Mixed results with transformation in property sector says Council

MAIN IMAGE: Portia Tau Sekati, CEO of PSCC and Dr Sedise Moseneke, chairman of PSCC

The progress made towards black empowerment in the property sector show mixed results, there is still much work to be done says the Property Sector Charter Council (PSCC) who released their latest transformation report last week.

The Council, which monitors and evaluates transformation in the South African property sector, released its 2019 State of Transformation of the Property Sector report in Johannesburg on Thursday 11 July.

“Although it is encouraging to see continued transformation efforts in the sector, progress in certain areas has been slow and we believe that the situation is still less than ideal,” says Portia Tau-Sekati, CEO of the PSCC, who presented the findings of the report.

The report is based on two pieces of legislation: the 2012 Property Sector Code, and the 2017 Amended Property Sector Code. It reveals that the property sector dropped from level 4 in the 2018 report to level 5 in terms of its transformation BBBEE recognition level. Tau-Sekati said that although this is not the best performance, it was a reasonable effort considering the change in the recognition levels which took effect during the year, and could have otherwise have taken the sector to level 6 if no further exertion was put behind this and the new changes of the legislation.

Ownership showed overall improvement from a score of 16.67 to 17.04, a change from 83 to 85 percent. Funding models need to be considered as this is a long process comments Tau-Sekati.

There was also improvement in Employment Equity, from a very poor 33% in 2018 to a 49% performance achievement against target in the 2019 report. In the areas of Skills Development and Management Control, results were much the same as last year with the industry’s performance in these areas being rated at 65% and 56% respectively. “We are pleased that even in the areas of the scorecard where performance is poor, the overall direction is still positive,” says Tau-Sekati. “However, much more still needs to be done.”

The report forms one of the cornerstones of the PSCC’s work, being tasked as the industry body responsible for measuring and monitoring transformation. It is widely acknowledged by the industry as an important tool in this respect.

The new PSCC chairman, Dr Sedise Moseneke, introduced the launch of the Property Sector Skills Foundation, a project which he highlighted as critical for transformation going forward. According to a statement by the PSCC the aim of this foundation is to enhance the overall level of skill in the industry, building a pool of talent which provides a more than adequate resource for property companies in South Africa to draw on.

Tau-Sekati says the PSCC believe that through taking a holistic and structured integrated approach, they can address skills development in the industry comprehensively. “There is power in collaboration – we can do it better if we do it together,” she says. The PSCC also launched a digital resource platform, Property Portal SA.

The new minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, was also introduced at the event as the line minister which the PSCC reports to, and the leader of the industry from the public sector’s point of view.

The latest PSCC State of Transformation of the Property Sector Report can be accessed on https://propertyportalsa.co.za/ .

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