Ramatex parties reach settlement after 13 years
Warehouses to be sold
A protracted court case between the municipality and Ramatex liquidators, which started already in 2010, ends in settlement.
Pursuant to a settlement agreement, the liquidators of Ramatex Textiles Namibia will sell eight of the enormous warehouses on site in Windhoek and rehabilitate the land. This is the end of a court case between the liquidators and the City of Windhoek that dragged on for 13 years.
One of the terms of the agreement is that the municipality will receive 30% of the net income from the sale of two of the eight warehouses.
These are known as the Tai-Wah warehouses, and the municipality claimed that Ramatex was not entitled to compensation for the construction of those two warehouses because it signed a lease agreement with Tai-Wah. Ramatex claimed that it paid to erect those two buildings.
The price for the warehouses will be determined by the liquidators, David Bruni, Ian McLaren and Simon Steyn.
Three years
According to the agreement, the sale and rehabilitation process must be completed within three years.
"In the event that the land under the warehouses has not been rehabilitated by the end of the three years, the municipality will be entitled to appoint an independent contractor to carry out the rehabilitation at a reasonable amount to be determined by the liquidators’ expenses,” it read.
It further stipulated that even after three years - if the sale and land rehabilitation has not been completed - the City can take ownership of the material remaining on the property, which includes the warehouses or parts thereof.
The municipality will continue to provide the security services for the time being, pending the finalisation of the removal of the warehouses.
Background
The City owns the property, which Ramatex leased a portion of, but after Ramatex went into voluntary liquidation after being declared bankrupt in 2008, it instructed the textile company to vacate the property.
Ramatex is said to have erected certain buildings and made almost N$80 million worth of improvements to the property during its lease period. The municipality apparently suffered losses of around N$22.4 million.
The court cases between the liquidators and municipality dealt with the ownership, occupation and control of the property as well as who would be liable for the losses and who would benefit from the added value to the property.
Was ready for trial
Although there were initially two separate cases between the Ramatex liquidators and the City - one filed in 2010 and the other in 2013 - the cases were joined in June 2022.
This week, parties were ready to proceed with the hearing, which was scheduled for the following weeks in the Windhoek High Court before Judge Herman Oosthuizen, but instead settled. The settlement agreement was made an order of the court yesterday morning.
According to the agreement, each party must pay its own costs and make no further claims against each other.
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One of the terms of the agreement is that the municipality will receive 30% of the net income from the sale of two of the eight warehouses.
These are known as the Tai-Wah warehouses, and the municipality claimed that Ramatex was not entitled to compensation for the construction of those two warehouses because it signed a lease agreement with Tai-Wah. Ramatex claimed that it paid to erect those two buildings.
The price for the warehouses will be determined by the liquidators, David Bruni, Ian McLaren and Simon Steyn.
Three years
According to the agreement, the sale and rehabilitation process must be completed within three years.
"In the event that the land under the warehouses has not been rehabilitated by the end of the three years, the municipality will be entitled to appoint an independent contractor to carry out the rehabilitation at a reasonable amount to be determined by the liquidators’ expenses,” it read.
It further stipulated that even after three years - if the sale and land rehabilitation has not been completed - the City can take ownership of the material remaining on the property, which includes the warehouses or parts thereof.
The municipality will continue to provide the security services for the time being, pending the finalisation of the removal of the warehouses.
Background
The City owns the property, which Ramatex leased a portion of, but after Ramatex went into voluntary liquidation after being declared bankrupt in 2008, it instructed the textile company to vacate the property.
Ramatex is said to have erected certain buildings and made almost N$80 million worth of improvements to the property during its lease period. The municipality apparently suffered losses of around N$22.4 million.
The court cases between the liquidators and municipality dealt with the ownership, occupation and control of the property as well as who would be liable for the losses and who would benefit from the added value to the property.
Was ready for trial
Although there were initially two separate cases between the Ramatex liquidators and the City - one filed in 2010 and the other in 2013 - the cases were joined in June 2022.
This week, parties were ready to proceed with the hearing, which was scheduled for the following weeks in the Windhoek High Court before Judge Herman Oosthuizen, but instead settled. The settlement agreement was made an order of the court yesterday morning.
According to the agreement, each party must pay its own costs and make no further claims against each other.
–[email protected]
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