At last between 400 and 600 jobless Bakgatla stand a good chance of securing employment as soon as the Mochudi Wholesalers building, commonly known as the “Yellow Building” because of its colour gets occupation certificate and its 72 units are fully utilized. This is the building whose owners were embroiled in a legal fight with the Kgatleng District Council for 20 years. The council has been refusing to grant the developer occupation certificate on the grounds that the building encroached into the road reserve and that it had not been inspected stage-by-stage during construction work. It was argued that failure to inspect construction work would most likely put the lives of the public at risk if the owners were given permission to operate.
But recently, the Daily News newspaper carried a story indicating a new and progressive thinking in the BDP dominated Kgatleng District Council. This is a complete departure from the previous council’s position. The paper quoted the Council Secretary, Mpho Mathe as saying that the council had decided to conditionally issue the developer certificate of occupation because it was satisfied that the building posed no threat to the lives of the public. According to the story, the council had engaged its team of architects to inspect the building and the outcome was that the building was safe for occupation. That finding in fact supported the earlier one carried out by the property owners which the council had rejected. On the strength of that inspection report, the council resolved to grant the developer certificate of occupation.
However, not everybody is happy with this decision judging from a variety of comments made by some members of the former Molefi Secondary School WhatsApp group. This is the one group which boasts of having members holding different professions and has rich occupation experience. Among them, you find medical doctors, lawyers, economists, journalists, politicians and etc. Some have been judges of the High Court, cabinet Ministers, parliamentarians, permanent secretaries, presidential advisors, colonels, majors, brigadiers, university lecturers and bankers. Its chairman is Isaac Mabiletsa, former MP for Mochudi East. WhatsApp posts started with one of the members posting what read just like an alert message because it only underscored the fact that the building will finally be opened after being stalled by council in 2002 for overlapping into the road reserve. Ya bo e tsositse di letseng, literally meaning that it awakened sleeping dogs.. The first response came from a member who was at one stage in government when the issue reached government enclave. His post was like this “wonder what they did to get this dispensation. I am very interested. I smell a fat rat”. Another member concurred, “the rat signals the impunity with which some people behave even where the highest levels of arbitration, the courts and the office of the president, consistently decide on the side of the law and in favour of the people”, adding that, “the fat rat is a massive one indeed”. As the debate continued, another member asked, “Is the building really safe to occupy”? The response was “e tlo gosomana” meaning that it is going to collapse.
A detailed, balanced and informative response was posted by someone who had been involved in the dispute both as a civil servant and a lawyer. He said he knew the details intimately, adding that Mochudi Wholesalers “did not build on land that was not theirs, nor was there a road reserve to encroach upon in a road that was not declared a public road”. The road was declared public road in 2009, long after the building had been completed, he said. He went further explaining that, the only thing the developer did wrong was to build on without having their building inspected and approved by the council after every stage. The Court of Appeal recognized that plus the fact that the building had cost P25 million and had the important prospects for the economy of Kgatleng. The parties were given 12 months to find amicable solution but the council “remained stubborn for political reasons”. “I am glad someone has finally allowed common sense to prevail, putting aside all politics”, he said adding that, sometime “we allow prejudice and small mindedness to get in the way of progress”. “That building must work, expand the economy of Kgatleng, provide employment to Bakgatla, and those who occupy it will pay taxes. That is what our economy needs, not small mindedness”, he concluded.
Grateful this constituency now has a person like Mmusi Kgafela as its Member of Parliament. Having him is a clear case of a new broom sweeping clean or as the saying goes, new blood bringing new progressive ideas. The MP for Mochudi West, is the one who has allowed common sense to prevail. The man also doubles as the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development. He has done what his predecessors were unable to do for many years. Property owner, Enamuoolla Khan and the Kgatleng District council had remained deadlocked for close to two decades. Mmusi Kgafela broke the deadlock way back in December or a little bit earlier after he reasoned that the facility would offer job opportunities to his constituents and also that it was unreasonable to allow such a valuable facility to continue as a ghost facility and rot. The MP had many advantages which enabled him to break the deadlock. Conciliatory approach, being a cabinet minister, being a lawyer, being a royal, being an MP and getting on well with the developer’s attorney surely worked in his favour.
As far as I am aware, there is no “fat rat” for one to smell. Right from the beginning, Mmusi Kgafela did not play his cards close to the chest. He was transparent. He approached the Kgatleng District council chairman, Daniel Molokwe and sold the idea to him. The response from the chairman was that of a man who had also been toying with the idea of one day seeing the “Yellow Building” operating. But he had not started the ball rolling. But the MP and chairman were on the same boat. They were working in parallel on the same thing. The MP approached Khan for a meeting. Khan did not accept the invitation apparently suspecting foul play. He feared that someone out there could be trying to solicit a bribe from him to get the building opened. Mmusi Kgafela then pushed further by talking to Khan’s attorney for a meeting. Because Kgafela and Khan’s attorney get on well together, the attorney was sympathetic to Kgafela’s effort and allowed him to speak to his client (Khan) in his absence. He had wished to attend the meeting but domestic issues prevented him from attending. But after satisfying himself that Kgafela was genuinely approaching him, he felt that it was unwise to throw the baby out with the bath water by agreeing for a meeting. Mmusi Kgafela did not want to do it alone. He invited his councillors for that meeting but none of them showed up. And none of them gave an apology.
The meeting was fruitful. The two men agreed during their meeting that it was in the interest of the district and that of the property owners that it be opened. Khan grew up in Mochudi and he knew Kgafela’s parents well. Kgafela did not know him because he was still young when the Khans were operating businesses in Mochudi. Impressed by Kgafela’s overture and his standing in the society especially his royalty and ministerial position, Khan felt that at last he had found someone he could listen to. At the meeting he found out that Mmusi Kgafela was negotiating in good faith. Khan then offered to not take any legal action against the council in the event the latter granting him occupation certificate. Kgafela impressed upon the council to issue such a certificate and gave them until the end of January to do so because of the urgency of implementation of his undertaking. It appears by the time the matter was formally brought to the attention of the council, all councillors including the opposition member who had earlier expressed misgivings, had softened their positions on the issue.
Was there anything Kgafela would do if the council had refused his advice to issue the certificate of occupation? Yes there was. There is a legislation called the “Building Control Act” which falls under Kgafela’s portfolio responsibility. It gives the Minister powers to relax its regulations. He would have used that clause to ensure the Mochudi Wholesalers were granted occupation certificate. However, he opted not to exercise those powers in order to give the council time to reflect. In the process, Mmusi Kgafela consulted his royal uncles on the issue. Only one was uncompromising. The uncle expressed the view that Khan broke the law and must suffer the consequences. On the other hand, Kgafela disagreed arguing that retributive justice served no purpose. From there, he consulted with the village development committees which unanimously welcomed the idea. Because of Covic-19, he avoided calling kgotla meetings to hear the views of residents. Personally, I became aware of this effort towards Christmas.
In the interim, an opposition councillor wrote to the district council stating that he had heard that attempts were being made elsewhere in Mochudi to influence the council to issue a certificate of occupation to the owners of the “Yellow Building”. He is said to have cautioned the council that it would be in contempt of court if it did so. Is it correct for someone to suggest that one would be held in contempt of court for waving his rights in a court judgment which was granted in his favour? The answer is no. For instance, in their divorce proceedings in the 90s, Winnie Mandela who was the applicant, lost the case with costs against Nelson Mandela and was ordered to pay the respondent’s legal costs. The former South African President waved his rights and decided to pay his lawyers from his pocket. He was not held in contempt. However, it is not clear as to whether a body such as the district council can be held in contempt for abandoning its own judgment.
Personally I became aware of Kgafela’s move to have the “Yellow Building” granted occupation certificate towards Christmas. I was with him and his elder brother, Bakgatle Kgafela at home informally discussing constituency issues. We saw the move as a brilliant thing. As something which will boost the economy of the district, something which will certainly reduce the number of jobless in the village and also as something which will make his constituents who are objective realize that he was interested in their welfare. Mmusi Kgafela is the second elected MP from Mochudi, after the late Ray Molomo to be appointed to Cabinet. His detractors accuse him for never being heard asking other ministers questions during parliamentary debates perhaps unaware that asking questions is the responsibility of the backbench and the opposition and the frontbench’s responsibility is to provide answers. The opening of the “Yellow Building” as a result of Mmusi Kgafela’s effort may silence many among his detractors.
I spoke to Mr Khan this week. He is looking forward to the issuing of the certificate of occupation. Once that has been done, he will start marketing the building. He has adopted an attitude of let-the-bygone be the bygone. He told me that there is a clause in the lease agreement that states that upon offering jobs priority be given to Kgatleng residents. He too must be congratulated for being flexible.
