Family won’t budge for mall
Developer denies claim of kickbacks
A FAMILY has had to install CCTV cameras around their home for safety following threats to burn the house by residents who say they are blocking the construction of a R200-million mall.
Now the Mpumalanga government is working on a strategy to build the mall close to their household or even make their home an “island” within the mall property.
Eleven families at Marite village near Bushbuckridge had agreed to have their homes flattened and grave sites in their yards relocated to make way for the new development that promises 500 new jobs for the impoverished community.
Top Mpumalanga businesswoman Norah FakudeNkuna will own the mall.
It will measure about 22 000m² and is expected to accommodate 50 shops.
The earmarked land currently has houses, a taxi rank and other small businesses which have all agreed to move.
Fakude-Nkuna rejected claims that a promise of cash was used to convince families to agree to relocate.
“Property evaluators have already gone to evaluate their homes to estimate how much it would cost us to build them new homes elsewhere,” Fakude-Nkuna said.
“No money will exchange hands. They would also choose where the exhumed graves would be relocated for reburials at my cost.”
But one family, the Manzinis, have stood their ground and refused to take the offer.
For the past seven years local traditional leadership of Chief Lameck Mokoena and headman Elai Matsane, Bushbuckridge mayor Renias Khumalo, Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti and his deputy Candith MashegoDlamini have had countless meetings with the Manzinis, but they will not budge.
Yesterday, Mokoena said Nkwinti’s office sent him an e-mail instructing the Mpumalanga surveyor-general’s office to rezone the area and possibly make the Manzinis’ household an island within the mall property if need be.
“Talking to them is a waste of time. I’ve even broken our traditional laws by going to their home to speak to them.”
Matsane said the Manzinis initially agreed to play ball so he was surprised when they started building a large new house inside their yard last year.
“The community is angry. On many occasions we had to intervene to stop them from burning down their house,” he said.
Matsane said the community was desperate for employment and that the new mall would save villagers from travelling far for shopping.
“We can’t be stopped by one family. They’re being selfish. We will build around them if we have to,” Matsane said.
The Manzinis refused to speak to Sowetan this week.
Two houses had been built in their yard and at least three CCTV cameras are mounted on the outside walls to monitor their yard. ALTHOUGH villagers in Marite near Bushbuckridge welcomed their relocation, talk on the street is that the local traditional authorities stand to gain from construction of a mall in the area.
Locals who did not want to be named told Sowetan that certain members of the traditional house had received kickbacks from the developer in order to push for construction of the R200million project.
“The developers have already built one of our leaders a house, but they are not telling us these things,” said a villager.
However, for villager Wasenaar Khumalo, the motivating factor was community development and the alleged financial incentives they were promised by the traditional leaders.
“We were told that we would get some money. Even our traditional authority will get some money,” Khumalo added.
Elai Matsane, the headman, confirmed the financial benefits.
“Yes, our traditional house will get something out of the deal but I don’t know how much it will be,” Matsane said.
But Chief Mokoena, who is also chairman of the Mpumalanga house of traditional leaders, said talk of financial incentives was premature.
“The developer [Norah Fakude-Nkuna] is my cousin, she was born here. Of course there will be indirect benefits for the traditional house but we are yet to discuss those with her. Our focus now is community development through employment,” he said.
Fakude-Nkuna said: “The money to build this mall is from a bank loan. I don’t have extra money to pay for kickbacks.
“This is a clean business deal,” she insisted.
“The community is angry and desperate for employment