HARARE – Mbada diamonds chairperson, Robert Mhlanga has dismissed as ridiculous, reports in the South African media that he is building a R200 million house with an underground bunker in the plush Zimbali estate in Durban.
The reports said the massive house is rumoured to be a bolt-hole for President Robert Mugabe. Speaking to the Daily News on Friday, Mhlanga said he was shocked by the “untruths” in the story saying he bought the property 10 years ago and was merely making minor additions to it.
“There is a difference between building a house and making a few developments to it. The house was built a long time ago and the documents are there for all to see. I don’t know why people did not check with me before writing the story.
“The claim is that there are underground bunkers at the house and I would really want to be shown where they are because I have never seen them.
“There are no such bunkers in the house, maybe the people who wrote the story or those who supplied them with information will be able to show me.”
The matter came to light after the municipality’s urgent application in the Durban High Court for an interdict to stop all building works on the two adjacent properties.
KwaDukuza Municipality obtained a high court order to stop construction and occupation of the new structures on the mansion, next to the plush Zimbali estate, because of the potential impact on neighbouring properties and the environment.
There were suggestions in the story the mansion could have been funded through diamond sales but Mhlanga said this was laughable because the house was bought well before he ventured into the diamonds industry.
Mhlanga ventured into the diamond industry three years ago, seven years after he had bought the property. In its application, the municipality said it had “very serious concerns about the nature of the building works” because plans had not been submitted for the project.
Mhlanga said: “Municipal laws in Durban say you don’t even need to inform them on developments which are less than 10 percent of the value of the house but we still informed them. The reports coming from newspapers now are malicious, I don’t even know what this is supposed to achieve because I’m aware there are people out there who want to tarnish my name.
“It gets so preposterous as to say that I am setting up a lake at the house. Do people know what a lake is? Does renovating the waterworks that are at the house, mean I am setting up a lake?
“We are just adding a guard house, two gazebos and ablution facilities. Even if you look at the judgment, it says respondents are not to occupy recent structures and these are the recent structures being referred to,” said Mhlanga.
Judge Achmat Jappie handed down the interim order by consent and said respondents are not to occupy recent structures built on the properties including “the guard house, the two gazebos, the ablution facilities adjacent to the existing main house on the first respondents’ property”.
The respondents also undertook to allow building inspectors to inspect the properties without prior notice. Daily News
Discover more from Nehanda Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
