MBOWE RISKS EVICTION FROM DAR CBD BUILDING OVER RENT ARREARS

National Chairman of CHADEMA, Mr Freeman Mbowe.

Mbowe Hotels Limited (MHL), owned by National Chairman of CHADEMA, Mr Freeman Mbowe, risks eviction at the end of this month from the building it occupies in the Dar es Salaam Central Business District due to outstanding rental fees amounting to over 1 billion/- owed to the National Housing Corporation (NHC) Located on plots number 725-726/11 along Mkwepu and Indira Gandhi (Makunganya) streets, the building accommodates the famous Club Bilicanas and other companies of Mr Mbowe.

The building is among structures nationalised by the government through the Building Acquisition Act of 1971 and placed under the then Registrar of Buildings, the predecessor of NHC.

NHC Director General of Mr Nehemiah Mchechu confirmed the looming eviction when approached for comment by the ‘Daily News’, stating that the occupant has been served with a 30-day notice to vacate the building.

“It is true that we have served the tenant with the notice to vacate, Mbowe Hotels Limited is among three top defaulters of rental charges among private sector tenants,” Mr Mchechu explained.

According to documents availed exclusively to‘Daily News’ by sources privy to the affair, the company was issued with a notice to terminate the lease agreement on June 24, this year.

“Your tenancy will be terminated unless you pay the outstanding rent arrears immediately.

Failure to comply to this notice your tenancy agreement shall stand terminated and legal action will be taken against you including eviction,” part of the notice reads in part.

The notification follows an earlier termination of the joint venture agreement effected on February 16, 2015 for re-development and co-ownership of the property between the state-owned real estate developer and MHL.

Sources confided to this paper that the housing corporation issued a notice of termination after MHL failed to respond and sign a revised draft Joint Venture Agreement, which was sent to the company on January 18, 2015.

Following the development, NHC appointed a court broker Fosters Auctioneers and General Traders which in due course issued a 14-day notice to the occupant. The notice expires on August 29.

In a related development, Mr Mchechu said tenants, including public and private institutions, owe the corporation outstanding rent arrears totaling 15bn/-.

According to the DG, the public and private institutions have outstanding arrears amounting to 9bn/- and 6bn/-, respectively.

“We will not hesitate to evict defaulters and if you remember in the past we evicted even government institutions for failure to settle their arrears,” he warned.

The NHC boss mentioned some of public institutions with outstanding rent arrears as the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children.

Private institutions include Clock Tower Shopping Centre, A.D Investment, Vital Suppliers, MEK One General Traders and Azania Bank Limited.

Daily News