News / Regional
Chiyangwa dispute, Redcliff Town Council gets ultimatum
15 Nov 2015 at 08:45hrs | Views
THE High Court has given Redcliff Town Council up to the end of this month to resolve a land dispute with Harare businessman Mr Philip Chiyangwa, failure of which the matter will spill into the courts.
Mr Chiyangwa and Redcliff have been locked in a land dispute for more than five years after the local authority backtracked and reversed a land deal which it had entered into with Pinnacle Holdings, one of Mr Chiyangwa's construction companies.
Pinnacle had purchased 200 hectares of land for $658 000 in 2009. The Harare-based businessman paid $375 000 as deposit.
Redcliff later withdrew from the deal claiming that the piece of land which the cash-strapped municipality impulsively sold to Pinnacle while on the verge of bankruptcy had been sold for a song.
After reversing the deal in 2010, Redcliff Town Council immediately engaged its lawyers as it sought the way forward.
The council said then that it wanted the matter resolved amicably with Mr Chiyangwa who had bailed the municipality during its hour of need. Mr Chiyangwa responded by dragging the local authority to court.
Redcliff mayor Councillor Joseph Matewa recently confirmed that the council was in the process of negotiating with the business mogul on how best the local authority could refund him. He confirmed that the local authority had been given an ultimatum which expires at the end of this month to settle the dispute with Mr Chiyangwa.
"We have been given up to the end of this month and we hope that we will have reached a compromise. We invited Mr Chayangwa and we met him last month. Our lawyers and his are in negotiations and they are likely to beat the deadline," said Clr Kapuya.
Mr Chiyangwa has been insisting that the piece of land at the centre of controversy is still his property and he is not willing to give it away on a silver platter. In an earlier interview, he said he rescued Redcliff when the council was in a financial quagmire.
"Redcliff municipality officials are inconsistent and unprofessional. I never expected them to reverse the deal after helping them at their hour of need. We did not only help Redcliff Town Council, but many other local authorities among them Kariba, Victoria Falls and Kadoma," said Mr Chiyangwa.
Meanwhile, Redcliff is set to raise close to $4 million after it got the green light to sell over 800 housing units in Torwood compound. Clr Kapuya said the local authority had finished the valuation of the houses and will gazette the prices soon with first preference being given to occupants.
"We are to deliberate as council and see the mark up that we can put on the houses. The houses were handed over to us by Ziscosteel when it was still functional," he said.
Mr Chiyangwa and Redcliff have been locked in a land dispute for more than five years after the local authority backtracked and reversed a land deal which it had entered into with Pinnacle Holdings, one of Mr Chiyangwa's construction companies.
Pinnacle had purchased 200 hectares of land for $658 000 in 2009. The Harare-based businessman paid $375 000 as deposit.
Redcliff later withdrew from the deal claiming that the piece of land which the cash-strapped municipality impulsively sold to Pinnacle while on the verge of bankruptcy had been sold for a song.
After reversing the deal in 2010, Redcliff Town Council immediately engaged its lawyers as it sought the way forward.
The council said then that it wanted the matter resolved amicably with Mr Chiyangwa who had bailed the municipality during its hour of need. Mr Chiyangwa responded by dragging the local authority to court.
"We have been given up to the end of this month and we hope that we will have reached a compromise. We invited Mr Chayangwa and we met him last month. Our lawyers and his are in negotiations and they are likely to beat the deadline," said Clr Kapuya.
Mr Chiyangwa has been insisting that the piece of land at the centre of controversy is still his property and he is not willing to give it away on a silver platter. In an earlier interview, he said he rescued Redcliff when the council was in a financial quagmire.
"Redcliff municipality officials are inconsistent and unprofessional. I never expected them to reverse the deal after helping them at their hour of need. We did not only help Redcliff Town Council, but many other local authorities among them Kariba, Victoria Falls and Kadoma," said Mr Chiyangwa.
Meanwhile, Redcliff is set to raise close to $4 million after it got the green light to sell over 800 housing units in Torwood compound. Clr Kapuya said the local authority had finished the valuation of the houses and will gazette the prices soon with first preference being given to occupants.
"We are to deliberate as council and see the mark up that we can put on the houses. The houses were handed over to us by Ziscosteel when it was still functional," he said.
Source - sundaynews
