The City of Tshwane's decision to evict the Silver Valke Rugby Club from a municipal property in Silverton over lease violations has stirred controversy as the tenants claimed they were not notified about any breach of their lease agreement.
MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kholofelo Morodi, said extensive investigations revealed that the club sublet part of the premises to a school, violating the terms of the lease, and also sold alcohol near the primary school, creating an unsafe environment.
She said the club’s subletting a portion of the premises to a school contravened the “specific terms which mandate that the property be used exclusively for rugby-related activities”.
The lease agreement, which was originally in place for over 20 years, expired years ago but was not renewed by the City.
Morodi said: “It was during this period of the Silver Valke Rugby Club’s extended use of the City’s facility that we uncovered that the school was paying the club R12 000 per month in rent. The club was originally paying R500 per month to the City.”
She said such discrepancy raised serious concerns, leading to the decision to evict the club, which has 60 days to appeal the decision.
Morodi expressed sympathy for the students and parents affected by the situation and promised to work with the school to find new premises that meet educational and community standards.
She said the school currently operating at the facility will remain open.
“It is our hope that, moving forward, the premises will be leased to tenants who will fully adhere to the City's regulations and uphold the integrity of the lease agreement,” Morodi said.
Chairperson of Silver Valke Sport and Recreation Club, Henry van Wyk, claimed that the club was not given any notification before the decision to terminate their use of the facility.
He said the club was caught off guard and never received any complaints from any department.
He said some ANC representatives claimed a notice was issued to the club in 2022.
“But, I said in 2024 you can’t come here and use it as a tool to attack. Isn’t that a bit absurd? If you get an agreement and you breach an agreement somebody must give you a warning so that you can be given an opportunity to remedy the problem,”he said.
He said the club was called into a meeting with the City at very short notice.
“We were caught very unaware when they gave us a termination letter. We are now seeing our attorneys and once we have seen our legal team and went through everything that happened we will then give a formal statement,” Van Wyk said.
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