Southern African Residence and Residential Alliance kicks off

Supply: Residential Funding & Growth Summit (Reside) chair and Sahara chief govt officer, Debbie Tagg.

The information got here on the again of the South African Native Authorities Affiliation (Salga) native authorities showcase convention which was held on the Sandton Conference Centre in Johannesburg.

Sahara is a collaborative not-for-profit organisation umbrella physique of member organisations geared toward amplifying the collective-industry influence by lobbying authorities and contributing to coverage growth in addition to consolidating stakeholder assets and networks throughout the residential
sector.

Members embody organisations and establishments with pursuits in multi-family housing, scholar lodging, retirement villages, social housing and inexpensive in addition to different help member industries.

Reside chair and Sahara chief govt officer, Debbie Tagg commented:“Sahara has been established in response to {industry} demand to consolidate the influence of present stakeholder our bodies, by complementing and supporting its organisational efforts. Every of the member organisations carry distinctive strengths and views to the desk. By uniting underneath the Sahara umbrella, we will harness these strengths and work collectively in the direction of our shared aims.”

Talking on the second annual Reside Summit happening from Tuesday, 16 July to Friday, 19 July, 2024 on the Sandton Conference Centre in Johannesburg, Tagg mentioned the residential sector is the cornerstone of any society because it offers shelter, safety and a way of belonging.

“The residential sector faces many challenges together with affordability, speedy urbanisation, sustainability, demand and altering demographics,” she mentioned. “To deal with these challenges requires concerted, collaborative efforts and that is the rationale for the launch of Sahara, which goals to weave collectively the threads of our particular person member organisations to create a stronger, extra vibrant residential sector for Southern Africa.”

Addressing housing challenges

Xolani Sotashe, chairperson of the Human Settlements & City Agenda’s nationwide working group at Salga mentioned South Africa has one of many highest charges of urbanisation, at about 63% amongst rising economies globally. It additionally has a really excessive housing backlog, with roughly 3,309 casual settlements and rising unlawful land occupation.

“Authorities can’t tackle the housing problem alone – therefore we worth partnerships between the public- and personal sector. As Salga, we had already began venturing into bringing the 2 sectors collectively within the human settlements house, particularly residential property growth geared toward collaborating to handle challenges within the housing sector.

“Our key space of focus within the supply of housing is the decrease finish of the market by subsidised housing in inexpensive rental housing,” mentioned Sotashe.

Talking on Tuesday, 16 July in the course of the Reside convention and Salga funding showcase, Sotashe emphasised the significance of partnerships between the public- and private-sector entities, equivalent to Sahara, to handle challenges within the residential property sector.

A number of the advantages of being a part of Sahara embody:

• Collaborative networking: Having the ability to have interaction with a various community of pros and organisations throughout the residential sector, and having the ability to share insights, challenges, and options in a collaborative setting.
• Useful resource sharing: Gaining access to a central repository of assets, together with analysis, coverage tips, and greatest practices, to boost operations and decision-making.
• Advocacy and illustration: Having the ability to profit from a unified voice in coverage discussions and advocacy efforts
• Innovation and analysis: Having the ability to take part in joint analysis initiatives and innovation initiatives geared toward addressing the urgent points going through the sector equivalent to affordability and sustainability, and
• Cultural alternate: Having fun with the promotion of cultural alternate and understanding amongst residents, fostering inclusive and harmonious communities.

“Sahara is dedicated to transparency, inclusivity and mutual help. We consider within the energy of collaboration and the energy of unity. By working collectively as member organisations, we will create a future the place each resident in Southern Africa has entry to protected, inexpensive and sustainable housing,” added Tagg.