THE Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) this week heard arguments in the legal battle between the Nkomazi local municipality and billionaire businessman Johann Rupert’s Leopard Creek Golf Estate over millions of rands in property rates.
The municipality in Mpumalanga values the golf estate at R1.56 billion while Leopard Creek management maintain that it is worth R330 million.
In May last year, the Sunday Independent reported that the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela ruled in favour of Leopard Creek and reviewed the municipality’s decision and directed to valuation appeal board for the district of eHlanzeni to be differently constituted and to consider and weigh the evidence of witnesses of both sides.
The municipality asked the SCA to determine what was the applicability and interpretation of the words “recognised valuation practices, methods and standards” in terms of the Municipal Property Rates Act of 2004 (MPRA), with special reference to Global Standards 2017 issued by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the International Valuation Standards Committee (IVSC).
In addition, the municipality sought the SCA to rule on what was the confirmation of the principle of the “highest and best use”, informing the highest value, as prescribed by RICS 2017 and IVSC 2017 as a cornerstone for the determination of value in terms of the MPRA.
It also wanted to establish what the content of the market value concept was and the interpretation of the notional transaction, notionally entered into between a notional buyer and a notional seller for purposes of market value.
The municipality wanted to establish the identifying market facts to be taken into account by the notional parties to the notional transaction and whether in the absence of directly comparable sales, share block prices achieved in respect of the subject property could be served as a basis for determination of the market value of the subject property.
The municipality’s spokesperson Cyril Ripinga this week said the prestigious and exclusive 355 hectare golf estate also has an 18-hole golf course, a club house complex and about 97 residential stands, tennis and squash courts, a swimming pool and gym among other facilities.
“In 2017, the municipality determined the value of the golf estate at R1,56 billion according to the MPRA, however the management of Leopard Creek disagreed and sought a private valuation which priced the property at R450 million,” he said.
The municipality then approached the valuation appeal board for the district of eHlanzeni, dismissed Leopard Creek’s objection and concurred with the municipality that the golf estate is indeed worth R1.56bn.
Leopard Creek was initially valued at R1.3bn but its management insisted it was worth R330m but appealed to the valuation appeal board for the district of eHlanzeni, which put its value at R1.56bn.
According to Ripinga, Leopard Creek’s management then took the matter to the Mpumalanga High Court, which set aside the decision of the valuation appeal board for the district of eHlanzeni based on technicalities but granted the municipality leave to appeal.
He added that after thorough considerations and having satisfied itself that proper procedures and methods as enshrined in the MPRA were followed in determining the value of Leopard Creek Golf Estate, the municipality decided to approach the SCA to give relief on the matter.
”The municipality has taken a posture to exhaust all legal avenues available in a quest to ensure that justice, equality and fairness prevail,” Ripinga explained.
The BBC reported this week that Rupert had overtaken Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest person, citing the latest data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The report stated that Rupert’s net worth had ballooned by $1.9bn (about R34bn) to $14.3bn (nearly R254bn), placing him at 147th position globally, 12 places ahead of Dangote, whose fortune fell by $1.7bn (R30.2bn) this year to a net worth of $13.4bn (R238bn).
Judgment in the SCA matter has been reserved.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za