The owner of the White Horse Guesthouse in Douthwait Street, Louis Trichardt, reacted to neighbours’ complaints about customers´ becoming a nuisance at his guesthouse.

Mr Kenneth Ramovha says that complainants “with little or no knowledge about this matter” should be advised that he is not responsible to confront a member of the public making any nuisance outside his premises.

Ramovha responded to the Zoutpansberger’s article of September 30 on the neighbours’ petition, presented to the municipal manager of the Makhado Municipality seven months ago. The municipal manager is threatened with legal action due to his failure to act.

Ramovha said he wished to “set the record straight” and expressed his disappointment with the Zoutpansberger that he was not afforded an earlier opportunity to do so. He explained that sometimes when they chase away rowdy customers, they merely go outside and continue to be a nuisance on the pavement.

“I then address the situation with the help of the police. There is no loud music from my premises. The music comes from the cars outside,” he said.

Ramovha said he still maintains what he indicated in a letter to neighbours in 2009 that "if they experience any problems emanating from the guesthouse, they should feel free to contact me to resolve the problems.”

The crux of the matter, Ramovha states, is the zoning of his stand. In February 2008 he applied for unlimited overnight accommodation.

Mr Johan Hammann senior, Ramovha’s attorney, said that the original owner had the stand zoned as Residential 4 with unlimited overnight accommodation and that council wrote “limited” by mistake on his client’s zoning document.

“The current zoning of the stand was changed by the Makhado Municipality around 2009. My stand has been allocated Residential 3 (zoning) according to the new land use scheme. In terms of that, I am entitled to operate an Overnight Accommodation establishment without consent and therefore there is no need to apply for special consent,” Ramovha stated.

The Makhado Municipality did, however, issue a Notice of Transgression of Town Planning Scheme on 26 September.

“On September 28, I responded by visiting their offices. After a short discussion regarding the letter, I also requested the current zoning of my stand, that is, where it clearly indicates that I am legally operating an overnight accommodation at the correct zone, which is Residential 3,” Ramovha said.

On the issue of liquor at the guesthouse, Hammann said that his client does not sell any liquor, but that guests are welcome to bring their own.

On allegations of illegal structures, Ramovha said that he never tampered with the existing structure or extended it to the building line, but “to my surprise the stand was registered at the deeds office as a legal structure before and after I occupied the property. But after I purchased the property, all the by-laws became applicable to me, but before that the by-laws were relaxed.”

The action required by complainants is “the immediate and indefinite closure of the guesthouse."

“This statement conveys a very strong message to myself and everyone who depends on the establishment in order to survive. Only a bad-hearted person can utter words like that, and that exercise is going to cost at least six people (their) jobs,” Ramovha said.

Adv Gideon Joubert, who heads up the petition of the neighbours, said that the complaints raised by the neighbours are legitimate.

“The facts are that the temporary license of the guesthouse expired more than a year ago and that it is currently operating as an illegal business,” Joubert said.