Works minister to meet Molapo management

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Tuesday September 28, 2010 00:00

Molapo Crossing management has been accusing the ministry of denying them business by excluding the mall from developments that are currently ongoing around the mall. 

There is no access to the mall from the Western bypass road that the Department of Roads, under the ministry, is currently developing along the mall. This road holds a huge volume of traffic.

Last week, Minister of Works and Transport, Frank Ramsden, said his ministry will be meeting with the management of the mall early next month to discuss the way forward.

However, he would not discuss the matter further saying that it is a matter that is still to be discussed and would only talk after an agreement between the two parties has been reached.  'I am meeting with Molapo Crossing management and I can not tell how things will turn out,' he said. 

Managing Director of Molapo Crossing Mall, Luc Vandecasteele, confirms that representatives, who are also tenants, will meet with the ministry shortly to discuss the issue.

He is hopeful that they would finally get to an agreement since discussions has dragged for over five years now. 'The ministry has always promised to do something but nothing was done.  I really hope that an agreement will be reached this time around,' he said. 

Vandecasteele argues that his tenants have suffered huge losses on a monthly basis as their clients struggle to access the mall. 

Last year, he had proposed to the Department of Roads that he could construct an access road from Grand Palm Hotel leading to Molapo, but was however told that it could only be built on left-in-left-out along the Western bypass, which was the opposite of the proposal. 

Furthermore, the construction of the access road could only commence after the main contractor of roads around the mall had completed the work. 

Construction of roads around the mall is expected to end next month, The Guardian stated.