Andrew Stegmann
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President Buhari: Nigeria to Re-open Land Borders Soon

More than a year after it closed its land borders, Nigeria is looking to reopen them ‘as soon as possible’, President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday. Mr Buhari stated this during a meeting with governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja. The president said the closure of the borders was also an attempt to control the smuggling of weapons and drugs from neighboring countries.

“Now that the message has sunk in with our neighbours, we are looking into reopening the borders as soon as possible,” the president was quoted as saying by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu. Nigeria first showed its willingness to re-open the border last month, amid skyrocketing food prices and increased calls for reopening of the borders. The move came after the nation fell into its second recession in five years, according to GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics for the third quarter of 2020. Many have attributed the economic recession partly to the border closure that has been in place since August 2019, which, among others, has seen inflation rise to a 30-month high.

Policy experts have said that lifting the blockade will help check the recession, the nation’s worst in decades, and ease the economic hardship faced by Nigerians. Last month, the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said Mr Buhari would soon receive a report of a presidential committee to advise on the reopening of the borders.

Mrs Ahmed said although the committee set up by Mr Buhari had done an assessment of the gains of the closure and had recommended to the president to reopen the borders, the report had not been submitted. The committee has as members the ministers of finance, budget and national planning, interior and foreign affairs, she said, noting that the report would be submitted “once members of the committee sign the report.

“We have made an assessment. The president set up a committee and we have made an assessment and all the members of the committee agreed and are recommending to the president that it is time to reopen the borders,” she said. “The objective has been met in the sense that we have been able, over these couple of months, to work together with our partners in a tripartite committee and do a joint border patrol together and reinforce the sanctity of the commitments that we made to each other.

“So, each side has learnt its lessons. Nigeria has been affecting our partners in terms of businesses that we have in Nigeria as well. So, we will be expecting that the borders will be reopened very soon. The date will be decided by Mr President.” On Tuesday, although Mr Buhari said the government would act on the border closure issue “as soon as possible”, the president did not specify the date.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

South African President Urged to Use Military Sites to Solve Cape Town’s Housing Backlog

Housing activists have taken the City of Cape Town’s housing backlog dilemma to President Cyril Ramaphosa, urging him to immediately release three large, well-located and vacant military sites in Cape Town for the development of low-income housing.

In an open letter penned by the Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC), Development Action Group (DAG), Legal Resources Centre (LRC), and Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) they have cited Ysterplaat, Wingfield and Youngsfield as having potential to combat Cape Town’s affordable housing crisis and alleviate the most harmful effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

NU Researcher Michael Clark said: “The rise in the number of land occupations in Cape Town and other cities, soon after the imposition of the national lockdown, is an example of the extent to which the need for land has reached a breaking-point.

“The state, at all levels, therefore has a legal, moral and public health obligation to expedite the release of well-located public land to enable the urgent development of affordable housing.”

Clark said they have outlined in their detailed submissions to the presidency, the National Coronavirus Command Council, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Human Settlements Minister and Defence and Military Veterans Minister.

The submissions detail how the identified land could be released and advocated for the sites to be incrementally developed through a “package of plans” that already exist in the housing programmes.

“We have included schematic plans for the development of each sites, along with careful analyses of the opportunities and constraints of each site, and proposed guiding principles and implementation imperatives that should underpin any development of the sites.

“In our detailed submission, we have therefore presented a compelling case for why these sites should be released and how to practically do so,” he said.

larke said in releasing the land, the national government can build up to 67 000 low-income houses in Cape Town.

DAG’s executive director Aditya Kumar said: “The three parcels are located within 10km of Cape Town city centre, very well-placed relative to all the amenities (such as schools, hospitals, economic centres etc) and comprise 670 hectares of prime land. ”

The Presidency’s spokesperson Tyrone Seale told the Cape Argus: “The Presidency has referred this matter to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure who have indicated to the civil society formations that Minister De Lille will give attention to this matter.”

According to the Department of Public Works, Ysterplaat is allocated and utilized by the Department of Defence as an Air Force Base.

Youngsfield is currently utilized by the Department of Defence as the Military Base and Wingfield is currently utilized by as a Naval Base.

Last year, De Lille announced that the government has identified 20 land parcels in the Western Cape to be released for the purposes of human settlements.

De Lille said: “I will set up a meeting with all the concerned stakeholders next week to discuss their issues and I am committed to discussing the government’s land reform and redistribution programme with the groups. Thereafter I will engage them on a regular basis.”

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

The 10 Most Popular Estates in South Africa to Retire To

New data from analytics group Lightstone shows which estates in South Africa are drawing the most retirees.

According to Lightstone, which has been tracking the retirement property industry for the last 20 years, the sector has evolved from limited options to now include an array of lifestyle estate options, sectional title or lock-up-and-go as well as the upmarket coastal home.

In a view of the total volume of properties transacted over the last decade the group noted that the majority of transfers were conducted in Gauteng with the most transactions (2,883) in 2013 with Western Cape showing a slight peak in 2017.

Esteani Marx, head of real estate at Lightstone said that the trend of Gauteng enjoying the most collective transfers is not surprising as the most property transactions across demographics and value bands transpire in this province.

“When we investigate the value bands in the retirement category, the view is rather different over the last decade,” Marx said.

Gauteng enjoyed higher transfers in value from 2010, and remained the front runner for the next six years. From 2015, transactions in the higher value bands started to climb in the Western Cape and continued to do so until late in 2019.

During 2018 the variance in value between Western Cape and its closest competitor, Gauteng was more than R1,000,000 and compared to Kwazulu-Natal over R2,000,000.

Lightstone has consistently reported that the property market in the Western Cape has been higher in value vs volume over the last several years.

“In a holistic view of the top ten most popular estates for the 60+ market in terms of volume, five are located in the Western Cape making the Mother City the most attractive retirement destination with 754 transactions since 2018,” Marx said.

Analysis of South Africa’s top 10 most popular estates in the retiree age bracket (over 60) indicates that Waterfront Residential Estate had the highest volume growth since 2018 with 320 transactions, followed by Euphoria Golf Estate located in Modimolle with 314 transactions and thirdly, Urban Ridge South Retirement Estate based in Midrand with 232 transactions.

In the Western Cape, estate living is the most popular property type in contrast to Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal where sectional title is the most sought after option, and a much smaller percentage of transactions occur within estates.

As indicated in the below graph, Marx notes that freehold properties, which are usually the most popular choice across age and income groups is far less attractive to this age group with a fractional volume compared to the other two options.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

Cape Town Launches Free Electric Car Charging Station

The City of Cape Town has launched its first public electric vehicle (EV) charging station, situated in the parking area of the Bellville Civic Centre.

This is the first of two solar-powered EV charging stations that will be offered free-of-charge for the first two years to members of the public, the city said.

The sites were chosen because of their convenient, safe and visible locations and the chargers were donated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

“Transport is the second biggest contributor to the carbon intensity of Cape Town’s economy. This is exacerbated by urban sprawl and the long distances freight has to travel over a country as large as South Africa.

“Increased congestion and inefficiencies not only increase the city’s transport-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), largely driving climate change, they worsen air quality and contribute to adverse health impacts on residents,” the city said.

How it works:

  • A motorist with an EV drives up to the charging station. Depending on the car, reversing into the space may provide the best access to the charger;
  • Limitless charging is offered and the car’s charge card will be required to start the charge;
  • Using their own cable, users will connect the cable to the charger and then to the car. This initiates the charge. Users can then simply lock their car and attend to other business. The system will be secure and the cable cannot be released. Unlocking the car will stop the charge and release the cable;
  • The length of charge required will depend on the car and charge cable. But it takes roughly three hours to charge the battery from close to 0% to 80% for this particular 22 kW Dual AC charger;
  • How long a charge lasts will depend on the car and driving style. A three-hour charge can last roughly 150km depending on which vehicle one uses;
  • The charging stations will be closed at night.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the devastating economic impact that global crises can have and has shown that planning for climate resilience and reducing emissions is increasingly important,” said the city’s Phindile Maxiti.

“This kind of proactive response to climate change will also assist our city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as the green economy offers new opportunities for businesses and jobseekers.

“It also helps to ensure that the local economy can continue to trade competitively in a global world that is rapidly rejecting carbon-intensive goods and services.”

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].