Durban - The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and the eThekwini Municipality are embroiled in a legal battle as the city faces an eviction order for non-payment of rent.
Prasa legal representative Lunga Peter, of Gcolotela and Peter Incorporated, yesterday said that the application for an eviction order, which the Daily News had seen, was filed in the Durban High Court.
He said they sought to evict the city from the Durban Station building - which houses the Electricity Department offices - and the Mansel Road building. The matter is expected to be heard on November 7.
Peter said the city had not filed opposing papers thus far. “We want the city out of the buildings because of non-payment of rent since December 2016. There are two other summonses we have served for two different debts amounting to more than R15 million.
“I can’t divulge much on the summonses, but the eviction order is for public consumption since it is already in court. Prasa has produced evidence in the form of documents that it is owed by the city, hence the move to evict,” Peter said.
Yesterday, the Daily News reported that Prasa allegedly owed the city more than R30m in rates and services, but the parastatal hit back saying it raised a number of objections relating to the classification of stations on the railway lines as commercial although there was no commercial activity.
In a report tabled on Tuesday at the Executive Committee meeting at the Durban City Hall, the city said processing Prasa’s objections had not been finalised.
Peter said: “Some time this month the first summons will be in the same court, and the amount contested was R6m and had since accumulated interest.”
Mandla Nsele, eThekwini acting head of communications, denied any knowledge of debt to Prasa.
He said a meeting, which had not yet been confirmed by both parties, was set up for next week to discuss the matter. Nsele said the city was also not aware of the eviction notice.
This, however, was contrary to what Krish Kumar, the city’s chief financial officer, had said on the same matter.
He said there was a dispute about payment, “but it had nothing to do with rates”.