The renovation of the multi-million rands Tembisa Plaza, which was halted when residents , ward councillors and local business forums demanded to benefit from the revamp project, will finally go ahead.
This after the renovation company, Lemay Construction, obtained an interim interdict in the Joburg High Court on Tuesday to stop them from entering the construction site.
Lemay Construction, which entered into an agreement with the Government Employees Pension Fund represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to upgrade the shopping mall, which had been vandalised and looted during the 2021 July unrest, went to court after complaining that their work was being disrupted by the parties.
In his application for an interdict, David Rhodes, Lemay’s contracts manager, stated in court papers the company employees and sub-contractors who were working on the project were denied access to the plaza by the rogue community members, councillors and local business forums.
He said he did not know what the problem was because the company provided the community with the opportunity to benefit when it developed a participation plan to allocate at least 30% of the labour opportunities associated with the renovation.
“The participation plan expressed that the guaranteed opportunities would be limited to labour only.
However, the plan also indicated that small, medium and micro enterprises (SSMEs) emanating from the local community would also be able to participate through appointments by the applicant’s specialist sub-contractors appointed as suppliers or to execute certain parts of the works,” said Rhodes.
He also stated local SMMEs participation would be determined by their competency to undertake sub-contracting work.
However, the local business forum, councillors and community members lost their cool and accused the company of dictating terms, claiming Lemay wanted to bring in outsiders to the project taking place in their own backyard.
Rhodes said that the respondents were nothing more than a construction mafia, adding that Lemay was held hostage by individuals who claimed to be representing Tembisa communities demanding certain rights to the project.
All the respondents did not oppose the application when the matter was heard.
In the interim judgment, Judge AJ Thompson said that the ward councillors, community leaders, local businesses were interdicted and restrained from entering the construction site at the plaza.
Thompson also stated in his judgment that the respondents were also interdicted and restrained from blockading, blocking and preventing any person from entering and leaving the site of construction.
They were also interdicted from threatening, intimidating, assaulting and injuring any person at the property.
The respondents were also interdicted and restrained from interfering with the reinstatement and upgrading of the Tembisa Plaza.
“A rule nisi is issued, calling on the respondents to show cause, if any, on the 2nd day of August 2023 [or] as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, why the following order should not made final. The rule nisi shall operate as an interim interdict pending its confirmation or discharge,” reads the order.
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