December 20, 2005
By Tammy O'Reilly
THE owner of Mguni Men's Outfitters sits at the far corner of his store, counting wads of money.
He lifts up his head to keep an eye on the people coming into the shop, continues mouthing the amount of notes he is counting, answers the telephone and signals to the cleaner to mop the floor.
It seems that 30 years behind the cash register has made him an old hand at multi-tasking, but despite the ease with which he works, it is only recently that Mguni, as he prefers to be called, began to feel that the store truly belonged to him.
The cluster of shops at the Bara Taxi Rank are the property of the Johannesburg City council. Since May this year, however, the council has been putting into action its plans to transfer ownership of the 30 shops to the business owners.
A mix of businesses operate from this prime location, including general dealers, dry cleaners, a bookstore, fast-food stores, clothing shops and pubs. Situated opposite Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, the rank is the biggest transport interchange in Soweto - and therefore experiences high volumes of pedestrians.
Like most taxi ranks, there are also a lot of informal traders in the area, some of whom have set up immediately outside the shops. By transferring ownership to the business owners, it is hoped that they will take better care of their properties and the area surrounding them.
"It's true," says Mguni. "Now that we are going to be the real owners we will want to look after this place. Before, we always thought there was no use in taking care of something that was not ours."
He plans to extend his business and add on fixtures, which he could not do as a tenant.
"It just does not make sense to invest in something that is not yours," he says, like a true businessman. "Without ownership we can do nothing but now at least we will make an effort to improve our shops."
Once the logistics of the transfer are sorted out the title deeds will be handed over to the owners in 2006. Site visits have already been undertaken to all the stores to verify the owners and to assess each one's condition.
During the visits it was found that the shops were generally in a state of disrepair; some had no individual sewer, water and electrical connections. The shops are also undivided and a land surveyor is preparing subdivision diagrams for council approval to create freestanding sites.
This will enable individual transfers.
The City council will pay R315 000 for water and electricity meters, which it will recover over three years through the collection of municipal rates from the owners.
Installation of the meters will fall to Johannesburg Water, which will see to it that all shops have working water meters, and Eskom, which will place prepaid electricity meters in each shop.
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