An entrepreneur and business development manager at Witvlei is fighting the Witvlei Village Council for what she says is owed to her.
Speaking to Business Today on condition of anonymity, the businesswoman alleges she was granted renovation rights by the former and late Chief Executive Officer, Hendrik Muisoor, until the new CEO stepped in to throw a spanner in the works.
A letter dated September 14, 2020, stipulates the allocation of four SME stalls to the woman, who for now wishes to remain anonymous.
The letter states that the Witvlei Village Council, at a council meeting dated June 23, 2020, resolved to provide her with a stall on a lease basis.
The letter further states that she was to be held responsible for any repairs or renovations to the four stalls, as well as for the N$300 monthly rental fee, while the council would provide the stalls with pre-paid water and electricity meters.
However, the woman says that, after receiving the go-ahead to effect renovations to her stalls from the now-dead former CEO, the new powers that be are being less than accommodating.
"The late CEO, may his soul rest in peace, told me the village council does not have money. If you can fix the place with your own funds, and when you are done and start operating, you can generate the money to pay yourselves. When you guys get a profit, we agreed because we could see that there was really no money in the country. The agreement we got was because we wrote about three presentations, but the new CEO claims she doesn't know of them. The papers we received from the old CEO show she is not aware of them as well as their councillors. She informed us to stop working on renovations because she wants to move the fence at the park. Because the Roads Authority is complaining that people get bumped there. Plus, the other fence needs to be moved to relocate those in the Kapana business to come and operate here. I told her it was not a problem. We can work together as long as you provide them with water while we wait to fix the toilets."
She says she has been demoralised and demotivated after planning to improve her business space for the benefit of her customers and better potential earnings.
"Now it seems like they have robbed me. It's not fair. I have given up on doing business. Because it seems like she wants to take my place. She is saying I do not have papers, and the agreement was verbal. I don't know when she says verbally what she means; it is not only verbal. Here are the papers proving that I got the place from the late CEO. There is a place to operate, and when you are done, you can pay this amount per month."
Business Today visited the new Chief Executive Officer, Tinana Matjila, at the Witvlei Village Council, who provided a letter of response and further highlighted that she has been in contact with the disgruntled businesswoman.
Council, in a letter dated March 6, 2023, requested the woman specify what renovations were carried out, noting she previously only indicated the materials to be used.