Molapo owner sues government
Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday February 24, 2016 14:38
Vandecasteele, trading under Sphinx Associates, in 2012 served the government with a writ of summons in which he claimed he was negatively affected after the Department of Roads started road works, which reduced the access to his shopping centre.
He is claiming among others, that the department should construct the equivalent quality entrances into Molapo Crossing as approved on December 9, 2008 and restore full traffic access from all directions.
Yesterday, the two parties appeared before Justice Leatile Dambe of the Gaborone High Court for the matter to be argued.
However, the matter was postponed to later dates with the state requirement that it has not been able to take proper instructions from the roads department and the Minister of Transport who was out of the country.
State representative, Pulane Kgoadi, said they were seeking the postponement in the hope that they would settle out of court once they took instructions from their client.
She explained that the only pitfall was that all officers who were in the department during the start of the road works were no longer in office therefore it has been difficult to access information.
“We have seen all the exhibits and documents the plaintiff intends to rely on and we are in a better position to advice our clients,” she said. “We are hopeful that we will settle out of court once we take proper instructions from our client and also the minister.”
Advocate Sidney Pilane SC, representing the Molapo Crossing boss, said the matter should be dealt with and disposed off as it has been going on for a long time.
Pilane argued that both parties met several times with the hope of settling out of court but it has not been possible.
“We are unprepared to wait for another day because efforts to settle have been futile though we understand it has never been the fault of the state but of the department whose officers at the time of the road works have all been moved, making it difficult for the state to take instructions,” he said.
Pilane said the case was of public interest and that people often died due to traffic accidents around the Molapo area.
Vandecasteele, in his writ of summons, claims payment of loss of rental income at P40,000 per month from the date the circle was removed, payment of costs incurred in taking own mitigation measures, as well as payment of damages from the negative impact experienced during the construction of the roads around the complex.
According to court documents, the Molapo Crossing boss’s action was that the department had failed to comply with the Environment Impact Assessment Act.
That it started road works without submitting and seeking approval of an impact assessment study as required by law, which resulted in the negative impact on his shopping centre not being addressed and he suffering damages.