Owner of the Mbabane Old Bus Rank has removed Eswatini Parking (Pakani) from the venue.
This is after Eswatini Parking had been charging mororists E15 to park their vehicles in the compound for the whole day.
However, last Thursday there was commotion when three men armed with a court order removed Pakani officials and informed them they were not authorised to operate in the area.
A source, who was also affected, said he was surprised when told that his vehicle would not be allowed to park even though he had paid.
“I arrived in the morning as usual and paid the E15 parking fee for the whole day. I later decided to go somewhere but upon return I was surprised to be told I would not be allowed to park,” he said.
He said the situation confused him as he had no idea what was going on.
“I asked the people I found at the gate and they told me motorists would no longer be allowed to park even though we had paid. They said they had a court order giving them authority to block vehicles from entering.”
He said he tried to reason with them as he had already paid but his efforts were unsuccessful.
“I decided to go park elsewhere but the most unfortunate part is that I was never refunded by Eswatini Parking.”
Also Read: ‘Declare health crisis a national disaster’
Another motorist claimed Eswatini Parking had been exploiting the public by charging fees at the bus rank which he said was not their designated area. “This is unacceptable and the sad part is that the Pakani people who were here in the morning have disappeared. I want my money back.
“They were collecting money they had no right to. It makes me question where all the money went because we have been consistently paying them. I have been informed that these premises are owned by a popular businessman,” he said.
One of the officials armed with the court order stated that Eswatini Parking had no authority to charge motorists for parking at that area.
“We are here to stop this. There is nothing more I can say. We have a court order. If people want refunds, they must speak to Eswatini Parking,” he said.
He added that what Eswatini Parking was doing was improper.
“We are only allowing cars to leave and not to enter. It is unfortunate that motorists claim to have paid but we do not know where that money has gone.”
Attempts to reach Eswatini Parking Managing Director Wiseman Magagula were unsuccessful as his phone went unanswered several times yesterday.
Since Thursday last week, parking has been free at the old bus rank as there have been no Eswatini Parking officials at the entrance.
Even yesterday, no representatives from Eswatini Parking were present and motorists parked their vehicles free of charge.
One of the Pakani officials, who preferred to remain anonymous, said they had been told to stop operating at the bus rank.
“We were just told that we will no longer be operating at the old bus rank. We do not know the reason,” he said.
Another Pakani official, interviewed later yesterday, stated that he was unaware of what was happening at the old bus rank.
“I heard there is an issue between my employer (Eswatini Parking) and the owner of the old bus rank. As a result, parking there is currently free. That is all the information I have,” he said.
Eswatini Observer Press Reader
