Improve poorer areas
“RATES revenue a serious handbrake on the redistribution of urban land” (DD, March 20) refers. Nomalanga Mkhize’s “bourgeoisie exclusivity” is multiracial. “Bourgeoisie exclusivity” is why, when Codesa was irrevocably under way, black people began moving into white suburbs and sending their children to white schools. We all want the best for ourselves and families. Group area permits were still required but were rubber-stamped because even die-hard Nationalist bureaucrats knew the laws would be scrapped. Property prices did not drop. The influx of potential buyers drove prices up in accordance with the free market maxim “demand determines dollars”. While prices rocketed in the suburbs, they plummeted in areas such as Braelyn and Buffalo Flats as people sought to escape the confines of Group Areas. Some rightwing whites did threaten estate agents if we brought “them” into “our” areas. The threats evaporated when the offers to purchase were presented.
Being known that the Bantustans would be reincorporated and that the provincial capital would be Bhisho, East London property prices rose faster and higher than anywhere else in South Africa as people jockeyed for the best addresses.
Many transactions were “international” when Transkei civil servants, accepting appointment in Ciskei, bought property in SA and three governments were involved. The brief insanity of Mdantsane and Bhisho still being part of Ciskei while becoming part of SA’s Buffalo City was straight out of the movie Monty Python.
It’s also true “dollars determine demand” and prices have slowed – unfortunately for people who bought at the top and now cannot afford to sell.
Rates are determined by market valuation of properties and the market considers such things as the composition of the neighbourhood. As some black customers told me when I offered them properties in certain areas, “If I wanted to be in the location I would stay in Mdantsane.”
Social dynamics demonstrate that we really are all the same under the skin. Forcing mixed rich and poor neighbourhoods makes both poorer. If Nomalanga could apply her mind to raising the standards of the poor areas, social and economic equality can be achieved to everybody’s satisfaction. — Dave Rankin, Cambridge
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