Ace Ncobo owes us R1.2m rent – ECDC
Former Fifa referee-turned businessman Ace Ncobo has been “occupying” an Eastern Cape Development Corporation house since June 2004 and now owes R1.2m in unpaid rent accumulated over the 15-year period, according to the ECDC.
Ncobo – who was appointed to the board of the ECDC last year – said: “I do not owe a single cent to the ECDC.”
He said the ECDC was at fault for delaying the deed of sale for the three-bedroom house for all these years.
He said: “I do not owe a single cent to the ECDC. I have no lease agreement for any property that I am renting from the corporation.
“The only transaction relating to property, which dates back to 2004, is an offer to purchase one of the houses owned by the ECDC, for which I await a signed deed of sale. It was delayed by ECDC processes for quite some time now.”
ECDC acting communication manager Lesley Govender confirmed to the Dispatch that Ncobo owed the institution just over R1.2m in unpaid rental and interest.
Govender said: “According to ECDC records, Mr Ncobo is liable for rental dating back to 2004, when he first took occupation of the property.
“However, Mr Ncobo has raised a dispute whether he in fact owes the outstanding rental amount. Negotiations with Mr Ncobo are ongoing to find an
acceptable resolution to the matter.”
He said the debt dated back to 2004.
This apparently means Ncobo, or a tenant of his, has for 15 years been occupying the house without any lease agreement or deed of sale.
Asked if his squabbles with the ECDC, now that he was on the board, did not constitute a conflict of interest, he said no because he had only been a member of the board for six months and the transaction to buy the house dated back several years.
“Therefore issues of a conflict of interest do not exist, both because I have no debt and because it's a transaction that predates my appointment. I think it would only be fair for you to ask for a lease agreement from your source,” he said.
“Because they can't have
aspreadsheet of unpaid rentals unless there is a lease agreement. What I do know is that an administrative error, which is now being corrected, miscaptured my offer to purchase as a rental.”
Therefore conflict of interests do not exist