The embattled Ithala Bank has launched moves to rescue two failed projects that have guzzled more than R130 million and need several millions more to save them.
The two are the Dolphin Whispers residential development in Durban's Point area - funded to the tune of R83.4 million and which came to a halt owing to poor workmanship and project management - and a residential project developed by Zee Net Trading, which was funded for R55.2m.
Economic Development MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu said moves were afoot to rescue the projects, which had been taken over by the KwaZulu-Natal government-owned finance agency. This paved the way for the resumption of construction work on the projects. He said Ithala would put the Dolphin Whispers work out to tender next week and its reconstruction would take about a year.
The building, which was initially intended for residential use, would be turned into an office block with Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Ithala and Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal set to move in once it was completed.
It was initially reported that the structurally defective project would need a further R75m to be rehabilitated. However, it would cost R25m to turn it into an office block instead of residential flats. Among those behind Dolphin Whispers were former president Nelson Mandela's granddaughter, Nandi Mandela, and five Durban businessmen - Henry Masinga, Vaughn Charles, Marcel Henry, Rajen Naidoo and Craig Simmers.
Mabuyakhulu said that the Zee Net project, a residential project at Salt Rock on the North Coast, had been taken over by Ithala after being abandoned by its developers before its completion.
"The main reason the development was bought back was to attend to its completion and recover money from the sales," he said. "This assumption is based on the fact that the property market is on the incline and would have improved significantly by the time the development is completed."
According to the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office, Zee Net's directors are Mandlakayise Solomon Mkhabela, of Umlazi, and Mahipal Ramlal, of La Mercy.
