Anger over debt write-off for Knysna mall owner
The mayor of a cash-strapped town that couldn’t even clear its own rubbish dump cleared R37m in arrears debt for a company linked to one of its most prominent businessmen.
The Sunday Times reports that there are growing calls for an investigation into Knysna Council dealings.
A letter that emerged last week suggests Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa approved a write-off request from the owners of the Knysna Mall, Grey Elephant Investments (GEI), valued at about R37m.
GEI’s directors include prominent property developer Neil Lurie, who is also the co-director of heavyweight property company Maponya Developments.
The apparent write-off, also detailed in another letter from Knysna acting municipal manager Simon Malepeng, stands in sharp contrast with the ‘unavoidable’ tariff increases for Knysna residents announced in June.
They included a 15% hike in electricity and 11% in refuse collection.
The letters, purportedly sent on behalf of the Knysna Council, say the council has approved the arrears write-off subject to an internal review.
But some councillors say the write-off was not approved, as the administration did not agree with GEI’s calculations.
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