"I feel that an unjust decision was made to move us out of a palace which I made beautifully and furnished to my satisfaction."
That was how a disappointed Moosa Sayanvalla, on behalf of his mother Zohra, described the expropriation of his property in Marlboro Gardens, north of Johannesburg, to make way for the Gautrain project. He said the property was worth R5,5-million.
Sayanvalla agreed to a R1,5-million settlement in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
Zohra Sayanvalla, Mahomed Ebrahim Ismail and Nazir Ahmed Loonat had made an urgent application in the High Court on Thursday to fend off the speedy expropriation of their homes.
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In November, the families were notified by letter that their houses had been expropriated by the province in October and they had to vacate their premises by January 6.
The three applicants took the matter to court on December 28 but the application was postponed to January 11, 2007 as Transport Minister Jeff Radebe and Gauteng Public Transport MEC Ignatius Jacobs were not available at the time.
The applicants argued that their properties were worth between R3-million and R11-million. During proceedings, the parties reached an out-of-court agreement in which Sayanvalla would be the first to be compensated.
The applicants are to be offered interim accommodation until the end of February. The matter will go to arbitration for the final determination of compensation.
Speaking outside court, Moosa Sayanvalla said the state attorneys had conceded that they had offered them one-third of the value of their property.
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Zahir Omar, said the compensation offered to the residents was abnormally low.
Gautrain project leader Jack van der Merwe confirmed an out-of-court settlement had been reached. He said the extension on obtaining land would not affect the construction timetable or add to the project's cost.
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This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on January 12, 2007
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