told Rekord on December 10 that “although intricate and complex, the matter is receiving the necessary attention from the city, through an integrated and interdepartmental approach”.
He reassured the residents and complainants that the metro is doing everything to ensure that the matter is resolved.
“The matter in question may look like it is taking a bit longer to resolve, however, all reasonable steps are being taken to ensure that a sustainable and legally sound solution is found in favour of ratepayers. We can confirm that steps are at an advanced stage to ensure that the contravener is brought to book,” said Mashigo.
He emphasised that the city does not tolerate any non-compliance to its by-laws or other pieces of legislation and encouraged citizens to report such cases as these.
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