Dear Colleagues
Welcome to our February report. As an industry we are certainly going through challenging times. I wish to thank you for your emails around the CPD concerns and we will continue to keep you informed in the weeks ahead.
Kind regards
Jan
Continuing Professional Development : It is NOT over
We have conveyed the results of all our negotiations with Mr Bryan Chaplog, CEO of EAAB, to you in the previous Report. In a nutshell: Mr Chaplog will communicate in a general communication the latest arrangements in respect of CPD to all stakeholders. He indicated that he had agreed with most of our proposals and we therefore remain hopeful but we will only know on receipt of the notice.
In view of this we had no alternative in advising you to pay the CPD fees. We can hardly look forward to a positive result but not adhere to deadline.
You can however; rest assured that pending the outcome, the matter will not be put to rest if dramatic changes to the current launch are not evident. We have conveyed serious concerns to Mr Chaplog during our discussions, which concerns were summarised in the discussion memo attached to the previous Report.
We have many options at our disposal and will take further action without fail/ delay. As always you will be fully informed of whatever transpires. This is only the beginning of the three year cycle. CPD is not an event, it is an ongoing process. Many members have paid but did so under duress. We are not “approving” by paying.
It is important that Mr Chaplog appreciates the impact of the CPD Programme launch in its current format and we suggest that you communicate same to him directly.
His contact detail: bryan.chaplog@eaab.org.za
We understand and appreciate your disappointment and frustration and we thank you for your continued support.
Registering for CPD
The deadline for online registration of the CPD programme is, 28 February 2015. Attached, is a step by step guide on how to register on the EAAB website, MYCPD. Step-by-step – How to register for CPD and complete PDP
Transformation and BBBEE
We attach an interesting article that appeared in the Business Times on 15 February 2015, on transformation in the mining industry. Our government is serious about transformation and we should take note. Business Times Article – Feb Report
Property Valuation Act 17 of 2014 and The Expropriation Bill
We attach for your perusal comments from our attorney’s Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc. on the above legislation. They have determined that these statutes will not really have far-reaching consequences for estate agents. Expropriation Bill
Over 60 Educational Exemption against the NQF Real Estate Qualifications And/Or The Professional Designation Examinations (PDE)
We attach to this report the guidelines to qualify for the grant of the age-based exemption. Please note that the deadline for submission is 31 May 2015. Over 60 PDE Exemption
Foreign Land Ownership in South Africa
Attached to this report we have included an article by Phephelaphi Dube from the Centre for Constitutional Rights, entitled, Tipping the Scales?
In the article Mr Dube examines Section 25 of the Constitution where the property clause reflects a delicate balancing act between the protection of private property rights on the one hand; and serving the public interest largely in the realm of land reform on the other hand.
Please note that President Zuma has indicated that the proposed legislation does not apply to residential property.
The Limitation of Foreign Land Ownership – Feb Report
REBOSA Member Certification
In the next week you will be receiving your REBOSA Membership Certificate via email. You are welcome to print these and display them in your offices should you wish.
REBOSA Membership Fees
Due to our increasing membership base we are pleased to announce that we will not be increasing our membership fees in 2015.
REBOSA membership fees are calculated as follows: R20 plus VAT per FFC per estate agency per month.
We agreed on this particular fee structure because we accepted that the bigger agencies have a greater vested interest in the industry, together with bigger budget allocations and should therefore pay more than the smaller agencies. The only way to determine size (and this is not an exact figure) was/is by basing the fee on the number of estate agents (FFCs) per office.
If you have not done so already, please confirm the number of FFC’s in your office/company as at 31 January, 2015 in order for us to calculate your membership fee till end of January, 2016.
REBOSA Desk at the EAAB
It is with regret that we have to inform you that the EAAB no longer has a desk for Fiona Chaitowitz at the EAAB offices.
She will however continue to assist as she has before albeit under even more difficult circumstances. She has challenges and cannot be held responsible for any delay in achieving results. She continues to do us proud.
