Property owners complaining that an almost completed block of flats in Montpelier Road, Morningside, Durban, is blocking their sea view and pushing down their property values, should have opposed the rezoning of the property in the first place.

The property under construction in Montpelier Rd, Durban.

This was the view of Durban High Court Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel, who said case law on these issues was clear: that a prospective buyer, when looking at property next to a vacant lot, must contemplate what could be built there and factor that into the price they were prepared to pay.

'If someone has a right to build a block of flats, even if it blocks a view, then it is their right,' he said.

'You cannot put up evidence of valuers or estate agents to say once there was a beautiful view and now there is not. That is not the law.'

The judge was hearing an application for a review of the eThekwini Municipality's decision to approve building plans for the block at 263 Montpelier Road in September, when the building was almost complete.

Attorney Shahir Ramdass, through his family trust, took the matter to court, getting an interdict against the developers, the Sayed Family Trust, stopping any further construction pending the review application. In the application he claimed that not only was the building a 'monstrosity' which was not in keeping with the general neighbourhood, but the approved plans were in conflict with the town planning scheme and building regulations and should never have been approved.

Advocate Murray Pitman, for the Ramdass Trust, conceded that by law the municipality did not have to consult with neighbours when considering building plans. But he said this offer had been made and the city had then approved the plans before any meaningful consultation and without giving the objecters proper access to the proposed plans.

He said the deviations from the scheme included coverage in excess of the 40 percent permissible, if one took into account the overhanging roof. He also claimed there were contraventions regarding the building line, with an underground tomb planned within the 7.5m restricted area, 'although the municipality claims this does not fall foul because it is part of the stormwater system'.

With regards to the side spaces of 3.6m, a generator, 'an immovable structure', had been planned for one side.

He said there was a 'great deal of suspicion' regarding the information available to municipal officials at the time of approval of the plans with regards to the impact on the general amenity of the area.

'This building, with its type of roof, its immediate abutment (to neighbours) and its being squeezed on to the site, is not in keeping with the area,' he said, arguing that if this was a dispute of fact, the court should do an inspection.

He said when most of the neighbours bought their properties, there was a single house on the plot. They were not aware of the rezoning application when it was made.

Advocate Peter Rowan, for the city, conceded that he had been unable to obtain a copy of the town planning scheme as applicable in September and that it was the city's responsibility to provide it.

He claimed that Ramdass was 'nitpicking' and the only criteria for granting the review was if it could be shown that the decision taken to approve the plans was not reasonable or rational.

Advocate Glen Goddard, for the Sayed Trust, said in papers before the court that the issues raised were 'miscellaneous'.

'The objecters have ignored the development rights of the property. The development will not cause a substantial derogation of their property values.'

Judgment was reserved.

The Mercury

The spectre of e-tolls - much-loathed in Gauteng where there are calls to boycott them - is drawing closer to reality for motorists in KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa's national roads agency, Sanral, confirmed in Durban yesterday that the Mariannhill and Oribi toll plazas, on the N3 and N2 respectively, would be the first in the province to be equipped with e-tolling lanes. These would be dedicated lanes for motorists who chose to fit their cars with e-tags to be billed electronically rather than paying the toll fee manually at the gate.

But, while Sanral stressed this did not mean there would be new tolls, e-toll opponents said it was only a matter of time before KZN motorists were charged for every kilometre they travelled on certain routes.

Sanral said e-tolls would be rolled out in KZN by November.

The agency's eastern region manager, Logashri Sewnarain, said this would not entail an additional fee but a dedicated lane with a boom that lifts when the e-tag is read. She said the plan was to roll out the e-tolling payment system in the future.

Sanral spokesman, Vusi Mona, said the agency had no intention of 'locking' motorists to e-tolls and the manual option would still be available.

The roll-out in KZN would be confined to existing tollgates and not open road tolling where motorists pay per kilometre as is the case in Gauteng.

'It is for convenience and to save time,' he said.

More than 100 000 vehicles used the N3 daily, with 200 to 300 vehicles processed every hour at manual toll booths. Sewnarain said e-tolling would allow 700 vehicles to pass through a tollgate each hour.

However, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) warned that Sanral could not be trusted.

Spokesman, John Clarke, urged KZN motorists not to be 'seduced into helping Sanral gain any traction for its ill-conceived e-toll scheme'.

He said motorists should exercise the same vigilance they had shown since 2002 to resist Sanral's plans for the N2 Wild Coast toll road scheme.

Clarke said the alliance was busy reinventing itself as the 'Opposition to Unjust Tolling Alliance' and was eager to forge solidarity links with other civil society organisations in KZN to work together to 'expose Sanral's hidden agenda and deceptions'.

'In the meantime, Outa urges KZN motorists to insist on their right of access to information on how toll fees are being spent by Sanral and its concessionaires, before going any further.'

Clarke said the e-tag system was not designed for the convenience of motorists, but for the convenience of Sanral to reduce its wage bill for existing toll cashiers.

'The socio-economic effect of e-tolling will be to export hi-tech jobs to Europe, not to create employment in South Africa,' he said.

'By any reckoning that is a gross injustice.'

Sanral also announced this week that it would need almost R15 billion within the next five years to upgrade the N3 between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Sanral's design and construction divisional manager, Ravi Ronny, said the agency had earmarked R14.9bn to upgrade the N3 between Cedara (about 20km inland of Pietermaritzburg) and Durban.

The upgrade would exclude a proposed Pietermaritzburg ring road and rerouting the N3 near Hammarsdale.

'The issue is funding and how we move on that,' Ronny said.

He said design work was under way.

A second phase of improving the N3, intended for completion by 2027, included the proposed Pietermaritzburg ring road and the Hammarsdale rerouting and would cost an additional R15.8bn.

The proposed De Beers Pass route, which would bypass Harrismith, would not be built by Sanral, but by the N3 Toll Concession, which operates the N3 between Cedara and Heidelberg, Gauteng.

Ronny said the proposed De Beers Pass route would cut 14km from the Johannesburg to Durban trip and would be safer than the existing Van Reenen's Pass route.

The De Beers Pass would cost about R4.5bn to build.

Daily News

Soshanguve Crossing, the gigantic shopping mall that opened on the north-western corner of Ruth First Road and Aubrey Matlala Street yesterday, is more than just another typical township mall.

Soshanguve Crossing was officially opened for business yesterday.

Co-owner Sydney Malabie told guests at the official opening his vision was to create a mall that could stand out anywhere, be it the affluent areas in Joburg or Pretoria, or in any township.

The state-of-the-art shopping centre beat the odds and opened its doors to thousands of enthusiastic shoppers despite unemployed locals having threatened to disrupt its opening unless they were given jobs.

Malabie said the owners - a consortium made up of Resilient, Moolman Group and Falcon Forest - overcame countless challenges to realise the dream of eventually opening the mall.

These included difficulties in acquiring and registering the then foreign-owned property back in South Africa seven years ago, going head-to-head with other interested developers, and service delivery protests that delayed construction.

'At one stage, we were described as foreign nationals who had come to the country and paid everyone to approve our proposals,' he said.

Matters came to a head on the eve of the opening on Wednesday, when hundreds of Soshanguve residents descended on the mall and demanded locals be given first priority with regards to employment.

Negotiations between management and residents' steering committee members continued well into the night.

The deadlock was eventually broken, with an agreement that the mall be allowed to open and a new committee chosen to represent the unemployed, local councillor Poppy Maseko said.

A jobseeker, who did not want to be named, told the Pretoria News they were hopeful job opportunities would arise with more tenants still coming in and when current contracts for cleaning, security and other services come up for renewal.

As the owners cut the ribbon and released balloons into the air to mark the opening, a small group of people gathered at the gate still hoping for a last-minute chance to get jobs.

They blamed the previous steering committee for failing them and not looking after their interests in its negotiations with management.

Ndlabole Shongwe, another coowner of the mall, said it was a norm for people to scramble for jobs when new projects opened, but it was impossible for everyone to be employed.

'Apart from about 800 direct jobs that have been created, the owners will donate more than R1 million to two schools in the vicinity. We are also discussing the creation of a community park in the area.

'During the construction phase, there were 93 local contractors who worked on various aspects of the mall, the combined value of the contracts being about R16 million.'

Shongwe said the owners were satisfied with the contribution and input of the steering committee that represented the residents throughout the construction phase.

Pretoria News

The narrowly averted demolition of a 121-year-old building in Green Point has sparked concern about the future of similar heritage buildings in the area.

Taki Amira, chairman of the Good Hope Subcouncil, which includes the Atlantic Seaboard, has submitted an urgent motion to the City of Cape Town to update its list of heritage protection areas for Table Bay.

Amira said the list was last updated in the late 1970s.

'It is apparent that when these areas were granted Heritage Conservation status, many other heritage assets were overlooked. This has been brought to light at a recent hearing and appeal at Heritage Western Cape where a demolition permit was granted for the total demolition of a 121year-old building falling just outside the Heritage Protection Area.'

Despite vociferous objections from residents and the subcouncil, Heritage Western Cape classified the building, 8 Romney Road, as suitable for demolition. Built in the 19th century, the house still has many original features. The demolition application was made by developer Signatura.

But at an appeal hearing this week, Heritage Western Cape reconsidered and the order was withdrawn.

Amira said this was based on the 'intrinsic value' of the house, and the impact its demolition would have on the area. He said if 8 Romney Road had been flattened, number 10, which was also more than 100 years old, would have gone the same way.

Cape Argus

Fresh out of court with a battle won against the State, controversial property developer Jay Singh is now gunning for the eviction of tenants at his Woodglaze complexes over unpaid rent.

Singh's spokesman, Mervin Reddy, said last night: 'Tenants in Woodglaze Flats owe more than R7 million in rent and they can rest assured that the court of law has been issuing eviction notices in favour of Woodglaze against unpaid rentals by tenants.'

Residents, however, are not fearful and say they will stand firm and oppose any eviction.

Woodglaze was accused by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of fraudulently obtaining R236m from the Social Housing Regulatory Authority by setting up a social housing company, Moko Rental Housing Project, to obtain funds to buy the flats from itself.

The NPA stepped in earlier this year after numerous complaints and legal challenges by disgruntled residents of the flats, who alleged that Singh obtained the land and the housing deal corruptly, and further built shoddy flats and homes with his company, Woodglaze Trading.

Yesterday, however, Singh won his case against the State, which had obtained a preservation order on his assets as they believed they were the proceeds of unlawful activities.

Pietermaritzburg High Court acting Judge Peter Olsen yesterday ruled that 1 244 lowincome flats preserved by the State must be returned to Singh, and that rentals of about R3m a month should no longer be paid to a curator, but back to Woodglaze Trading.

The judge said the land had been purchased by Woodglaze from the eThekwini Municipality, on which it built the flats, and that the court could not, as a matter of logic, render the flats as the proceeds of unlawful activities.

'The question of any administrative irregularities is not before me. The question if there was any fraud, corruption, or unlawful conduct in the course of the various transactions is also not before me,' Judge Olsen said.

Soon after his win, Singh's spokesman sent out the statement stating that tenants defaulting on their rents would be evicted.

Mervin Govender, spokesman for the Phoenix Residents Association (PRA), said residents were disappointed with the ruling but that they would continue fighting for their rights.

Govender also alleged that Singh assaulted him outside the Pietermaritzburg Court on Thursday, by slapping him. Singh denied that he had assaulted Govender.

'Singh now says that he will evict those who didn't pay their rents, but we have 150 cases at the Verulam court challenging other notices for eviction, and nothing has happened since, because no one can produce all the proper documents because of all the corruption involved in the building of the complexes,' said Govender.

He said the PRA also had other cases against Woodglaze asking for title deeds and challenging the sale of the land by eThekwini to Woodglaze.

'After this court ruling, residents know that Singh will send his security henchmen to intimidate them, but this is not new. We have even opened 15 cases at the Phoenix police station after the security tried to assault or force their way in, and even attach goods belonging to the residents in other instances. But we are standing firm. The authorities need to answer as to how this entire land and housing deal unfolded in court,' said Govender.

He said tenants were presently paying their rent under protest.

A commission of inquiry is also currently probing the deaths of two people following the collapse of part of a mall in Tongaat - being built by another of Singh's companies - in November.

Twenty-nine people were injured when part of it collapsed.

The mall, which was being developed by Rectangle Property Investments, was due for completion in March.

The Independent on Saturday

In defiance of a government order, residents whose houses were demolished on state owned-land in Lenasia, have built once again.

But it is a new set of townhouses, which have cropped up in extension 13, that has infuriated many.

'Tokyo (Sexwale) said stop building and we did. But what is this rubbish that we see today? How is it that these people have been allowed to build flats on the very same stands (that people had their homes destroyed on)? Did they obtain any title deeds for this piece of land and how?' said a fuming Sipho Ngubeni whose house was the first of 51 houses demolished in November 2012.

Ngubeni has erected a one-bedroom house. He said nothing had happened since that day adding he suspects government 'favoured' Indian people.

The flats Ngubeni refers to belong to private contractors. It is not clear when the houses were built.

Nonthuthuko Mqedlana rebuilt her house and a wall to protect her children after one of them was almost kidnapped.

She said a neighbour was hospitalised and another had a heart attack as many struggled to repay bank loans for the stands.

After the demolitions, the Department of Human Settlements had said that it would convert the area into a construction site for RDP houses.

Former minister Toyko Sexwale had said that at least 600 stands were fraudulently sold.

Muzwamandla Poto and his wife Elizabeth were found guilty of 13 counts of fraud.

Provincial Local Gover nment and Housing spokesman Mutsamai Motlhaolwa this week said the department was not presently planning to demolish the illegal houses.

He said the National Homebuilders Registration Council (NHBRC) had conducted an audit, and that there were plans to build RDP houses and other houses. But he could not say if building had started.

noni.mokati-AT-inl.co-DOT-za

Saturday Star

Plans are afoot to introduce custom-built green trains - either solar or liquefied petroleum gas-powered - daily along the Apple Express railway line between the Port Elizabeth beachfront and the R1.7 billion Baywest Mall.

The Apple Express heritage train is being refurbished after which Apple Express Rail is optimistic it could service the Baywest City precinct.

The non- profit organisation behind the move, Apple Express Rail, is also lobbying Transnet to be allowed the full use of the 285km line on concession, with plans to rehabilitate the track using private funding, and in the process, boost tourism, job creation and economic development.

Baywest MD, Gavin Blows, says the mall developers - Abacus Asset Management and Billion Group - support the initiative, which will boost tourism and create much needed jobs.

Apple Express Rail will meet senior Transnet executives by the end of next month to present the parastatal with a business plan for rehabilitating the unused line.

Apple Express Rail chief executive, Nerina Skuy, who is also chairwoman of the Heritage Railway Association of Southern Africa, says private businesses are willing to partner with Apple Express Rail to fund the rehabilitation of the railway as part of their corporate social investment commitment in the region.

'The first phase would be to repair and service the line up to Thornhill so that we can reintroduce the heritage tourism train service by December.

'This means the line leading to Baywest Mall would be ready to offer commuters a service by the time the mall opens in March next year,' says Skuy.

She is awaiting quotes from international train engineers for the commissioning of two 50-seater, wheelchair-friendly narrow gauge passenger units, which would be either solar powered or operate on liquefied petroleum gas as a second option.

Both would depart from the Port Elizabeth harbour and from Baywest Mall in the city's western suburbs hourly during the week and a special weekend service would be offered.

'We want to include more stops, rehabilitate existing dilapidated stops and even add facilities where such stops are necessary.

'These would include the airport, Walmer, Charlo, Lorraine and finally Baywest Mall in phase one.'

The Apple Express heritage train, which is being refurbished and currently manned by volunteers, would be used for the tourism services, charter trains and special events, she says.

Phase two would involve extending the service to Jeffreys Bay and beyond, with planned heritage tourism trains and commuter rail services running as far as the Langkloof.

'Our plan is to concession the line with the use of the narrow gauge rolling stock,' says Skuy.

'The entire project would be privately funded.

'All the existing rolling stock requires refurbishment, which alone would create about 50 immediate jobs.

'Other job creation and economic development projects are possible through maintenance and operation services.

'More jobs would be created by the teams needed to maintain the train line on a demarcated basis, while an influx of tourists would create further knock-on employment.

'At the moment, the line is not being used at all, as it does not form part of Transnet's core business and is a wasted asset,' says Skuy.

Blows says a station has been included in the plans for Baywest Mall, with the possibility of a tram ferrying commuters a short distance between the station and the mall.

'This project would bring a distinctive tourism experience to the city enabling people to get on the train at the beachfront, travel to Baywest Mall and then return by train,' Blows says.

'The roll-out of development in the 330-hectare Baywest City precinct, of which the mall is the catalyst, would further validate the project.

'Such a project would be an invaluable asset to the city's tourism industry and business sector.'

Skuy's plans also include a community services train along the full length of the line, similar to the Phelophepa Train of Hope, which services rural communities in need.

'The refurbished line could also be used for freight and goods delivery during off-peak hours,' she says.

Skuy reiterated Apple Express Rail could have the commuter trains ready in time for the anticipated opening, pending approval from Transnet.

Weekend Argus (Sunday Edition)

A conference centre - with a total capacity of 1 900 in 20 venues - and a 125-room hotel are to be built around a new public square in Century City as part of a R1 billion mixed use development in the Bridgeways precinct.

An artist's impression of the new square with the Century City Conference Centre at the back and the hotel on the right.

Greg Deans, a director of Rabie Property Group, says the development aims to fulfil demand for conferencing and hotels in the precinct and has been designed to complement Cape Town and Century City's existing facilities.

'It will fill a gap in the market and we believe it will help cement Cape Town's established appeal as a conference destination.'

The Century City Conference Centre (CCCC) will offer flexible configurations. Three adjoining halls will have capacity of more than 900 delegates, seated cinema style, with a fourth hall able to accommodate a further 480 delegates. The multi-function venues will also be available for banqueting and exhibitions and a large pre-assembly area will be available for exhibitions, launches and other events.

The centre will have 12 meeting and breakaway rooms and a business lounge on the first floor, able to accommodate about 200 delegates.

Deans says Century City has a total of 460 rooms in five hotels, and the average hotel occupancy rate is over 73 percent.

'Century City has become an increasingly popular hospitality node in recent years in tandem with the growth of the precinct, which now has more than 500 businesses and more than 260 000m2 of offices, making it the third largest commercial precinct in Cape Town.

'The existing conference facilities, which range from 20-seat venues to a 300-seat facility, are unable to keep up with demand and have had to turn away business, particularly for larger conferences.'

The CCCC, in partnership with Century City Connect, Century City's open access fibre optic network, would offer delegates and guests world-class fibre optic and wireless connectivity.

'In addition to the CCCC and hotel, the mixed-use development will include offices, showrooms, apartments, service retail and a fivelevel parking garage with direct access to the CCCC. The entire development will be set over a super parking basement which, together with the structured parking, will provide a total of 1 300 bays.

'Anchoring the development will be a multi-functional square on to which restaurants and the other hospitality elements will flow. Every city should have at least one public square t hat of f ers a dynamic, vibrant and safe environment for the public to enjoy,' says Deans.

'CCCC is one of three buildings that will form the focal point of The Square, a well-proportioned space where users will be able to socialise, relax, dine and be entertained.

'It has been designed as the hub and pivotal node of this precinct that will influence and generate future planning of its surrounds. The strong architectural form and aesthetic of the conference centre has been taken through to the Century City Hotel to form an L-shaped footprint that is offset by the more sculptural and whimsical sheer glass façades of the seven-storey freestanding office building that forms the balance of The Square.

'This environment is further enhanced by the introduction of the extended canal system of Century City and bold landscaping themes.'

Murray & Roberts have been appointed contractors and have already moved on site. All components of the development are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015, and the first conferences are expected to be hosted in early 2016.

The architect for the project is Vivid Architects, Source have been appointed interior decorators for the CCCC and Origin for the hotel.

Call Greg Deans on 021 550 7000 or visit www.centurycityconferencecentre.co.za.

Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

Don't be surprised, come August, when you see thousands of foreigners having their pictures taken in front of Durban's many buildings.

Surrey Mansions in Currie Road on the Berea.

Although it's typical of the things tourists do, the visitors will be on their own mission: they will form part of a contingent of about 7 000 international architects attending the 25th World Congress on Architecture in the city from August 3 to 7.

They will not be taking pictures just for the fun of it. Their interest lies in the architectural beauty of some old and modern buildings in and around the Durban area.

The city has a mix of buildings dating from the early 1900s. Some are protected by the SA Heritage Resources Agency, some are new ecofriendly green buildings while others are quirky landmarks.

The buildings, with the design of the transport systems, recreational facilities, religious places of worship and open spaces, will come under scrutiny by the international delegation.

We asked the eThekwini Municipality's architecture department what it thinks are some of Durban's unique and interesting buildings - ones that they would be keen to show off to the visiting delegates.

Jonathan Edkins, deputy head of city architects and member of the conference co-ordinating council, said the 10 buildings listed below represented, in no order of importance, a small portion of many beautiful pieces of accomplished architectural projects:

Durban's central business district is poised for a R150 million make-over that will see streets shut off to traffic, fairy lights hung from lamp-posts, mobile 'pop-up' parks, painted manhole covers and a host of other design innovations for the 25th World Congress of the International Union of Architects (UIA).

An artist's impression of the proposed pedestrianised portion of Dr Pixley ka Seme Street between Stalwart Simelane and Sylvester Nthuli streets.

The congress, scheduled for the International Convention Centre between August 3 and 7, will afford the city an opportunity to reposition the CBD so residents can reclaim the space and trade in the area can be reinvigorated.

A big thrust of the makeover is the 'repurposing' of Durban's old light industrial area, Motortown, into an arts and culture precinct renamed Rivertown.

The area will have a beer hall beside an unearthed canal running down Milne Road that is the historic water course between the uMngeni River and the port.

City architects are using the conference, with the theme 'otherwhere' and a focus on building sustainable human(e) settlements, to showcase several initiatives designed to reinvigorate the CBD.

'What we build must not just be utilitarian, it must also be humanitarian - an investment in the environment and the people who live in it. Our focus is on the inner city, because without a functioning inner city, we don't have anything,' said Nina Saunders, the local government liaison for UIA 2014 organising committee.

She said the conference hoped to unlock three headline initiatives.

The first is the Dr Pixley ka Seme Linear Park, for which a section of the road is to be 'greened and repurposed' to reduce the number of traffic lanes and increase the sidewalk space between Stalwart Simelane (Stanger) and Sylvester Ntuli (Brickhill) streets.

Between 6am and 6pm on a typical day, about 6 500 to 7 000 pedestrians move east and west in this area, with between 5 800 and 9 600 vehicles travelling east on Dr Pixley ka Seme (West) Street.

Reducing the road from four lanes to two will create space for street furniture and decorative lighting.

The linear park is initially to be open for about six weeks around the time of the congress.

This short 'exhibition' is to give citizens an idea of the permanent plans, similar to what was done in New York's Times Square.

The second initiative is to revamp the old Motortown light industrial area east of the CBD.

This Rivertown arts and culture precinct is to start with exhibits during the conference. The plan is to lift the top off the canal opposite a historic city building formerly known as the Beer Hall.

Numerous public exhibits will be installed to encourage citizens to return to the inner city.

Pocket parks will also pop up around the CBD.

The concept was formed in partnership with UKZN architecture students who want to create mobile gardens in renovated shipping containers and on flatbed trailers.

The idea is to reduce barriers between residents and encourage social cohesion.

Saunders said the mobile modular parks would fit into parking bays and could be easily assembled, dismantled and moved.

Made almost entirely of recycled materials, they could pop up anywhere.

City architect Jonathan Edkins said the pocket parks fell into the city's focus on 'small, carefully placed interventions that may be enough to spark huge interventions'.

The city says the government and private sector will invest R150m in the upgrades before and flowing from the conference, while the event will generate about R400m in economic gains.

Edkins said the theme was critically linked to Durban's bid to keep its inner city alive and vibrant.

City spaces had to be creatively reimagined, especially those that could be easily shared, he said.

Formal and informal traders could coexist more comfortably and motorised transport should not dominate the city.

Edkins cited Warwick Junction as an example of city intervention creating a more functional space.

'Through caring interactions and interventions, we changed government perceptions of inner-city traders and created a more receptive and accepting environment, albeit in a robust and vibrant part of the city.'

Edkins said that the initiatives would stimulate human engagement and trade.

Andrew Layman, chief executive of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the 'exciting' initiatives, which he said were a crucial component in the plan to create a progressive yet caring city.

'While these projects may have been stimulated by the UIA event, they are important because, properly advertised and marketed to the city's inhabitants, interest in and enthusiasm for the city can be enhanced.'

The projects were part of a move towards the regeneration of areas subject to urban decay.

'Aspirations of being a 'smart' city will be realised when clear progress is made, and progress means a growing economy. We live in a progressive city, despite the negative attitudes that often appear in the media, and there is a great deal to be proud of.'

Sunday Tribune

Imagine living in a sprawling luxury penthouse apartment in one of South Africa's wealthiest neighbourhoods - and not paying rates to the city that services your area.

A loophole in the law seemingly allows property developers to do just that.

Whether by opportunistic design or pure good fortune, this is what Irish developer Pascal Phelan has achieved for at least the past four years.

He has managed this by not registering at the Deeds Office the top floor of the Cape Royal Luxury Hotel & Spa in Green Point.

The floor includes the suite which Phelan claims as his South African home.

According to news reports, the penthouse has been occupied by Phelan since as far back as 2010.

In September 2012, he conceded in court papers that the unit had not 'yet' been registered in the Deeds Office.

Yet, until today the unit remains unregistered and no rates have been paid to the City of Cape Town, depriving the city of substantial revenue.

Phelan is the sole director of Cape Royale The Residence, the company that developed Cape Royale hotel.

The penthouse he occupies covers an area of 491m2.

One of the hotel's 60m2 units, with a municipal value of R1.5 million, attracts rates of about R1 600 a month.

Rates on a 500m2 penthouse, with an estimated value of R15m, would be about R16 000 a month, or R192 000 a year.

Because the flat is not registered, it technically does not exist and has escaped the City of Cape Town's radar.

However, the city's valuation department found out about it in May last year, but only conducted a site inspection this month.

Ian Neilson, the executive deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for finance, said this week that the city had measured the portion and that it would be valued 'in the fourth supplementary valuation that is to be certified at the end of May'.

The valuation department was still busy with the valuation, which, said Neilson, 'is complex', adding that the valuation 'looks set to be substantial'. The property was being valued as hotel rooms, which means it would attract the full commercial rates tariff, he said.

Once the valuation was finalised, the city would begin charging rates.

'We will separately examine whether there would be merit in an application to backdate the valuation and rates,' he said.

Neilson said a 'large unregistered portion' was being valued as a 'developer's right of extension as a registered right' - which overcomes the lack of registration of the unit (at the Deeds Office)'.

When asked why it took the city a year to value the property, Neilson said the valuation department responded to 'data triggers, sent mainly from the Deeds Office and the Planning and Building Development Management Department. In this instance, there are no building plan records... in the valuations system'.

Councillor Johan van der Merwe, mayoral committee member for Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning, said this week that the city's Planning and Building Development Management department had initiated legal action against the owner 'with a notice to obtain written approval for unauthorised building work'.

The notice period asks for plans to be approved within 60 days from the date of issuing of the notice, said Van der Merwe.

'If the owner fails to do so, the matter will be handed over to the city's Legal Services department for court action.'

Adam Pitman, Phelan's lawyer, denied allegations that his client had abused his developer rights to avoid paying rates.

'It is normal practice for a developer to reserve rights of extension... The amount of rates is a non-issue and a negligible amount.'

But another attorney said he had never come across such an incident, as developers normally registered units quickly so that they could be sold. He conceded that this appeared to be a loophole to escape paying rates and even levies if the developer occupied the unit.

'The Sectional Titles Act does not stipulate when a unit, built in terms of a developer's right of extension, must be registered.

'The act only states that the right lapses after a designated time,' he said.

According to the law, Phelan's company has until 2020 to register the unit.

Cape Royale is a sectional title scheme. Although Phelan's company is the single biggest owner of units in the hotel, companies and individual investors own most of the units.

A large number of units are in a rental pool, which is managed by a company of which Phelan is also the sole director.

Phelan was the chairman of the Cape Royale body corporate until May last year, when the body corporate was placed under administration because of a fiduciary failure on the part of Phelan and one other trustee to members of the body corporate.

Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

The Camps Bay Ratepayers' and Residents' Association says it makes 'no logical sense' for the City of Cape Town to recommend that the lease for the Bowling Club be terminated so that Camps Bay Preparatory School can expand.

The council will this week decide on a recommendation from the mayoral committee to allow the lease, which only expires in 2018, to be terminated subsequent to the Western Cape Education Department getting the approvals it needs to put an educational facility on the prime land in Victoria Road.

Byron Herbert, a former Camps Bay High pupil who serves on the executive of the residents' association, said the school, with three playgrounds, a large hall, eight classrooms and several offices, could accommodate extra classrooms for Grades 1 and 2. The school had a pupil enrolment ceiling which meant that, despite extra space, it would not accept more pupils.

'What is more intriguing is that the process of trying to close down an old established and viable club has been able to get this far without any plans, sketch plans or even mention of how the school plans to use the 6 000m2 of land and buildings,' said Herbert.

'Once approved and rezoned (to allow it to be used for education) it can potentially set a precedent for further applications to rezone, and in turn, the selling of public land throughout the city,' he said.

Matthew Bater, president of the Camps Bay Bowling Club, said he hoped the council would reconsider another a proposal that met the school's and the club's requirements.

Cape Argus

A man targeting showhouses all over Joburg and Pretoria in order to steal easy-to-carry valuables has been nicknamed 'Steve the Shopper' by an online crime-fighting forum.

The man nicknamed Steve the Shopper, who allegedly steals from showhouses.

The man allegedly calls estate agents and sets up appointments to view houses they have advertised for sale. He calls himself Steve or Bertus. While in the homes, he lifts cash and jewellery when the estate agent isn't looking.

Crime-fighting organisation eBlockwatch has set up a Facebook page specifically for estate agents to alert them to any crimes happening in areas were they work.

EBlockwatch founder Andre Snyman said that through the page they were alerted to several incidents where Steve The Shopper had been in operation. They had also managed to get CCTV footage of the alleged thief.

eBlockwatch member Stella van Niekerk said Steve the Shopper did not seem to be fussy about house prices. She said they had been alerted to at least seven incidents where Steve the Shopper had been involved.

They had come across thefts in Bassonia, Fourways Gardens, Broadacres, Mondeor, Midrand, Douglasdale, Dainfern Estate and Kyalami Estate.

'Those are just the incidents that we know of. I'm sure there are many more,' Van Niekerk said.

On May 16, the man calling himself Bertus made an appointment with an estate agent in Kyalami to view two properties.

During the house visits, he allegedly stole jewellery worth R25 000 when he was left alone for a few minutes.

At a showhouse in Mondeor earlier this month, R3 000, a wallet and a gold and silver watch were stolen.

Kyalami Estates security manager Jaco Gerber said he had found two police case numbers in Midrand and Douglasdale for similar crimes and needed to establish whether it was Steve the Shopper.

He said he had also been alerted to incidents in Centurion and Pretoria that sounded similar.

Snyman said it was not the first time eBlockwatch had seen this method of operation. Last year, a couple they nicknamed 'Bonnie and Clyde' worked their way from Cape Town along the coast, robbing showhouses.

The duo were eventually caught by police in Port Elizabeth. In total, 18 cases had been opened against them.

Snyman urged estate agents to join the Facebook group to gather information on similar crimes.

The Star

Controversial Durban businessman Jay Singh's company, Woodglaze Trading, is to retain control of four Phoenix housing complexes and continue to receive R3 million in monthly rentals from these flats.

Pietermaritzburg High Court Acting Judge Peter Olsen ruled on Friday that he could not extend a preservation order granted on April 4, based on what was said in the court papers.

This order had placed 1 244 flats under restraint and the estimated R3m in monthly rentals was to be paid to a court-appointed curator.

Acting Judge Olsen ruled that the rental money paid to the curator must be repaid to Woodglaze Trading.

The preservation order was obtained by the Asset Forfeiture Unit last month in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, when the unit had placed four complexes, which Singh built, under curatorship.

Woodglaze contested this preservation order last week.

The forfeiture action came after investigations into allegations of misconduct in the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, an entity set up by the Human Settlements ministry.

Woodglaze built the flats on land bought from the eThekwini Municipality.

It then entered into an agreement with a sister company, Moko Rental Housing Project, to access state funds, from the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, to buy the flats from itself.

It received a capital grant of R236m from the authority to buy the flats.

The authority then questioned the common directors in Woodglaze and Moko and called for another social housing institution to be identified to administer the transfer.

First Metro was chosen to administer the transfer and some of the properties were transferred to Moko.

The judge said the question of irregularities, fraud, corruption or unlawful conduct was not before him. He was to only decide if the order granted last month should be extended or not.

He said that there was no basis to contend or believe that the land, or flats, were the proceeds of any unlawful conduct.

Daily News

National average rental increases for residential property peaked at a high of 10.8 percent in October last year then started to settle in the 8 percent to 10 percent range as tenants found it increasingly difficult to pay the rising rentals.

The PayProp rental index, which is based on the analysis of about 2.5 million transactions in South Africa, showed the weighted average national rental at the end of the first quarter of this year had increased to R5 934 from R5 867 in the fourth quarter.

Louw Liebenberg, the chief executive of PayProp, a leading processor of rental payments for the residential letting industry, said that in line with international trends, economic circumstances were expected to remain tight, with landlords and tenants caught between cover and available capital.

But based on current growth rates, the national rental average could be expected to exceed R6 000 by the end of the current quarter, he said.

Liebenberg predicted that tenant payment profiles would deteriorate slightly this year.

He said damage deposit ratios would continue growing despite plummeting affordability as owners sought protection against tenants ending contracts prematurely.

Tenant Profile Network (TPN) credit bureau reported a worsening tenant payment performance for residential rentals in the fourth quarter of last year, with the percentage of tenants in good standing dropping to 85 percent in the last two quarters from 86 percent.

TPN said 72 percent of tenants remained in the 'paid on time' category but the deterioration in payment behaviour was reflected in the decline in the percentage of tenants who 'paid late' to 15 percent in the fourth quarter from 17 percent in the previous quarter.

Liebenberg said this trend resulted from overindebtedness and PayProp did not expect it to improve because rental growth rates were still above inflation and occurring in an economy characterised by increases in essential costs coupled with low growth rates.

'While the rental market is growing at healthy levels, our caution to the market remains that tenants are under increasing pressure, which calls for more in-depth screening prior to the signing of leases in 2014.'

The index also revealed that more private property investors were starting to acquire additional investment properties over time. He said the average investor had a portfolio of 1.4 properties, up from 1.3 two years ago. 'While the shift does not at first seem significant, it is important to view it in the context of the volume of properties that PayProp deals with.

'The difference between 1.3 average properties an owner and 1.4 means 3 300 fewer owners are required to achieve the same volume of properties.'

Business Report

Cape Town's MyCiTi's service to Century City and Atlantis, meant to change the face of public transport for long-suffering commuters, has been denounced by some as 'pathetic'.

It has become a pattern that buses don't arrive at night or were very late, they say.

The city admitted it had received a 'substantial' number of complaints since the service was rolled out to Atlantis and Dunoon.

Besides late or cancelled buses, commuters have also complained that the machines on which they are charged often do not work, resulting in them being penalised and charged more for parts of journeys they did not take.

Tasleema Petersen, who uses MyCiTi to travel to and from Atlantis to work in Canal Walk, said she had been using the service for two months and described it as 'pathetic'.

She said she had lodged numerous complaints with the call centre, but that staff were rude and never solved any of her complaints.

Petersen said there were meant to be two buses from Century City to Atlantis after 9pm, but said these buses hardly ever arrived.

At times, the driver would refuse to load passengers, saying he was From Page 1 going to the depot. Most nights, the only bus was at 10pm, which meant she got to Atlantis at midnight.

In March, the city cancelled a R234-million contract with Lumen Technologies, which installed and maintained the IT contract which monitors operations and scheduling due to nonperformance, and has been monitoring the service manually.

Mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron said because of the cancelled contract, the city could not monitor timetable adherence electronically on the Dunoon, Table View, Atlantis and Civic Centre routes.

However, vehicle operating companies had supervisors to monitor and regulate buses.

He said the cancellation of the Lumen contract had made it more difficult for the city to monitor and verify schedule adherence as it is currently unable to receive and communicate realtime information about the buses. Herron said the bids for a new company to manage the IT system was being evaluated and that the city hoped to have a new contractor by June.

Lumen Technologies director Sedicka Chilwan earlier disputed the cancellation of the contract and threatened to sue the city for R50m. Chilwan said yesterday: 'We are currently in mediation with the city and intend to continue pursuing our legal rights.'

Meanwhile, Petersen said passengers were becoming more and more frustrated with intermittent problems with bus schedules and late buses.

'It is frustrating because MyCiTi is meant to save you time and money, but it wastes our time and charges us for journeys we are not even taking because nothing works properly and drivers do not stick to the schedules.'

She said in the beginning the service worked perfectly, but soon there were regular problems. 'It's ridiculous because buses just don't arrive or they are least 40 minutes late.'

Another passenger, who travels from Parklands to Canal Walk, said he had been using the service since 2011 and had the same problems.

The passenger, who asked not to be named, said: 'The service is terrible and problematic, the drivers and staff at the stations don't help and they are rude.'

Quinton Gobie who works in Canal Walk, said: 'Buses are always delayed and not consistent with the schedule; especially at night there are problems.'

He said two buses were meant to arrive after 9pm, but mostly he and other passengers wait until one arrived at 10.40pm.

'When it was a new service we understood there might be problems, but it can't carry on like this,' Gobie said.

Herron said most of the complaints from the new routes came from the new users not being familiar with the MyCiTi service, the fare collection system and the timetables. He said the city was aware of intermittent issues with the validators (tap-in machines) on the buses, and was looking for a solution.

He encouraged people to lodge complaints so that city could investigate, as the city had a performance management system to monitor operating companies.

He said as a result of the cancelled contract, the city's transport information centre did not have access to real-time information from the control centre and was therefore not able to report on a position of a particular bus.

Commuters can contact the transport information centre on 0800 65 64 63 toll-free from landlines, or e-mail transport.info-AT-capetown.gov-DOT-za

Cape Times

Many young people of today will choose not to get married but will live with their partners and buy their home jointly.

With so many people with families dependent on the fact that they co-own a home and the fact that both incomes will in all likelihood be used towards the purchase of the house, it is vitally important for a valid contract to be signed between the two parties to protect the asset for all involved, says Lanice Steward, managing director of Knight Frank Residential SA.

In some cases one of the partners might have stopped working in order to look after children and not contributed to the bond in a physical sense but has contributed to the household in other ways. Because of this intangible input, in the case of a split, who would get a fair share of the profit?

A court case covered in a Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes newsletter, Claassen v Quenstedt, where they bought a home together but never put anything down in writing and did not stipulate the conditions of the contract, said Steward, is a typical example of how important it is, not only to have a contract between the partners, but to stipulate whether they are joint owners in the property.

It is important to establish and stipulate whether the buyers of the property are co-owners or partners as this determines when each party becomes responsible for any debts incurred. If buying the property as partners, the debt responsibility only starts once the partnership is dissolved whereas buying as joint owners, the prescription period starts when the debt was incurred.

In this case, a mortgage was registered over the property, Quenstedt paid the deposit and the property was registered in both their names. After several years the relationship came to an end and Claassen claimed that each party should be fully accountable to the other with regards to all expenses incurred as well as any profit. This would be extended to the settlement of the outstanding bond, the estate agent's commission, payment of all the municipal accounts still due, any other direct expenses and the reconciliation of the amounts paid to either party.

Quenstedt argued that the parties would share the profit and share the expenses to maintain the property, as well as the bond repayments and rates and taxes.

Claassen was claiming monies due before November 2011, which was three years before the issue of the summons, claiming that the joint ownership amounts were due. The response from Quenstedt was that there was an extension in cases of partnership, which they had entered into when they bought the property together.

The court ruled that Quenstedt was responsible for the maintenance of the property as he was living in it and he did not owe Claassen any rent for the time he has lived there in addition to paying the bond repayments. Claassen, as co-owner of the property was responsible for the outstanding share of rates and taxes and the bond repayments which have not yet prescribed.

The property was ordered to be sold and the payments of the outstanding bond made as well as commission to the estate agent and all municipal amounts due. The profit that remained was to be split between the two parties.

'Had this couple entered into a contract before buying the property,' said Steward, 'they could have avoided the expense of taking this matter to court as well as the unnecessary time delays in coming to an agreement. Parties buying property together need to break down all the expenses and profit and be sure that they have an agreed percentage share in their contract as well as who is responsible for what aspects of the ongoing ownership.'

Knight Frank Residential Press Release

The property industry, comprising residential and non-residential sectors, contributed R191.4 billion to the country's economy in 2012 and a further R46.5bn to the fiscus through various direct and indirect taxes.

This was one of the major conclusions of a research report on the financial and economic impact of the property sector on the national economy, the first such study ever done on the country's property industry.

The study was commissioned by the Property Sector Charter Council (PSCC) and followed the first-phase study that measured the size of the property market, which it estimated at R4.9 trillion. Both research phases were conducted by Investment Property Databank (IPD).

The residential sector accounted for R123.8bn of the total contribution by the property industry to the economy in 2012.

Of this, R103.7bn was the residential sector's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and R20.1bn came from taxes.

The contribution by the nonresidential sector was R106.2bn, of which R80.9bn was its contribution to GDP and R25.3bn in tax went to the fiscus.

The analysis in the latest report used the life cycle of a property, from original concept to its completion.

The total contribution to GDP of the end of cycle stage in 2012 was R6.8bn with R1.1bn being contributed to the fiscus.

The research also considered the financial revenues attributable to the existence of the property during its life cycle and looked at buildings from an 'object' and an 'investment asset' perspective.

Mashilo Pitjeng, the chairman of the PSCC's research committee, said yesterday that the results from the first two phases of the research would be superimposed on the broadbased black economic empowerment (BEE) requirements of the sector.

He said the third phase of the research, which would measure and analyse transformation in the sector using the broad-based BEE tool with the eight elements contained in the property sector code of good practice, was under way and the transformation report on the sector would be released later this year.

'For us to be able to measure the level of transformation, we have to quantify the size of market where we expect that transformation to take place.'

Stan Garrun, the managing director of IPD South Africa, said the aim of the research was to create a consolidated body of knowledge about the property sector that would foster consistent understanding of the sector for measurement and evaluation.

He said this was unprecedented research because it had never been done before and nobody had ever known the total size and contribution of the property sector before.

Garrun said the property sector was a substantial industry although not it was not as big as mining, whose contribution to the country's GDP was R270bn, excluding taxes, and retail, which contributed R203bn, excluding taxes.

Portia Tau-Sekati, the PSCC's chief executive, said this research would give the council a true understanding of what the sector was about. She said one of the mandates of the PSCC was to monitor and evaluate transformation, or the lack of transformation.

Tau-Sekati said the PSCC would only introduce sensible intervention programmes in areas where transformation was not happening once it understood where the opportunities existed, such as in procurement and enterprise development, because of the size of the sector.

'In a sector as big and as important as property, there should be ample opportunity for transformation to take place,' she said.

Business Report

Take on the Tshwane Municipality at your peril, mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa has warned. 'We want to send a message, especially to those in affluent suburbs who wanted the court to stop us from rolling out the smart metering project, that we are continuing with the project.

'We know who they are. The installation of the prepaid meters will start in the affluent areas where they live,' he told the city council this week.

Ramokgopa said courts should not be used as an alternative form of government. Detractors and their agents used courts to try to portray the city as bankrupt, he said.

'We defeated them like we did in the elections. This was yet another victory for our glorious movement (the ANC).'

Afrisake, the Afrikaans business rights watchdog, had asked the North Gauteng High Court to interdict the installation of equipment for the electricity smart metering project, and to set aside the services agreement between the City of Tshwane and PEU Capital Partners.

However, the application was dismissed. Judge Hans Fabricius ruled the court 'was not a legislator and should be loath to interfere with legislative or executive decisions, unless clearly shown'.

An application for a review of the project is pending in court. Ramokgopa said the city had successfully rolled out the smart meters to 332 large power users. The exercise was starting to yield positive results in revenue, he said.

Tshwane was also victorious in its battle for compensation for the 2011 merger of the former Metsweding, Kungwini and Nokeng tsa Taemane municipalities with the capital.

The Financial and Fiscal Commission found the move was costly considering that it was imposed on the municipality by the provincial government.

The costs of the merger had the potential to affect service delivery negatively, the commission found.

Ramokgopa said the decision was a victory for the ANC caucus in the city.

'When we were arguing this case, they objected.

'This issue would have adversely affected the financial position of the city. This is not only a victory for the poor and marginalised communities but also a social cohesion victory.'

The mayor referred to the case of the Blair Atholl Homeowners Association and two other applicants who sought a court order to set aside the decision by the City of Tshwane to adopt a draft rates policy and draft by-laws for this development. The application was dismissed with costs. However, it has not been all glory, as the city could be held in contempt of court in the ward committee case, which it lost in the high court.

The court ruled in favour of the DA. The party had applied to have the ward committee elections of 2012 declared unconstitutional, arguing the polls were held in the absence of any valid regulatory framework.

The city's application for leave to appeal was refused.

The Ramokgopa administration has since ignored calls for fresh elections and insisted the ward committees remain operational and effective pending the outcome of the appeal process.

However, attorney Tumi Mokoena advised that a court decision was binding from the moment it was issued.

Court decisions could only be overturned on appeal, said the man who also represents Economic Freedom Fighters commander-in-chief Julius Malema.

Mokoena said Tshwane could be held in contempt of court for allowing ward committees to continue with their duties as usual, despite the court order.

Contempt of court for non-compliance with court orders to act or not to act in a certain way is a criminal offence under the constitution.

Pretoria News

Identity fraud has started to hit property owners, with properties being sold to unsuspecting buyers and without the real owners knowing about it.

The Daily News has identified eight instances where properties have been sold, and in some the transfer had gone through the Deeds Office, without the knowledge of the true landowners.

In one instance two brothers had paid R165 000 cash for a house, and had done R50 000 in renovations when the real owner returned from his rural home and found renovations in progress.

Brothers Ngcebo and Sandile Ngcobo, of KwaMashu, said they had forked out more than R200 000 buying and renovating an 'abandoned' house they had bought from a man who they have since learnt had used a bogus ID when he posed as the owner.

When the legitimate owner, Mbongiseni Ngcobo, arrived, waving proof of ownership, Sandile Ngcobo had been at the scene, and the men had had an argument before they realised what had happened.

Their attempts at trying to find the seller, who at the time appeared to have all the right paperwork, proved fruitless.

Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, confirmed that a case of fraud had been opened for investigation, although no arrests had been made.

Sandile Ngcobo told the Daily News he and his brother had used a conveyancer to transfer the property, which they had bought in September, into their names.

'The house was abandoned when we bought it. The doors were unhinged, it was dirty inside, there was rubbish on the floors as well as used condoms,' he said. 'We were shocked when this man showed up claiming that it was his house.'

However, the rightful owner denied that his house had been abandoned or that the doors were unhinged, saying that his son had lived there.

'He had got a job in New Germany at that time and was renting closer to his job. The gate and doors were locked,' Ngcobo said. The conveyancer also paid R10 000 owed to the bank and R4 000 owed to the council.

Ngcobo said: 'I am not leaving my house or giving anyone any money until police find this man who used my identity to sell my house.'

Sandile claimed the conveyancer, Aesha Ramchunder, should have ensured that the property was unencumbered.

But Ramchunder told the Daily News that all the documentation presented by the 'seller' had seemed authentic and that everything had checked out.

'The property was attached to a bond and there was money still owing to the bank. And the bond account number I got from this man checked out with the bank and I paid the outstanding amount and got the title deed,' she said. 'He had the water and lights bill. It all seemed genuine.'

Ramchunder said it had not been until the Deeds Office phoned, pointing out an error on the paperwork, that it was discovered that the man who had been given the money did not own the house.

'He was supposed to sign the document that had an error, again, but when we tried phoning, the number did not exist,' she said.

'We went to the address he had provided and he did not live there, he had disappeared.'

In a separate matter, Halalisani Dlamini narrowly escaped losing R70 000 on a bogus property deal.

He had been in the process of buying a plot of land in uMlazi's V-Section from a man purporting to be the owner, but the fraudster's eagerness for the transfer of cash into his account made Dlamini suspicious.

'My lawyer insisted on waiting for the transfer to go through at the Deeds Office first and the man who claimed to be the owner kept phoning me saying that he was desperate for cash and would find someone else to sell the land to,' he said.

'I gave him R5 000 cash while we waited for the transfer to go through.'

But Dlamini said when he went to the plot again, he found a man cutting the grass.

'The man said he owned the land and he said his name was Ndumiso Dlamini, the same name as that of the man I knew as the owner, but it was not him,' he said.

Last Friday, the real Ndumiso Dlamini showed the Daily News a photocopy of the ID used to sell his plot, given to him by Halalisani Dlamini. It had his name and ID number - but a different face on it.