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BIG TREE CANCELS LEASE, WANTS GALP EVICTED

12/03/2024 15:48:00 Stanley Khumalo

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MANZINI – Big Tree Complex has terminated its lease agreement with Galp Eswatini and has since written to the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA), seeking its intervention.

A letter written to ESERA and directed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sikhumbuzo Tsabedze, states that Ncamase Investments (Pty) Ltd, is the proprietor of the Big Tree Complex in Matsapha, in which Galp Eswatini (Pty) Ltd operated a filling station until three years ago, when the latter ceased its operations. Director of Ncamase Investments (Pty) Ltd Issufo Calu, who is the signatory of the letter, said the filling station operated by Galp was the anchor tenant at Big Tree and a lot of the other businesses in the complex were dependent on the filling station’s traffic.

Traffic

He said at the time the filling station ceased operations in July 2021, it was a major contributor and accounted for the majority of traffic to the complex. Calu informed the ESERA CEO that the sudden cessation of operations resulted in a drop in traffic to the complex and the loss of business by the other tenants. “As a result of the reduced traffic to the complex, a number of businesses have either closed or relocated to other competitor shopping centres in Matsapha. The complex has become less competitive, because of the loss of traffic from the filling station and is currently only half occupied,” he said. Calu further said immediately upon acquiring the Big Tree Complex from previous owners, the new shareholder started engaging Galp Eswatini to resume operating the filling station. He said the previous shareholders had highlighted that the loss of business was due to the closure of the filling station and it had a negative effect on other tenants.

He informed Tsabedze that the closure of the filling station also made the Big Tree Complex uncompetitive, relative to other competitor shopping complexes. “Put in another way, the closure of the filling station constitutes a threat, not only to the viability of the business of Ncamase as owner of the complex but the other businesses which are tenants in the complex,” he said. Calu alleged that Galp Eswatini was engaged by Ncamase to open the filling station on or about September 2023. He supposed that Galp Eswatini made an undertaking to Ncamase to revert by end of October 2023 on when it would resume operations of the filling station. The director of Ncamase purported that the understanding was that this would happen beginning of November 2023. He said despite the engagement and the supposed promises, Galp Eswatini allegedly failed to open the filling station and it remained closed. On January 29, 2024, which Calu said marked four months of no communication from Galp Eswatini; Ncamase issued a notice of breach of the lease agreement to the fuel wholesaler.

Cancel

“In terms of the lease agreement between Galp and Ncamase, Galp is obliged to keep the filling station open to the public at all times and the failure to keep the filling station open was a breach of the lease agreement. Galp failed and or refused to rectify the breach by opening the filling station and Ncamase proceeded to cancel the lease agreement between it and Galp,” he alleged. The director further supposed that the letter of cancellation of the lease agreement dated February 19, 2024, between the two entities was with effect from February 13, 2024, and as such, Galp Eswatini no longer had a lease and could not trade on the premises. He purported that in the letter of cancellation, Galp Eswatini was advised to remove its property from the premises. However, Calu alleged to Tsabedze that Galp Eswatini had indicated that it would not remove the property from the leased premises. This, he supposed, meant that Galp Eswatini was refusing to decommission the filling station. Calu purported that Ncamase on the other hand had engaged another wholesale company to open the filling station.

Interest

“The wholesale company is ready to open the filling station as soon as possible. It is in the best interest of Ncamase, as a business and the other tenants in the complex, that the filling station be opened as soon as possible,” Calu purported. He supposed that it was also in the national interest that the filling station be opened to ensure supply of fuel in Matsapha Industrial area. He said opening the filling station would also bring the jobs that were lost when Galp Eswatini stopped operations. Furthermore, he said this would also restore business confidence in the complex and help create employment when the shopping centre is fully occupied. Calu purported that Galp Eswatini’s refusal to decommission the filling station to allow for another wholesaler to take it over was the stumbling block. He claimed that it was a vindictive act aimed at crippling the business of Ncamase. “The relationship between Ncamase and Galp is now irretrievably broken down with no prospect that it can be restored,” he said.

Also, he said Ncamase was aware that the decommissioning of an installation was supposed to be done by the holder of a licence. In this case, he said, Galp was supposedly refusing to decommission the site and thereby bringing untold economic harm to Ncamase, the tenants in the complex and the many families that have been deprived of their livelihood as the result of the closure of the filling station. Calu said Ncamase was ready to decommission the site and had engaged the services of Petrocon Swaziland, a contractor with vast experience in decommissioning of filling stations. He said Petrocon Swaziland was ready to commence the decommissioning as soon as possible. He said Ncamase had also engaged the services of Swazihazmat to handle the environmental issues of the decommissioning. Calu said: “We are requesting the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority to approve the decommissioning of the site, which will allow for Ncamase to recommission the site with another wholesaler.”

Harm

He said the contractors were ready to commence the decommissioning immediately and they were requesting that ESERA deals with this matter expeditiously, to avert the harm suffered by Ncamase. To these allegations, Galp Eswatini Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Filipe Silva said: “We need to follow the courts and respect their decision regardless of the period they take.” Silva said he could not comment any further on the issue beyond that. It is worth noting that the Galp Filling Station at Big Tree Complex was owned by the Calu family before their relationship with Galp Eswatini disintengrated. At the time, they were tenants at the complex and they later bought the shopping complex.