Africa-Press – South-Africa. The angry owner of the Enyobeni Tavern says he will lose R1 million if the Buffalo City Metro executes a court order to demolish his double storey Scenery Park property.
Without going into detail, Siyakhangela Ndevu said he would fight to have the metro rebuild it if it knocked down the infamous tavern where 21 youngsters died on 26 June 2022.
Ndevu, 52, and his wife, Vuyokazi, 43, were served with the order on Wednesday by the sheriff.
Their trial for selling alcohol to underage children in violation of the Liquor Act is ongoing in the East London Magistrate’s Court.
The order was granted after the Buffalo City approached the court on the grounds Ndevu’s building was built illegally.
The metro has charged in court papers it never received or passed building plans for his business premises and the property was zoned for a residential area and not a business.
It said Ndevu made extensions and renovations to turn the single stand into a business property without permission from the metro’s spatial planning directorate.
A fuming Ndevu told News24 on Thursday the country’s townships were littered with structures that were never approved by local councils.
“I am being targeted unfairly. There are many spaza shops and taverns in townships across the country that were extended or improved without approved building plans,” he claimed.
Asked what he is going to do about the impending demolition, Ndevu said:
He told News24 the value of his tavern was an estimated R1 million.
“This used to be a single-floor normal house. I brought in civil engineers to assess it in light of my plans to add another floor.
“They advised me to knock the ground floor down and rebuild a different structure that would serve as a foundation strong enough to accommodate the top floor,” Ndevu said.
He added he paid R500 000 to renovate the building.
The costs included labour, material, and engineering services fees, Ndevu said.
According to him, the property – which has three bathrooms, a kitchen, a VIP lounge area, and two dance floors – could be valued at R1 million in today’s market.
Ndevu added the structure was adequately built so much so he believed because of its solidity, the bulk of the patrons on the night the 12 girls and nine boys died came out of alive.
“There were too many patrons for the capacity of that tavern.
“The tavern can house 80 people on the top floor and 40 on the ground floor but there were over 200 that night.
“If that building was constructed poorly, the structure would have collapsed due to the overcrowding and much more people could have been buried under the ruins,” Ndevu said.
He added the safety of patrons was his top priority when the building was constructed.
In a statement on Wednesday, the metro said the building was constructed illegally.
“This is a due legal process which expects the transgressors to comply and cease to operate, and to demolish the structure.
“Failing which, the municipality will seek further court permissions to act accordingly as permitted by its by-laws.”
The trial of Ndevu and his wife continues on 23 August.
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