Somali business owners challenge Council

eMBALENHLE – Mr Henry Masango, head of marketing and communication, said the Govan Mbeki Municipality executes their duties in terms of relevant laws and that they are doing that without fear, favour and prejudice.

He said this after Somali shop owners have blamed the Govan Mbeki Municipality of inequality, corruption and unfair treatment.

The shop owners raised these concerns after five shops belonging to them were bulldozed in Extension 15 and 16 in last July by the council, because they were allegedly built illegally on residential stands without approved plans.

Mr Mohamud Mohamed, Somali spokesman, said they decided to buy containers from which they could run their business, but the municipality disconnected the electricity to the containers which led to the closing of the shops.

He said they did not understand why the electricity was disconnected, because the containers were not permanent structures and in the same street where the containers were located, two other shops were operated from containers.

Mr Masango said whoever was coming up with allegations of inequality, corruption and unfair treatment must prove it or contact the relevant structures dealing with such issues.

“It is true that in July five shops, all in Extension 15, we demolished after notices in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977 were served to the owners of the stands and were ignored.

“A case was opened with the police.

“The tuck shop policy of the municipality 6.4 (6.4.12) states: In cases where tuck shops are to be run out of a temporary structures, approval needs to be gained from the local authority for the use of a temporary structure and the said container did not have approval by the municipality to operate, that was why it was ordered to stop trading.”

Mr Mohamed said he does not understand the way the municipality is operating.

“Should we bribe someone to run our businesses?

“We are not committing any crime, but are trying to make a living for ourselves and our families.

“We showed the municipal officials our electricity bills and prove of payment, but they continued to disconnect our electricity.”

Mr Masango said the municipality is the only legal electricity supply authority and no one is allowed to supply electricity to any person without approval.

“A decision was taken in 2013 that the supply of more than one meter on one stand should seize.

“On inspection we discovered that stand number 15426 in Extension 15 had two electricity connections, one to the house and the other one to the illegal temporary structure that was built.

“Municipal officials from the energy section confiscated the other meter which despite being paid for, was illegal.

“The owner was then referred to the senior technician who authorised the issuing of two meters on one stand.

“He admitted that it was an oversight that the approval was granted.”

He said the said shop in a temporary structure was not operational and on inspection was stopped and that other shops that are still operational, were there prior to the enactment.

“At a meeting called by General Kekana, Col Mntungwa and CPF chairperson on 16 June 2014 the municipal regional manager explained to all the businessmen who were there that they must henceforth cease to build new tuck shops before they are approved by the municipality.

“One section of the businessmen then staged a walkout saying they did not like what we were telling them. It was later stated that those who staged the walkout were Somalians.

“The police also complained about foreign nationals who are fighting among themselves and the rate of crime created by these shops that are in close proximity to one another.”

Mr Mohamed said they walked out of the meeting in June because of a language barrier, because officials and the police were speaking in Zulu instead of English.

He said they were also threatened by one of the top officials and politicians in the area who told them that they will never run their shops as long as he is still in power.

He alleged some municipal officials and members of the local Community Policing Forum and Sector Crime were influenced by an Ethiopian businessman to carry out the operation.

“The demolishing of shops came after we had begun building shops in an extension dominated by shops owned the Ethopian businessman.

“Why can Ethopian shops run from containers, but ours are closed?

“It does not make sense,” said Mohamed.

Mr Masango said in the execution of their duties as municipal officials they do not deal with a particular nationality, but with everyone.

He also said the the allegations that they Somali shop owners were threatened by a top official and politician were not true.

“These are blatant lies, we took a resolution as the region that we don’t communicate with the shop owners as they are not registered with the Municipality but we only communicate with the owners of the stands where the tuck shops are.

“The foreign nationals constantly come to the regional manager’s offices who consistently tell them that they cannot be given an audience since they are not legal owners of these properties.

“They have on a number of occasions tried to bribe the officials of the region and that is being resisted at all costs.”

Mr Mohamed said after the incident, they filed a case of malicious damage of property at the Secunda Police Station against the municipality and the case was then transferred to the eMbalenhle Police Station.

He said nothing has been done yet and they do not know whether the case will continue.

Capt Magonseni Nkosi, police spokesman, said the case is still under investigation and that they received instructions from the court which they were following.

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