Tshwane officials say the Hatfield entertainment venue cannot reopen until it complies with town planning, licensing and municipal requirements.
A strip club in Pretoria has been closed down twice by the City of Tshwane in a week for bylaw infringements.
On Tuesday, Tshwane officials returned to Flamingo Strip Club and Bar in Hatfield after the building was found to be allegedly operating as an illegal brothel, with municipal account arrears of R3.2 million.
Despite being served with notices, fined and services cut, the business was found to be running as usual less than a week later.
Flamingo manager Kobus Pretorius said he was busy sorting the issues out.
“It wasn’t about the brothel any more, that’s sorted. Now it’s about the things that weren’t right, like the building plans. That’s the biggest issue, but we are busy sorting it,” he said.
Pretorius said this was the first time in over 30 years he had had issues with the city.
“They want us to close the brothel, but how do they expect we make money to sort out all the licence and the building plans if they want us to close?” he added.
Pretorius said regulars had been calling since last week to hear if they were open for business.
Tshwane MMC for community safety Hannes Coetzee said the business may not operate until all outstanding compliance matters are fully resolved and the electricity account is settled.
“The property owner is required to meet all outstanding town planning requirements, including completing the necessary property consolidation and submitting updated plans, as the site is currently operating using outdated documentation,” he said.
Last week, Coetzee said a thorough inspection revealed gross non-compliance, including incorrect zoning, lack of approved building plans, no valid trading licence and failure to comply with essential fire safety standards.
The team also visited 269 Robert Sobukwe Street as part of the #BadBuildings operation, where they severed illegal connections and removed the water meter due to non-compliance.
“We disconnected the electricity supply. On-site enforcement also saw metro police issue a R500 fine for trading without a valid business licence, while municipal health officials issued a R5 000 fine for handling food without a certificate of acceptability,” he said.
