Andrew Stegmann

4 Ways Urban Lifestyle Trends are Changing the South African Property Landscape

There’s a lot of talk about future cities, many of them being the sprawling metropolises of the world. The new world order for professionals, executives, and indeed millennial behaviour is to catch a taxi to work if needed, then to walk from work to gym, move on to coffee with friends – and cycle, walk or take a quick Uber home.

South Africa’s evolving modern urban living landscapes are right on par with global trends in areas such as Johannesburg’s Rosebank zone and the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, where people are looking for smart alternatives to untenable traffic congestion, hair-raising commutes and the need for time efficiency.

Locally, urbanisation is rapid when you look at the growth: 34.2 million people lived in urban areas in 2014, a figure that will jump to 49.1 million by 2050 according to the SA Council of Shopping Centres. As the commercial property market in Rosebank explodes, Jonathan Kohler, CEO of Lansdowne Property Group says the global trend towards an integrated living and working environment has far-reaching consequences including cost-saving and security. The private property market is playing catch-up with 16 new developments currently underway in Rosebank.

Rosebank has become a favoured destination for investors because of its vibrant mixed use of commercial, retail, entertainment and residential attractions. It is undoubtedly one of Joburg’s fastest growing and fashionable places to be and is linked to the Gautrain. In terms of affordability, Kohler explains the reasons why upmarket apartments are a compelling buy in the current market below.

#1: Urban living on the rise

People are wanting to live, work and relax in one space to create a balance – it’s a very workable solution for the many international and domestic inbound travelling executives who need to settle for 3 – 6 month contracts close to work. “The lock-up-and-go appeal of investing in an apartment accommodates this lifestyle with lucrative rental opportunities,” says Kohler.

#2: Rocking the rentals

The average rental price for an unfurnished 1-bedroomed apartment in Rosebank is about R13,000 a month and R24,000 for a 3-bedroomed place. “Furnished apartments give an even higher yield, but are harder to rent out,” says Kohler. There is an increase in Joburg execs relocating their families to Cape Town and choosing to fly in weekly to work in Sandton and Rosebank. Whether private investors buy apartments like these to rent, or corporates buy into an apartment to house their international contract execs, there is no doubt that Rosebank property will appreciate substantially in the coming
5 – 10 years.

#3: Winds of change

There’s talk of the property market finally starting to bottom out, but even if this is the start of an uptick or not, the interest rates are as low as they are going to go, and building costs are not going to get any cheaper – in fact they’ll go up despite what the market is doing. “The point is, the business district is central to the Rosebank and Sandton zones – this is not going to change, it’s a landmark area,” says Kohler. “As the economy strengthens, the prices of urban city properties are going to shoot up.” There is certainly investment opportunity in a zone like Rosebank which has had the best capital appreciation in Joburg over a 10-year period.

#4: Mobility without the drive

The global trend is for new sustainable precincts to lean towards a pedestrian-focused movement, not a vehicular one. “While there will always be room for cars in the smart cities of the world, the appeal of greener, less congested cityscapes holds huge appeal, where young professionals and visiting execs don’t have to use a car to get around,” says Kohler.

There is no doubt that smart cities, are changing the way we live and work. “With more people working on the move, at home, and in shared offices spaces; urban apartments are designed to embrace new urban living trends,” concludes Kohler.

 

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

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

Andrew Stegmann

The Largest Green Energy Projects in South Africa

As Eskom fails to keep unplanned breakdowns at below 9,500MW – the level at which it is forced to consider load shedding – since the start of December, there is growing pressure on government to fast-track renewable power projects.

Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), believes just by lifting the Maximum Export Capacity (MEC) on all operating wind farms, which governs how much energy is permitted to be exported by wind farm power generators to the grid, 500MW of energy could immediately be brought online.

According to the Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (IPPPP), 3,976MW of electricity generation capacity from 64 IPP projects has been connected to the national grid. Wind makes up the lion’s share providing 52% of renewable energy to the grid. Among the largest are 3 wind farms that contribute almost 140MW each.

IPPs are nowhere near the 36,400MW (41,000MW if you include Medupi and Kusile which aren’t finished yet) delivered by coal. But this picture could change quickly: unlike coal power stations, which take years to build – Medupi has been under construction since 2007 – renewable projects can be built quite quickly and there’s a good track record of them sticking to schedules.

There is some good news on the way. IPP contribution is expected to go up to 6,422MW once all 112 projects come online. These are part of Bid window 4, the last bid window to be signed off by Eskom. These are currently the largest sustainable energy projects:

Longyuan Mulilo Green Energy Number 2 North Wind Energy Facility – 138.96MW

Longyuan Mulilo’s Number 2 North Wind Farm is one of the largest wind farms in South Africa. It is a massive 138.95MW farm found a few kilometers outside of De Aar, in the Northern Cape. Along with a second 100MW wind farm, also in De Aar, Longyuan South Africa has invested almost R5 billion into the two projects. Longyuan SA is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Longyuan Power Group Corporation – one of the world’s largest wind-power developers.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm 2 – 138.23MW

On 8 December 2017, Loeriesfontein Wind Farm was delivered into operation on schedule, and on budget, as part of the third round bid window of the REIPPP. With a generation capacity of 140MW the R3.5 billion farm boasts 61 Siemens SWT-2.3-108 turbines. The Loeriesfontein Wind Farm forms part of a joint venture between global energy producers Mainstream Renewable Power and Lekela Power.

The site was chosen because of its excellent wind resource, its proximity to national roads for wind turbine transportation, the favourable construction conditions, municipality and local stakeholder support, the straightforward electrical connection into the Eskom grid, and studies showed that there would be little environmental impact.

Khobab Wind – 137.74MW

Khobab Wind Farm, also built by Mainstream Renewable Power, is located right next door to Loeriesfontein Wind Farm. Like its neighbour the farm contributes almost 140MW. The wind farm was estimated to cost R3.5 billion.

Cookhouse Wind Farm – 135.8MW

The R2.4 billion Cookhouse Wind Farm comprises of 66 Suzlon S88 wind turbine generators with a capacity of 135.8 MW.

It is located just outside of Cookhouse, in the Blue Crane Route Municipality in the Eastern Cape, and spans 2,600 hectares of pastoral land. The land is leased from a local farmer and you can expect to see plenty of sheep grazing below the blades. The wind farm first supplied electricity to the grid in March 2014.

Suzlon Wind Energy South Africa constructed the wind farm and is currently responsible for operation and maintenance. It is owned by Old Mutual, the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and the Local Community Trust.

Gouda Wind Project – 135.5MW

The R2,7 billion Gouda Wind Farm is owned by a consortium of ACCIONA Energía (51%); Aveng (29%); Soul City Broad-Based Empowerment Company (10%); and the Gouda Wind Energy Community Trust (10%). Located in the Drakenstein munisipality, Western Cape, it has 46 AW3000 turbines mounted on 100 meter-high concrete towers.

 

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], Anastasia Palagutina [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Opinion: South Africa Needs More Visa-free Agreements if it Wants to Stop Losing ‘Passport Power’

Although the South African passport has lost 10 positions over the last decade on the latest Henley Passport Index, the country could play catch-up if a concerted effort is made to secure mutual visa waivers with so-called “high quality nations”.

This is the view of Amanda Smit, managing partner and head of South, Central and East Africa at the UK-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.

South Africa ranks 56th on the latest index, which ranks passports in the world according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The UAE, for example, managed to increase its passport’s position on the index by 47 places over the last 10 years to 18th place, Smit told Fin24 on Wednesday.

Looking specifically at the BRICS countries, of which SA forms part, Smit said that, while Brazil and China improved their positions on the index over the past 10 years by nine and sixteen places respectively, India and Russia have also seen the power of their passports decline during that time, dropping by seven and two places respectively.

Smit says one might think the SA passport’s visa free or visa on arrival access to 100 destinations is a lot, but compare that to the Japanese passport (ranked in first place on the index) which offers 191 visa-free destinations.

On top of that, none of the 100 visa free destinations for an SA passport are in what Smit describes as the “most popular” destinations. In her view, that makes it more difficult to be “mobile” for business or leisure purposes.

She also argues that, while other African countries’ passports mainly remained static on the index, the SA passport lost ground.

Among African countries, the Seychelles remains the regional lead, ranking 29th globally with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 151, while Mauritius retains second place with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 146.

“My advice is that, if SA wants to improve the strength of our passport, we must be more proactive to obtain mutual visa agreements with other countries – preferably ‘high quality’ nations,” Smit says.

 

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

Home Affairs’s Recent Beitbridge Border Crossing Problems

Nearly 60 000 people crossed the Beitbridge border post in a 24-hour period earlier this month.

This is according to the Department of Home Affairs after complaints of long waiting periods, chaotic queues and under-staffing at the border post.

Thousands of people travelling back into South Africa had arrived at the border late evening on January 3 and were only assisted the next day.

Scores of people sat in long snaking queues waiting to be served by South African immigration officials. Others sat around the immigration area with their belongings and slept there the night.

GroundUp spoke to people who had waited several hours to be seen by an immigration officer.

One woman who had arrived at 23:00 said her brother was waiting for her on the other side of the border to drive her back to Johannesburg. She was only assisted after 09:00.

Another Zimbabwean woman said she had left her baby with her husband. She went to buy goods and did not expect that it would take that long when returning. It is unclear when she was assisted.

Scorching temperatures

When GroundUp arrived, only one immigration officer was processing and assisting people. During previous visits, five immigration officers were there to serve people travelling into the country. More staff only arrived at 07:00 January 4.

By then, travelers were exhausted and had begun shoving and pushing to get to the front to be served. One staff member tried to keep people calm but they did not listen.

After about 30 minutes of chaos, several police officers arrived. They ordered the group to stand in three lines.

People endured scorching temperatures and were only served by midday on January 4.

Siya Qoza, spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs, said 51 immigration officers were meant to be on duty at all times. He said 29 832 people had crossed the border on 3 January. The next day, 53 immigration officers were on duty and 30 137 people crossed into the country, he said.

When asked why more staff were not sent to assist during one of the busiest periods, Qoza said he could not respond to this.

 

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].