WE RELY ON RENT TO REPAY LOANS - MOTSA

MBABANE – Pay rent because we also have loans to repay.

This is the call made by both commercial and private property owners after the plea by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Prince Simelane when requesting, in his personal capacity, landlords to consider suspending the payment of rent given the financially frustrating period imposed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed tens of thousands of lives globally.

Eswatini business tycoon Moses Motsa said there was nothing that he could do in helping the situation because he also had loans to repay at the bank and relied on the rental payments to service those loans. Motsa owns former Cafe de Flore building, The George hotel, old Bus Rank in Mbabane, Mvulane complex, Makhaya convenient Centre and many others, especially in Manzini. “It is a difficult question because this is a chain, occupants pay the rent and then the rent payments are transferred to the bank to repay loans. It is only government that can address the issue because they can have a way to establish what could be the way forward.

“As a property owner, I can boldly declare that there is nothing I can do to assist the property occupants because I have loans that I have to service with the bank and if a tenant does not have the money to pay then I have to look for another source of funds to make the monthly loan payment at the bank. Where can one source that money if occupants are not coming through?” he wondered.

Enhanced

Motsa said another way the property occupants could be enhanced was the suspending of loan repayments by financial institutions because in that way, the property owners would have no pressure to make the loan payments hence cutting the occupants some slack. However, he was not blind to the fact that some of the property owners made a living out of leasing out their properties and if rental payments were not made, that would mean they had no source of income and no money to spend on essential commodities. Another commercial property owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said his only source of livelihood was through leasing out his property.

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