Chikane to act as mediator in Schubart Park property dispute
A mediator has been appointed to facilitate discussions between the Tshwane Metro Council and the Schubart Park Residents' Association.
The parties have settled for the Reverend Frank Chikane, a Struggle hero and former director-general of The Presidency under Thabo Mbeki.
Chikane, who is the president of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, hosted his first media briefing yesterday where the terms of reference for the dialogue were signed by the municipality, represented by city manager Jason Ngobeni, and the association, represented by chairman Ali Mashimbye.
Chikane's appointment is in compliance with the Constitutional Court order granted on October 9.
The court ruled that the former tenants of Schubart Park, evicted from the council-owned flats last year, were entitled to move back into the building.
The court ruled that the municipality should identify the tenants who were staying in the flats before the evictions, and enter into discussions with them.
According to the municipality, Chikane has - in his capacity as mediator - convened two meetings with the parties.
Chikane, with the representatives of the metro council and of the association, inspected Schubart Park "to have a sense of what the parties are talking about in terms of the buildings".
Asked what his impressions were of the buildings after the inspection, Chikane declined to go into details, stating they "form part of the discussions".
"Obviously they are not in good condition," said Chikane.
According to the terms of reference, Chikane is to:
Chikane said three joint working committees had been constituted to deal with:
According to Chikane, the residents' association has agreed to assist with the identification of residents who occupied the units at Schubart Park.
"Both parties are committed to resolving this matter," he said.
Residents' association chairman Mashimbye said some of the former residents of Schubart Park had been traced. "We haven't had any challenges so far," he said.
He said they were happy with the discussions up to now and were committed to resolving any differences between the parties.
Asked about the possible demolition of Schubart Park, Ngobeni said: "We're not in a position to give a definitive answer.
"This...will be dealt with by one of the committees."
Pretoria News
Posted at 07:30AM Nov 20, 2012 by Editor in Market |