You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW JEREMY MAGGS: Welcome to another episode of FixSA here on Moneyweb. I’m Jeremy Maggs, and today I’m joined by Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive officer at Pam Golding Properties. In this episode among other issues we look at strategies to increase affordable housing options and attract more investment.
ANDREW GOLDING: I think the wording of the policy reflects a will to fix these issues, but the implementation is sadly lacking. Whether that’s a function of political will or in fact the need for better policy is I think debatable. There’s a lot of work being done in this space, but it has been spoken about for many, many years and actually nothing really significant has happened.ANDREW GOLDING: Well, I think there are some very interesting innovations that are being spoken about which are perhaps unconventional and which look to provide, effectively, security of tenure through means other than that which is conventionally considered through the Deeds Office.
JEREMY MAGGS: Give me a sense of how those public-private partnerships in your mind would look, because often there is a willingness and an expression of interest, but there’s also a disconnect in the way in which it’s done. How do you coalesce thinking on both sides of the equation to make sure that you achieve some sort of success?
In this new era that we are starting to move in now, how do you recalibrate the housing agenda in South Africa to make sure that you get on the road to the fix. Herein lies a clean slate – what would the new priorities be for whichever person occupies that all-important portfolio? I think perhaps the most important thing in that respect is to firstly acknowledge that it is an important portfolio and not a junior ministry.
ANDREW GOLDING: I think the key word is ‘certainty’. I think if we can provide political stability policy certainty, that will go a long way to enabling foreign investors to feel comfortable to invest in the country; I think there is a huge appetite. JEREMY MAGGS: I want to push you a little further on one aspect that you’ve just raised. Andrew, if I had R100 for every time a guest mentioned the words ‘policy certainty’ to me, I’d be able to buy one of those properties that you’re probably selling in Camps Bay today. What do you mean by policy certainty? It has become such a catch-all for everything. What would you like to see in that respect?