Newmarket traders’ livelihoods still hang in the balance
Traders at Stables Lifestyle Market say they are still uncertain of their future almost two years after eviction notices were handed to land managers, Glen Eden Trading 31.
ALMOST two years after being handed eviction notices, stallholders at the Stables Lifestyle Market say they are still anxious and uncertain about what the future holds. Land managers, Glen Eden Trading 31 were given notice to evict the premises to make way for the establishment of a football academy.
An attorney representing Glen Eden Trading 31, addressed media at a meeting at her offices in Umhlanga recently. She confirmed her clients were continuing their battle with eThekwini Municipality to keep the Stables Lifestyle Market in operation.
The attorney, Tashya Giyapersad, presented the background to the case saying the focus was to oppose eviction, and said she felt they had an airtight case against the municipality.
The proposal is for Glen Eden Trading as well as the Newmarket Stables to make way for an international sports development centre with a football academy to be built in the Kings Park Precinct by Hoy Park Management (Pty) Ltd, who were awarded the tender by the municipality. The initial tender was to the value of R70 million, but this has now somehow increased to R700 million.
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Giyapersad said her clients were lawful occupants of the premises and that the city had sought to evict them without fair warning or proper notice. She said there was something suspicious about the evictions and the relationship between Hoy Park Management (Pty) Ltd and the municipality.
“Hoy Park Management (Pty) Ltd is most certainly linked to certain individuals at the eThekwini Municipality. My clients have been informed that this tender is a private treaty, but this could only be the case if there was no other company which was capable of completing the project, but this didn’t even go out to tender. Due process was not followed and the Municipality still has to explain its actions but is doing everything to avoid explaining itself. It is hiding behind litigation,” she said.
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