REDAN Kerosine (Pvt) Limited (RKL) has filed opposition papers to a lawsuit by Alex Park homeowners seeking to block a new service station in the area, alleging improper procedures.
In court papers filed on August 4, Alex Park residents took RKL, Mark Campbell Hounsell, City of Harare (CoH), CoH Department of Works, and town planner a Mr Mudzengerere to court.
Hounsell is cited by Alex Park residents to be the one to have sold the property to RKL, a local energy firm, where the proposed service station will be built.
The reason behind the filing of the court papers is due to the potential development infringing on the “environmental rights” of the residents that include the right to due process and accountable town planning procedures.
Alex Park residents have also accused CoH, CoH department of works and Mudzengerere of actively obstructing their rights to fair and reasonable administrative conduct by failing to follow peremptory provisions of the Regional Town and Country Planning Act.
LASTLY, residents accuse the local authority of acting clandestinely regarding the permit for the proposed development.
However, in the notice of opposition dated August 17, 2023, RKL disputed that the due processes were not followed.
“Other than the first applicant, Elena Gonye, no evidence has been placed before the court regarding the basis of interests of the other 48 applicants in the development at the corner of Swan Drive and Churchill Avenue,” RKL director Lindsay Eleanor Earle said, in the notice of opposition papers to the lawsuit by Alex Park residents.
“There is no evidence that any of the 48 applicants resident in the area are affected by this development.
“They have not disclosed the addresses where they live and how they would be affected by this particular development.
“There is no evidence placed before the court showing why they claim they ought to have been served individually with the notice of the application by the second respondent (Hounsell).”
Gonye is the first applicant of 49 of the Alex Park residents who brought the initial lawsuit to the High Court, who reside close to the proposed development.
The Alex Park residents formed an association of 116 residents to further buttress the lawsuit presented before the courts.
According to the residents, at least 402 have signed a physical petition backing the lawsuit with a further 371 signing one online making it a class lawsuit.
“It is not sufficient for each of the applicants to simply state they are interested in or affected by the development. In this regard, I refer to the absence of any detail in their powers of attorney. They do not state the basis upon which they are interested in this matter,” Earle said.
“It would have been incumbent upon everyone of the applicants to state their connection in relation to this particular development. I raise this issue more importantly because one of the complaints is that they were served with the notice of the proposed development.”
She said not all the applicants may own or live in the properties to the proposed development.
“Without them disclosing their connection thereto, the applicants have not established their interest in the development of the property. On that basis, they have no ‘locus standi’ to commence these proceedings,” Earle said.
“On that basis, insofar as the application purports to have made on their behalf, it must be struck off with costs.
“There should, therefore, be only one applicant, the first applicant, who has disclosed her connection to the development.”
In proposing a new development in a residential area there needs to be a change of use of the property into a commercial one as well as a special consent being sought from the residents affected by the development.
According to the residents, who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity, they were not furnished with a copy of the change of use from residential to commercial.
In regard to the special consent, according to the notice of opposition, RKL stated that Christopher and Mary English, Edward Mapokotera and Overbrook Investments gave special consent for the property development. All of these people are directly impacted by the development.
However, residents claim that since the property development will affect more households in terms of noise, safety owing to a high traffic zone, increased traffic, sewage of the suburb, water, and inadequate parking, the development affects more households.
According to the CoH by-laws, while a person who does not own an adjacent property to the proposed development has no right to object to a proposed development, CoH is obligated to use its discretionary powers to determine the number of potentially affected residents.
Fuel businesses are targeting residential areas to build new service stations.
In response to inquiries made by the paper, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) chief executive officer Eddington Mazambani said building a service station was under the purview of the local authority and town planner.
He said a Zera licence was issued in terms of operating a service station only after they have complied with the Environmental Management Agency, fire-brigade and local authority in terms of construction and having a business licence.
“I think they (residents) are putting the horse before the cart. This issue is not yet before our consideration,” Mazambani added.
Responding to whether RKL has an operating licence for the proposed site, the Zera boss said:
“No, that site is under construction.”
- Matter of fact – In our original story we mistakenly used an image of a Redan Coupon (Private) Limited (Redan) Northbridge Park Borrowdale service station instead of that of Redan Kerosine (Private) Limited (RKL). Redan and RKL are separate entities. In the story there was also reference to Redan instead of RKL. We unreservedly apologise to Redan for inconvenience caused by the mix-up. – Editor