Durban -
The DA has accused the eThekwini Municipality of giving ANC-aligned Durban businessman Roy Moodley preferential treatment after the city approved a rezoning application for Moodley’s property in Durban North, from where he runs his company, Royal Alarms.
The approval was, according to councillor Dean Macpherson, despite recommendations from the city’s department of town planning, which said the application should be refused as it fell outside the town planning scheme.
“The business has been operating illegally from a house at 77 Old Mill Way for years, in violation of the area’s town planning scheme,” he said.
In a report that was submitted to the executive committee last week, it was recommended that the site be rezoned from special residential to business.
The reason for the rezoning was that the site was in an area that was showing signs of transition, and that the site had two road accesses, which alleviated the impact of traffic.
It was also proposed that the arrears rates owing on the property be backdated for 24 months, or from the date that the site was utilised for business purposes.
An eThekwini spokesman said the DA statement was “plain politicking”.
He said the application for rezoning was approved after exco and council had applied their minds fully and found no compelling reasons for it to be rejected.
The Mercury