We have made some progress in the drive to save the building, said BFTU secretary general, Gadgani Mhotsha. According to Mhotsha, twenty-five of the organisations affiliate groups that have paid up have pledged to save the building by contributing to the cash-strapped Union. We are hoping to raise funds to clear both loans, he said. BFTU took a P10million loan from NDB for the construction of the four-storey building and further topping up with another P3 million from the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) to do some finish ups after it was noticed that there was shortage of funds to complete the building. The BFTU scribe put the unions woes on a depressed property market. The building is not able to raise the expected funds because the loan started running before the building could be completed, said Mhotsha.
Currently a large part of the Union building remains unoccupied. The Union has 25 days to pay the bank before the building is sold to defray costs.
That building is very valuable to us and I can say with confidence that we will do everything to keep it, stated Mhotsha. The Union House was built on a BFTU plot a few years ago hoping to cash in on rentals from tenants.
