Domestic staff given shares in luxury project

MORE than 460 domestic workers will own a portion of Durban’s exclusive R3.1-billion Oceans Umhlanga Development, thanks to the generosity of their wealthy employers.

The “Dubai-style” mixed-use development incorporating a 200-room, five-star Radisson Blu Hotel, two residential towers consisting of 460 flats, all with sea views, and a 33 000m² shopping mall is the brainchild of socialite, businessman and Edison Power Group founder Vivian Reddy and Rob Alexander, of the Ducatus Property Group.

Construction is due to start in the next few months and the project is hailed as one of the largest investments in KwaZulu-Natal.

According to the developers, it is set to create 15 000 direct and indirect jobs and will create 2 500 permanent jobs once it is completed.

The multibillion-rand project was launched in November. Shares in the development were launched at R20 each and prospective buyers were allowed to pledge to make a minimum purchase of 50 shares for R1 000.

During the launch, Reddy and Alexander revealed that they had decided to buy their four domestic workers shares worth R10 000 each.

Alexander said he had decided to use the project to empower his long-term domestic workers, who had helped look after him and his family and raised his children while he was busy building up his business empire.

His sentiments were echoed by Reddy. One of Reddy’s domestic workers, Nompumelelo Luthuli, said she would use the proceeds of her inherited investment to educate her children and improve her family’s quality of life.

Their gesture seems to have caught on. The project’s group consultant, Brian Mpono, said on Tuesday that more than 460 other employers had since decided to buy shares at the project for their domestic workers. – BDLive