Top officials face eviction over millions in rent arrears

Published Nov 6, 2016

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Johannesburg - Senior officials of the North West provincial government are occupying state houses and allegedly refusing to pay their monthly rentals as their debts reportedly have sky-rocketed to more than R4 million.

This has prompted the Department of Public Works and Roads to approach the court to obtain eviction orders against 27 officials, some of whom have been in default for at least 10 years.

The department's head, Pakiso Mothupi, confirmed it had enlisted the services of the Sheriff of the Court to execute the evictions and to recover the money still owing.

The eviction orders were served on Wednesday.

Mothupi said the officials were given seven working days to settle outstanding amounts and make arrangement to settle the debt.

The provincial government is owed more than R4.4m. The majority of the defaulters are senior public servants employed by the provincial government. The list also includes former high-ranking public servants who continue to occupy state houses “for free”.

Mothupi, however, declined to reveal the name of the defaulters. But The Sunday Independent has been reliably informed that the biggest defaulters are people who occupied senior positions in the government.

Tebogo Christopher Kebotlhale, a former municipal manager of Naledi Local Municipality in Vryburg, who owes R654 000 for rent on a property in Mmabatho, is the worst defaulter in the list of 27. His rent was R9 500 a month.

He is also a former senior official of the Mahikeng Industrial Development Zone and a former Umkhonto we Sizwe operative who was granted amnesty by the TRC over the killing of 21-year-old Mary-Anne D’Oliveira Netto Serrano in a Wimpy Bar in Benoni in July 1988.

The second-worst defaulter was Martin Sebakwane, a former official in the Department of Public Works, who is also a prominent member of the ANC as well as a former provincial executive committee member in Mahikeng. Sebakwane owes more than R609 000 and his monthly rental was R6 000.

The third biggest defaulter is Lesiba Kgwele, former spokesperson for the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (and former North West premier, Thandi Modise). Kgwele owes more than R540 000.

“The unprecedented move to approach the sheriff followed challenges the department had in evicting illegal occupants from its state-owned houses and getting tenants to pay monthly rental,” Mothupi said.

He said the 27 houses identified for eviction and recovery of debt from tenants are in the suburbs of Riviera Park, Golf View and Mmabatho Unit 2, 5 and 6.

The rental on the houses ranges from as little as R200 a month to R9 500. The defaulters owe the provincial government between R21 000 and R750 000.

“This was also followed by numerous e-mails, letters, telephone calls and visits by departmental staff to tenants in the past months to encourage culprits to make arrangements to pay monthly rentals and arrears,” Mothupi said.

He said another list of defaulters and illegal occupants of state houses was in process of being finalised.

The Sunday Independent

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