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Mabola breathes again – Leave to appeal refused
South Africa - Gibbs and Dold
Terrestrial protected areas in South Africa cover approximately 8% of the total land area and enjoy varying layers of protection depending on their classification. The National Environment Management Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA) governs these protected areas and has as its stated intention the protection and conservation of ecologically viable areas.

The Mabola Protected Environment (MPE) proclaimed in terms of NEMPAA in January 2014 is one such protected area. Atha-African Ventures (Pty) Ltd held mining rights granted to them over land that fell within the MPE and set out obtaining all the relevant authorisations required to mine. In addition to the numerous authorisations required, including a water use licence, environmental authorisation and an approved Environmental Management Plan, NEMPAA requires that mining activities in protected areas must, over and above the ordinary authorisations required, obtain written permission from the Minister of Environmental Affairs and the Minster of Minerals Resources. Atha-Africa having obtained all the necessary authorisations, although they are currently being challenged, made application and were provided with the Ministers’ written permission.
Mabola breathes again

Unconventional housing trends: Shift to a smarter space
South Africa - Property360
Global interest in the trend for unconventional, modular housing is growing and set to rocket in the future

The fixation with unconventional housing trends – whether it is decking out a bus or camper van for permanent living or following the tiny house movement – has caught the imagination of people throughout the world. These homes and how they are designed are so intriguing that reality television programmes and YouTube channels exploring them are raking in viewers.

Modular housing is also becoming “a thing”, even here in South Africa, where Dirk Coetser, director and architect at A4AC Architects, says the idea of living in such a home is becoming “more popular by the day”.
Property360

Homeowner Sentiment Index
South Africa - Absa
Improvement in property market sentiment in the fourth quarter of 2018

After declining to a low in the third quarter of 2018, the level of positive sentiment regarding conditions in the South African residential property market showed a marked improvement in the fourth quarter of last year.

Homeowner Sentiment Index (HSI) results
The overall national HSI score, which reflects the percentage of survey respondents with positive sentiment regarding residential property market conditions in the country, increased to 77% in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 72% in the third quarter. The main positive and negative sentiment-related factors mentioned by survey respondents were as follows in the fourth quarter of last year (percentage of respondents in brackets):

  • Positive factors: Property is a secure asset (34%) and still increases in value (24%).
  • Negative factors: The land reform aspect is detrimental to property investment (27%), the economy is not performing well (21%) and there is still some political uncertainty (19%).

Homeowner Sentiment Index

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