Minister offers to meet investor over hotel sale

Dar es Salaam. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage, has directed the owner of Green Park Village, Mr Slim Slim, who is about to lose his property for failing to repay a loan from Exim Bank, to meet him in his office.

The minister’s directive comes just a day after The Citizen reported that Mr Slim’s property would be auctioned next Monday for failing to repay the Sh900 million loan he owed the bank.

Mr Slim isn’t the only investor, who is likely to lose his property for failing to repay his loan. There are others. Yesterday the bank was also expected to auction Penisula Apartments located in Msasani for the $5.2 million (Sh11.4 billion) loan its owner failed to repay.

However, Mr Mwijage said he hadn’t received any complaints from the hotel owner. “It will be better if the owner of the hotel comes to my office and discuss the issue with me to know what is the way forward…I know the hotel because I had once been there,” said the minister.

On Tuesday Mr Slim, who was born in Bagamoyo 50 years ago, said he owed the bank Sh920 million. The the hotel is located in Old Bagamoyo Town.

He said he borrowed $400,000 at an interest rate of 10 per cent from the bank three years ago, but failed to repay it on the due date last year.

“The money that I owe the bank is not that huge... it’s only 20 per cent of the value of my property,” noted Mr Slim.

As of 2015, according to the bank’s valuation records, the value of Mr Slim’s property stood at Sh4.6 billion.

Meanwhile, the bank failed to auction Penisula Apartment yesterday as there were no potential buyers to meet the price offer, which stood at $5.2 million. According to our sources, more than 20 potential buyers turned up, but no one met the price offer. In order to be able to buy the property, the potential buyer was supposed to pay up front 25 per cent of the price offer and complete payments of the remaining amount within the next 13 days. A new date for the auction will be announced later, according to our sources.

Additional report by Alex Malanga