Business tenants suffer racial slur
TWELVE indigenous business tenants operating from a building belonging to Wallen Investments in Masvingo’s industrial site have raised concern over alleged racial rantings and threats they suffer at the hands of a former worker who is now claiming to be the new owner of the premises.
The tenants who have occupied the premises for the past 15 years visited Sunday News offices on Friday and revealed that they have suffered racial abuse at the hands of South Africa-based Mr Kevin Portigietor.
They said when Mr Portigietor visited the premises last month, he allegedly served the tenants with court papers ordering them to leave under the guise that they (tenants) were not maintaining the buildings well yet everything is under the management of a real estate agent, Great Zimbabwe Realtors.
The tenants who are engaged in different businesses initiatives comprising refrigeration, auto-electrical engineering, mechanics, panel-beating and spray painting, upholstery, among others made investigations to establish the true owners of the premises after which they allegedly discovered that Mr Portigietor was not part of the company and his name did not even appear on the company registration documents.
Accordingly the premise was run by one Mr Gerald Heasman before its control was transferred to Great Zimbabwe Realtors.
The tenants’ spokesperson Mr Benjamin Mbinda of Eastcrow Investments said Mr Portigietor first stormed the premises in December 2012 after which he took pictures of the buildings before leaving without saying a word.
“Mr Portigietor who is now based in South Africa after leaving Zimbabwe at the height of land reform in 2002 returned in 2013 sometime in July towards the country’s general elections and took pictures of the buildings. However, when he came last month a day before the failed, #Zimshutdown demostration, we gathered courage and confronted him as he had not been introduced to us by the Great Zimbabwe Realtors. He said he was the owner after which he called us names,” said Mr Mbinda.
Mr Mbinda alleged Mr Portigietor started to exhibit racial tendencies calling them kaffirs threatening that a white man was coming to take over the premises and have them evicted as they were living at the premises like pigs.
“He denounced the Government’s economic blue print, Zim Asset meant to empower indigenous people saying within the building there is Rhodesia and Zimbabwe was outside the premises. When we asked him why he couldn’t convey that message to the managers of the property, he said a white man’s property could only be properly managed by a white man and not a black man,” he said.
When contacted for comment Mr Portigietor said he was the owner of the premises in question and the tenants were not paying rentals on time compelling him to serve some of them with letters of eviction.
“Yes, I am the owner of Wallen Investments buildings in Masvingo. Some of the tenants are not paying rentals on time and I have served them with notices of eviction but for further details put your questions in writing and send me on my email, so that I can respond fully,” said Mr Portigietor from his base in South Africa.
By the time of going to print yesterday he had not responded to written questions sent on his email.
A Great Zimbabwe Realtors official only identified as Mrs Moyes confirmed that they were managing the Wallen Investment property but declined to comment further.
“In the first place, may I know who gave you my number? Yes, I can confirm that we are the managers of the property in question but I cannot comment further,” said Mrs Moyes before hanging up the phone.