Easipark deal faces fresh hurdle

Senior Reporter
THE joint venture parking business between South African company Easihold Proprietary Limited and Harare City Council has faced a fresh hurdle with the foreign company taking the council for arbitration over the manner cash is being handled. Easihold is accusing council of opening a secret account where all the money is being held without transparency.

The company also argues that it is being denied access to that account and that it was also being sidelined in the operations of the Easipark business despite an order directing them to reinstate the joint venture.

Easihold now seeks an award ordering council to disclose the secret account details and to revert to the use of the agreed joint venture account with Barclays Bank.

Retired judge Justice Moses Chinhengo is expected to hear the matter while sitting as a commercial arbitrator.
Harare City Council and Easihold once clashed end of last year when council purportedly terminated the agreement.

Advocate Firoz Girach, sitting as an arbitrator, nullified the termination and ordered the reinstatement of the joint venture business.
In a statement of claim prepared by Easihold lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu, Easihold argues that council was in breach of the agreement and that it should be stopped from operating unilaterally.

Notwithstanding the reinstatement of the agreement and despite the clear terms of the joint venture agreement regulating the parties, the respondent has gone on to breach the agreement between the parties.

Respondent has unilaterally diverted the joint venture agreement funds from the jointly controlled account (Barclays Bank) operated under Easipark Harare (Private) Limited into an unknown account that it controls, read the statement.

Easihold argues that the decision to open a new account and to divert the money was never approved by the management committee.
The company also claims it is being excluded from the day-to-day operation of Easipark and it wants council to be directed to account for all the money put into the new bank account.

It also seeks reinstatement of Easihold in the management of the joint venture company.
Council lawyer Mr James Mutizwa of Chihambakwe Mutizwa and Partners confirmed receiving the claim but said he was yet to respond to it.

“We have been served with the statement of claim and we are still working on our response. We have seven days within which to respond,” said Mr Mutizwa.