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By Loyiso Sidimba 
7h ago
Cape Town – THE BUSINESSMAN Roux Shabangu lost his offer to claim R340 million in damages from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure for canceling a controversial R500 million lease.
The Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) this week overturned the North Gauteng Superior Court ruling by Judge Brenda Neukircher granting Shabangu permission to sue the department for damages despite her late filing.
Shabangu’s dispute stemmed from the equally controversial R500m 10-year lease of the Sanlam Middestad building in Tshwane that his company Roux Property Fund signed with the public works department on behalf of the South African Police Service in 2010.
It launched the R340m damages lawsuit against the department, saying it violated the lease.
According to the SCA ruling on Thursday, the damages claimed by Shabangu were the value of the property’s loss of ownership and the future benefit to its company by owning the property at the end of the lease without the property being encumbered. for a mortgage bond. or any liability.
”If the defendant (public works) had not breached the lease, if the defendant had not repudiated his obligations under the lease and the defendant had paid the rent that he was obliged to pay in terms of the lease. agreement, the plaintiff (Roux Property Fund) would have been in a position to prevent Nedbank from making a judgment against him, “he said in superior court.
The SCA found that Shabangu failed to convince the court that the department had not been unreasonably harmed by failing to serve notice of its intention to sue for damages on time and overturned Judge Neukircher’s decision with an order dismissing the lawsuit. from Shabangu with costs.
Shabangu purchased the building through a mortgage bond from Nedbank, but failed to honor repayments, forcing the bank to successfully initiate high court proceedings to recover R307m.
Subsequently, Nedbank bought the building for R66m in 2013 at auction.
The public works department also initiated a legal process for the lease to be declared invalid from the beginning, since it was concluded with officials who lacked authority and several legal requirements on the acquisition of goods and services were not fulfilled for the State organs.
The lease was investigated by former public protector Thuli Madonsela and led to the dismissal of former Minister of Public Works Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and current Minister of Police Bheki Cele as commissioner of the national police.
Cele was fired after a board of inquiry established by former President Jacob Zuma, but the North Gauteng Superior Court overturned the decision last year.
MESS
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