Rumours unfounded that Cradlestone is crumbling

The management of Cradlestone Mall would like to set the record straight after unjust rumours surfaced, which have the potential to cause great damage to the super mall’s reputation.

In February the NEWS was made aware of a few problems occurring at the mall. The allegations came from several tenants and shoppers, and an investigation followed.

One of the allegations is that the mall literally is crumbling at its seams and that the mall has not been issued with a health and safety certificate, which meant they were operating illegally. It also was alleged that the tenants were not happy about the lack of business and that they were suing the mall’s management for damages. After the allegations were brought to management’s attention, a meeting between them, the NEWS as well as Sasol Pension Funds’ Rupert Pohl was arranged.

NEWS Editor Janine Viljoen decided to visit the mall before the meeting commenced to see for herself whether the allegations rang true.

Apart from some infrastructure maintenance work being done outside in the open parking area and to the entrance at Woolworths, Viljoen could not identify any real crumbling issues. The mall also was fairly busy for a Wednesday afternoon.

Before the meeting started, mall management consisting of the general manager Cara Grobler, marketing manager Marie Coetsee and operations manager Frikkie Kemp, assured the NEWS that they had an open-door policy with their shoppers as well as their tenants. Their understanding was that their tenants were fairly happy with the number of ‘feet’ entering the mall and that despite the nationwide economic slump, business would pick up.

Furthermore, Pohl assured Viljoen that the mall did indeed have an Occupational Certificate that was issued by Mogale City. Viljoen has a copy of the certificate in her possession. Pohl also stated that the mall had a Fire Clearance Certificate issued by the West Rand District Municipality as well as a certificate from the Structural Engineering. If they did not have these certificates, the mall would not have been allowed to trade.

Commenting on the maintenance work being done in and around the mall, Pohl said that this was routine work. After opening the mall in November 2013, they realised that some of the design elements did not mesh well and after three months of operations, they decided to make a few changes.

These changes include upgrading some of the entrances of the mall, taking better precaution against heavy rainfall and doing general upkeep.

Pohl felt that for shoppers and tenants to see these operations as a sign that the mall was falling to pieces was unwise and that they took these types of allegations very seriously.

Pohl invited shoppers, tenants and other sceptics to contact the management of the mall directly if they have any problems.

He said that if a problem was lodged with the management team personally, they would assist wherever possible.

“We built this mall because it is what the community wanted and we strive to be above the rest since we have built it on the moral values of the Cradle of Humankind” said Pohl.