On Monday, October 19 the Minister for Public Works, Dean Macpherson, and MEC for Public Works, Martin Meyer, had to cancel a property lease handover in Ramsgate where six properties were going to be given leases by the department.

At the 11th hour, on Sunday October 18, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality filled for a court interdict stopping the department from doing this.

The matter was attended in Durban High Court and a ruling has been made.

Below are statements from both the department and RNM.

MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

PUBLIC WORKS CLEARS THE WAY FOR SIX SOUTH COAST BUSINESS
PROPERTIES TO SECURE THEIR FUTURE

Six South Coast businesses can now operate under their new leases after the Durban
High Court cleared the way to do so after a previous interdict obtained by Ray
Nkonyeni Municipality.

The municipality has agreed to resolve the remaining dispute through mediation, which
is the engagement the departments sought before the matter went to court.

Jobs and investment at the six facilities are no longer on hold.

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, and the KwaZulu-Natal
MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, Martin Meyer, welcome today’s order of the Durban
High Court.

The order clears six coastal businesses to trade under the leases concluded with the provincial
Department after a landmark decision by the Minister to revoke operation of the properties by
the municipality after years of mismanagement in favour of the Provincial Government.

On Sunday, 18 October 2026, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality obtained an interdict without the
departments being heard or participating. The interdict halted a lease handover that business
owners had waited years for. The Departments immediately moved to challenge it after they
vowed to protect and defend businesses from abuse and uncertainty. Today, before the matter
was argued, the municipality agreed to an order removing the following six facilities from the
interdict:

• Palm Lagoon Leisure Centre / Jolly Joker Fun Pub & Grub, Hibberdene
• Marlin Ski Boat Club, Port Edward
• Tea House Blue Lagoon / Blue Lagoon Restaurant, Ramsgate
• Shelly Beach and Protea Ski Boat Club, Shelly Beach
• Southbroom Riptide Restaurant, Southbroom
• Trattoria La Terrazza, Umkobi Beach, Southbroom
  

The municipality has also agreed to refer the remaining questions about the 2016 Property Management Agreement and certain properties to mediation and, if necessary, arbitration. “Our door has always been open. We tried to engage the municipality long before this went to court,” said Minister Macpherson.

“It is unfortunate that it took an urgent court application and a cancelled handover to get here. Regrettably, this has also wasted local ratepayers andnational taxpayers’ hard-earned money on unnecessary legal costs. What matters today isthat six businesses, and the people who work in them, can get on with trading and even begin to hire more workers. Public assets must work for the people of the South Coast, not sit tied up in red tape and wasteful court cases.”

“These business owners were standing in Ramsgate ready to sign when the interdict landed and invest in their town. Today they have the certainty they need,” said MEC Meyer. “The provincial Department will contact each of the six tenants directly. We welcome the municipality’s agreement to sit around the table. That is where this should have been resolved from the start, and we will participate in good faith.” As the remaining issues are now subject to mediation, the Departments will not comment further on the merits of the dispute.

MEDIA STATEMENT BY RAY NKONYENI MUNICIPALITY

The Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality welcomes the court’s clarification of its order, and notes that the order granted 18 October 2026 has not been rescinded, reconsidered or set aside. Rather, the court has confirmed that the dispute between the parties must be resolved through the dispute-resolution mechanisms agreed upon by the parties and contemplated by cooperative governance principles including mediation and, if necessary, arbitration. 

The court’s variation order does not determine the merits of the dispute. Instead, it reinforces the requirement that the parties engage constructively in an effort to resolve the issues relating to the cancellation of the Admiralty Reserve Property Management Agreement and the ownership of the disputed properties. The court has directed the parties to appoint a mediator and, should mediation fail, to refer the matter to arbitration. 

Importantly, the court has only varied the interim restraint in respect of six operational commercial facilities that had already been leased. This limited variation was granted to avoid prejudice to existing tenants and businesses operating from those premises while the dispute is being resolved. The variation therefore serves a practical purpose and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the validity of the leases, which remains disputed by the Applicant. 

The court further safeguarded the interests of all parties by requiring that rental income generated from the affected properties be properly accounted for pending the outcome of the dispute. In practical terms, the revenue derived from these leases must be preserved and accounted for until the mediation and arbitration processes have been concluded and the rights of the parties finally determined. 

The Municipality remains committed to the principles of cooperative governance and believes that the dispute should be resolved in accordance with the framework established by the Intergovernmental Relations Act, which encourages organs of state to resolve disputes through engagement and mediation before resorting to prolonged litigation. We therefore call upon all stakeholders to respect the court process and allow the dispute-resolution mechanisms now directed by the court to run their course. The focus remains on achieving a lawful, fair and sustainable resolution that protects public assets, respects the rule of law and avoids unnecessary disruption to businesses and tenants operating from the affected properties.

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