Vetch's lease proposal on hold

Fresh attempts to lease Durban's most popular water sport beach to a development company to build a luxury hotel, flats and yacht marina were put on hold again yesterday after strong criticism by opposition parties - and at least one member of the ANC majority party in the eThekwini council.

DA caucus leader Tex Collins said the proposal to lease Vetch's Pier for R1 000 a month for the next 198 years to a company owned jointly by the city, the Malaysian-owned Rocpoint group and empowerment group Vulindlela would turn Vetch's into an enclave for the rich and exclude the majority of the city's population from the area.

Fellow DA councillor Warren Burne suggested the project would become a white elephant because the mooring fees were unaffordable.

They were commenting on an amended proposal to the city's finance committee to sanction approval for the Durban Point Development Company to lease the beach and part of the sea from the transport minister in terms of the Seashore Act of 1935.

City real estate head Keith Matthias said the legality of the proposed arrangement had been scrutinised and approved by the state attorney, Durban environmental attorney Norman Brauteseth and by senior counsel.

Matthias said the recommendation would only make provision to build an "enclosure" at Vetch's beach, but would not grant the right to developers to start building a hotel or condominiums.

Collins, however, said he had been given an entirely different legal opinion by four city advocates, who stated that it would be unlawful to rely on the outdated Seashore Act, which was in conflict with the newer Integrated Coastal Management Act of 2009.

Minority Front councillor Ismail Cassimjee raised concerns that the lease proposal was sub judice because of pending appeals in court.

The ANC's Judaline Mulqueeny said she had concerns about "this very capitalist private-public partnership", which would also exclude up to 5 000 subsistence fishermen from earning a living if the beach was privatised.

Mpume Mabaso, of the ANC, brought the debate to a halt, saying her party was requesting that discussion be deferred while the matter was considered by the economic development and town planning sub-committees.

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