A landlord locked officials from the Amathole district municipality out after it failed to pay its R100,000 monthly rental in Butterworth.
However, the municipality said Sathish Nair had allegedly “increased the rental without the lapsing” of the current lease, and the reason for the hold-up is that the amount is being queried.
The municipality is supposed to pay the rent by the 7th of each month but, when it failed to do so this month, Nair locked his building at the corner of Sauer and Bell streets in Butterworth.
Nair and the ADM have a three-month lease agreement that ends in March.
Nair declined to comment.
The SA Municipal Workers’ Union's Amathole deputy chair, Victor Totolo, blasted the municipality, saying had all service providers been paid and not only “comrades’ friends” when municipal bosses went straight to Standard Bank and ordered that 74 companies be paid a combined R11.7m in December, Nair would not have resorted to locking his premises.
The Butterworth offices were closed from Saturday until Tuesday morning.
ADM spokesperson Nonceba Madikizela-Vuso confirmed Nair was paid for December and that the January payment was still outstanding. She said this was because the municipality was querying the January bill.
“The landlord increased rental without the lapsing of the three months.
“We’re in a new contract which ends in March. We had queried the December rental and he revised it. He was paid the December rental [on Tuesday],” she said.
soyisom@dispatch.co.za
ADM locked out of building by landlord
A landlord locked officials from the Amathole district municipality out after it failed to pay its R100,000 monthly rental in Butterworth.
However, the municipality said Sathish Nair had allegedly “increased the rental without the lapsing” of the current lease, and the reason for the hold-up is that the amount is being queried.
The municipality is supposed to pay the rent by the 7th of each month but, when it failed to do so this month, Nair locked his building at the corner of Sauer and Bell streets in Butterworth.
Nair and the ADM have a three-month lease agreement that ends in March.
Nair declined to comment.
The SA Municipal Workers’ Union's Amathole deputy chair, Victor Totolo, blasted the municipality, saying had all service providers been paid and not only “comrades’ friends” when municipal bosses went straight to Standard Bank and ordered that 74 companies be paid a combined R11.7m in December, Nair would not have resorted to locking his premises.
The Butterworth offices were closed from Saturday until Tuesday morning.
ADM spokesperson Nonceba Madikizela-Vuso confirmed Nair was paid for December and that the January payment was still outstanding. She said this was because the municipality was querying the January bill.
“The landlord increased rental without the lapsing of the three months.
“We’re in a new contract which ends in March. We had queried the December rental and he revised it. He was paid the December rental [on Tuesday],” she said.
soyisom@dispatch.co.za
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