Brown denies plot allegations

COUNCILLOR Basil Brown of the Keetmanshoop Town Council has come out with guns blazing against allegations that he refused to vacate a plot that had been allocated to another resident.

A local law firm recently informed the council that it intended to sue for damages suffered by its client, Ryno Kubirske. The council last Monday opted for a settlement payment of N$6 400 to avert the lawsuit, The Namibian was reliably informed.Brown’s alleged refusal to vacate a plot for which Kubirske successfully tendered triggered the legal action.At an extraordinary council meeting on Thursday, Brown lashed out against fellow councillors, claiming they had requested him to move back to the plot after he had vacated it.”I respected the eviction order,” he said angrily.”Some councillors pleaded with me to move back to the camp after some springbok grazing on the plot were reported stolen,” he added.Holding the edition of The Namibian that carried the report on the allegations, Brown demanded that the council clear his name.Brown also denied claims that he had allowed the construction of a double-storey building in Keetmanshoop without an approved building plan.He claimed that he had handed in a building plan for approval and had paid the required plan fees to the municipality.According to Brown, the construction began after a municipal building inspector, Nimrod Zwartz, gave him the go-ahead.But by Friday afternoon the building plan had not been approved yet, The Namibian was informed.A reliable source said Zwartz admitted to the council on Thursday that he had given Brown the all-clear to start with the construction.A private building contractor, Sarel Du Toit, who is contracted by the council to approve building plans, said the double-storey building owned by Brown was already under construction when he received the building plan for approval.Du Toit said the plan could not be approved since there were some errors on it.The council last Monday opted for a settlement payment of N$6 400 to avert the lawsuit, The Namibian was reliably informed.Brown’s alleged refusal to vacate a plot for which Kubirske successfully tendered triggered the legal action.At an extraordinary council meeting on Thursday, Brown lashed out against fellow councillors, claiming they had requested him to move back to the plot after he had vacated it.”I respected the eviction order,” he said angrily.”Some councillors pleaded with me to move back to the camp after some springbok grazing on the plot were reported stolen,” he added.Holding the edition of The Namibian that carried the report on the allegations, Brown demanded that the council clear his name.Brown also denied claims that he had allowed the construction of a double-storey building in Keetmanshoop without an approved building plan.He claimed that he had handed in a building plan for approval and had paid the required plan fees to the municipality.According to Brown, the construction began after a municipal building inspector, Nimrod Zwartz, gave him the go-ahead.But by Friday afternoon the building plan had not been approved yet, The Namibian was informed.A reliable source said Zwartz admitted to the council on Thursday that he had given Brown the all-clear to start with the construction.A private building contractor, Sarel Du Toit, who is contracted by the council to approve building plans, said the double-storey building owned by Brown was already under construction when he received the building plan for approval.Du Toit said the plan could not be approved since there were some errors on it.