The million rand state-of-the-art cash wash owned by Makana Municipality will be leased to Liyakhanya Car Wash as soon as the paperwork is complete.
The million rand state-of-the-art cash wash owned by Makana Municipality will be leased to Liyakhanya Car Wash as soon as the paperwork is complete.
This move puts an end to a tug-of-war between the municipal council and Liyakhanya which began two years ago. Last year Mbulelo Kitsili, the manager of Liyakhanya won a court case after the municipality sought an eviction order against him.
The court victory intensified Kitsili’s desire to lease the municipality’s car wash facility which came true when the newly elected Makana Mayor Vumile Lwana gave him the go-ahead.
During Thursday’s council meeting Ward 5 Luyanda Nase objected to the move arguing that Kitsili is "overage" due to the fact that the facility was built as a youth empowerment project. "Maybe he is young at heart, but he’s not a young person," he added.
Ward 6 councillor Zonwabele Mantla asked if Cacadu District Municipality has been informed about the council’s decision to lease the facility to Kitsili. "If that hasn’t happened, I’d like Cacadu to be engaged as that exercise will help us with funding for future projects," he added. The district municipality funded the construction of the facility.
ANC Proportional Representation councillor Thandeka Veliti argued that the government never builds facilities for "individuals", expressing her dismay that the facility will benefit only one person.
But Makana Municipal Manager Ntombi Baart said the proposal, which was ratified by last month’s mayoral committee meeting, reflects that there are eight youth who are part of Liyakhanya. "They are listed as beneficiaries and Kitsili is their mentor," she added. However, Mantla maintained that Liyakhanya has only one owner and that the eight members are his employees, not his partners.
"The project was sabotaged by us councillors," he added. Proportional Representation councillor Julia Wells said the project was approved before the council decided to recruit young people from different wards and therefore there was no need of informing the district about the planned lease.
Before operations at the facility ground to a halt at the beginning of the year, only three of the 10 youth which started with the project were still involved. Democratic Alliance Proportional Representation Councillor Michael Whisson agreed with Wells and said the council should be happy that the facility "is working after all the shenanigans".
Meanwhile, Nase lambasted the municipality for not providing the councillors with all the terms and conditions of the lease agreement which the municipality is on the verge of signing with Kitsili. "We are being made to look stupid, because we are arguing on five bulleted points whereas other people are sitting with business plans and therefore know more information about how the project will operate," he said.
Ward 9 councillor Mxolisi Ntshiba said that he had submitted alternative ideas on how the project can be run to Lwana. He added that the time frames of Kitsili’s mentorship and lease period should be spelled out clearly in the agreement.
ANC Proportional Representation councillor Nombulelo Masoma said the terms of reference of the agreement were developed by the municipality and that they provide for a skills transfer period of one year after which an evaluation will be conducted to determine whether Kitsili will still be needed as a mentor.
Makana economic development director Riana Meiring said the lease will be drawn up for 10 years but that the municipality will not sign it until all the youth working for Kitsili have been listed as co-owners in the Liyakhanya’s registration documents.
According to the lease agreement, Liyakhanya will pay a monthly rental of R100 which will be increased by 10% annually. The company will also pay for its consumption of water and electricity, Lwana said he was disappointed that the council spent so much time (around 50 minutes) discussing a nonsensical issue. "You spent a long time debating a car wash issue which is not a strategic matter," he added.
