Agribank keen to restart Witvlei abattoir
Agribank is keen to restart operations at its Witvlei abattoir after the Windhoek High Court ruled that Witvlei Meat, which had occupied the facility, should be evicted.
Judge Herman Oosthuizen ruled this past Friday that Witvlei Meat be evicted from the property.
Witvlei Meat, which is owned by Windhoek-based businessman Sydney Martin, was supposed to have exercised an option to acquire the abattoir by 21 June 2015.
This, however, did not materialise, leading to the closure of the abattoir and the loss of 160 jobs.
Witvlei Meat was supposed to buy the abattoir for the then market value of N$15 million. It had rented the facility since 2006.
“We would love to get to a situation where it is available for somebody to use this abattoir, but of course, we had to go through a legal process to evict Witvlei Meat,” Agribank CEO Sakaria Nghikembua said.
“We are just as concerned that the abattoir is not being used for the purpose that it can to add value to the economy. It is a concern that the abattoir, which is an asset of the bank remains closed.”
Agribank secured an eviction order against Witvlei Meat in the High Court in March 2013, having sued the company in an effort to have it evicted from the abattoir it had been renting since August 2006.
Witvlei Meat had argued it had a legal right to exercise its option to buy the abattoir in August 2009 and made a N$15 million offer.
Its position was supported by a May 2014 Supreme Court decision, when the country's highest court ruled that Agribank was wrong in its view that Witvlei Meat no longer had a valid option to buy the abattoir. In its glory days, the abattoir was a European Union (EU) beef exporting abattoir, with its produce ending up as far away as Norway.
OGONE TLHAGE
Judge Herman Oosthuizen ruled this past Friday that Witvlei Meat be evicted from the property.
Witvlei Meat, which is owned by Windhoek-based businessman Sydney Martin, was supposed to have exercised an option to acquire the abattoir by 21 June 2015.
This, however, did not materialise, leading to the closure of the abattoir and the loss of 160 jobs.
Witvlei Meat was supposed to buy the abattoir for the then market value of N$15 million. It had rented the facility since 2006.
“We would love to get to a situation where it is available for somebody to use this abattoir, but of course, we had to go through a legal process to evict Witvlei Meat,” Agribank CEO Sakaria Nghikembua said.
“We are just as concerned that the abattoir is not being used for the purpose that it can to add value to the economy. It is a concern that the abattoir, which is an asset of the bank remains closed.”
Agribank secured an eviction order against Witvlei Meat in the High Court in March 2013, having sued the company in an effort to have it evicted from the abattoir it had been renting since August 2006.
Witvlei Meat had argued it had a legal right to exercise its option to buy the abattoir in August 2009 and made a N$15 million offer.
Its position was supported by a May 2014 Supreme Court decision, when the country's highest court ruled that Agribank was wrong in its view that Witvlei Meat no longer had a valid option to buy the abattoir. In its glory days, the abattoir was a European Union (EU) beef exporting abattoir, with its produce ending up as far away as Norway.
OGONE TLHAGE
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