These properties form part of the City’s programme to transfer a total of 148 properties to former permit-holders.

Prior to the inception of the Ikapa Municipality, Langa, Gugulethu, Nyanga and similar areas were controlled by various State departments. Any person could apply to lease business premises. Once authority was obtained for such a lease, the applicant was issued with a permit and became the legal tenant or permit-holder of the premises.

‘These tenants or their successors have been trading on these premises for many decades, but freehold rights were previously denied to them. We hope that enabling these legal tenants or permit-holders to become owners of the properties in question will allow them to obtain much-needed finance to upgrade their premises, thereby driving economic growth and sustainable development in the area.

‘We have a great desire to drive grassroots empowerment as a means of enabling redress and we hope that the qualifying persons will take up this offer,’ said the City’s Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson.

The City will sell these properties for R20 per m² (excluding VAT) to those in possession of valid lease agreements, or their successors-in-title with the erstwhile Ikapa Town Council. The claimant (or tenant) will further make a contribution of R500 for transfer fees.

The balance of the transfer fees, amounting to R3 092 for each of the tenants and totalling approximately R457 704 for the 148 properties, is being subsidised by the City.

Over the years, Council has already approved the sale of 129 of these properties in total, while 82 of these properties have thus far been registered in the names of the successful claimants or their successors.