Red tape halts removals from virus hot spot

A CONFIRMED Western Cape Covid19 hot spot is now part of the list of informal settlements that need to be decongested.

According to Statistics SA, there are as many as 146 000 households in 437 informal settlement pockets in Cape Town. As of yesterday, the province had 8083 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 18350 confirmed cases and 9830 recoveries. But plans to have scores of residents moved from Dunoon were yet to be put to action.

Provincial Human Settlements Department spokesperson Nathan Adriaanse confirmed to Weekend Argus that “Dunoon, Kosovo and Ithemba were initially identified as they have a high density in terms of the number of residents”.

“As you are now aware, the Dunoon informal settlement is now a confirmed Covid-19 hot spot.” Adriaanse said red tape was holding back decongestion plans.

“The Provincial Department of Human Settlements is currently busy with a number of statutory processes which require approvals from the City of Cape Town.

“These include rezoning and town planning applications. These are processes which you cannot short-circuit and we have to follow all the statutory processes,” he said.

Though this would be on a voluntary basis, Adriaanse said the “department has clear priority beneficiaries within the affected communities and these include the elderly, those living with disabilities and child-headed households”.

Early last month, spokesperson for the National Department of Human Settlements McIntosh Polela said a plan to temporarily remove thousands of

A BATTERED but optimistic real estate sector is back in business from Monday.

Open house show days may, however, be a thing of the past as the industry grapples with how to move forward beyond Covid-19.

Welcoming the reopening in level 3 instead of the proposed level 2, Vuyiswa Mutshekwane, head of the newly formed National Property Professionals Council, said it would provide much-needed liquidity in the market.

Property owners can now sell their assets to unlock capital to fund business activities, or, given the challenging economic climate, some can look at downscaling.

“A return to work for real estate will also be positive for many downstream activities and sub-sectors linked to real estate such as removal companies and artisans including electricians and plumbers and valuers,” she said.

Industry leaders and all associations under the NPPC put up the fight of their lives to get the sector reopened in level 4 as opposed to level 2. The shutdown all but strangled the sector.

Mike Greeff, chief executive of Greeff Christies International Real Estate, said agents were excited to “get back at it” and, like all other agencies, had put government-issued protocols in place to ensure the safety of clients and agents. He added social distancing would be mandatory when moving forward with client interaction.

Bill Rawson, chairperson of the Rawson Property Group, said the reopening was good news for the country, but the economic effect of the shutdown would “take months if not years to play out”.

“In many ways, it could force us all to look for new ways in which to serve each other and thereby earn a living.”

Adrian Goslett, regional director and chief executive of Re/Max of Southern Africa, said: “We need to make sure we capitalise on this opportunity safely. There is still much to do. We are only at the start line now of a long recovery ahead.”

Another strong lobbyist, managing director of Rawson Property Group Tony Clarke, said the discussions with governing bodies were far from over. “Our goal is to have the industry reclassified as a level 4 service to ensure vital continuity should hotspot flare-ups cause a return to stricter lockdowns.”

The NPPC said: “We are in discussions with the Estate Agency Affairs Board, Department of Human Settlements and other stakeholders proposing measures to stimulate the industry going forward.”