April 28, 2004
By Lucky Sindane
IN AN effort to speed up transfer of Johannesburg properties and provide housing on previously unsurveyed land, the Joburg Property Company (JPC) is piloting two projects in the greater Soweto area.
The first project aims to survey large portions of Soweto, which are still registered as farmland, for residential and business use.
"The survey started in October 2003 and is set to run for two years. The whole of Soweto needs to be surveyed, but Orlando East and West, and Chiawelo Ext 2 are the biggest areas with open spaces which remained unsurveyed," said JPC property portfolio general manager, Mashilo Pitjeng.
When the survey is finished, the land will be registered at the Johannesburg deeds office and about 30 townships will be established with businesses, places of worship and community facilities, Pitjeng said.
The second project is the sub-division and transfer of council-owned shops commonly known as "train shops", of which there are about 1 500 scattered throughout Soweto at present.
These shops are zoned for business use and have typically been occupied by the same tenant for decades. These tenants have never been allowed to own their shops.
"We undertook a project in 2002 to survey the sub-division shops. The project was pursued as a pilot project in Dobsonville and was completed early this year. An estimated 80 sub-division shops still need to be done," said Pitjeng.
The pilot project has progressed to the stage where beneficiaries have been identified for specific shops and the proposed sub-division has almost been finalised.
Shops may be sub-divided to accommodate two occupants with strong claims, or other vacant shops may be allocated to solve conflicts. In the case where no claim exists and the shop is not required to solve competing claims, the shop will be sold to the highest bidder by public tender.
The JPC has proposed that a sale/rent price be fixed for all un-renovated shops to reduce conflict over purchase. The sale/rent price for renovated shops will however have to be determined individually based on the cost of renovation and the market value of shops.
Prices have yet to be determined for the various areas in Soweto but based on the pilot project in Dobsonville, prices are not expected to exceed R20 per mē of the saleable business erf created.
Shops will be sold or rented at a rated based on R20 per mē of the saleable business erf and it is expected that the JPC will cover all its costs.
In addition to the shop tenants, this project involves ward councillors, the local business forum, and Gauteng's Department of Housing and Department of Development Planning and Local Government.
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