From the GM’s Desk | December 2023
Dear members
It’s that time of the year again when we find ourselves immersed in the last bit of tasks and deadlines before the year reaches a close. During this final stretch, energy levels aren’t quite optimal, as we’re looking forward to the well-deserved break!
We’ve had a rather eventful 2023, and it’s true when they say time flies when you’re having fun, as this year certainly flew by!
Molisha joined the GM Office team in October for the Finance and Office Administration position after Joaquina opted for a role closer to her home and children. Molisha is a young and vibrant finance graduate who is already sharing some great ideas on how we can attract young professionals into the Institute and profession.
Seeing you all in person and online through our various offerings has been fantastic. As always, thank you for your engagements, feedback and support! If you’ve missed some of the event photos, you can visit the blog on our website to view and read up on some of the event highlights.
We have some exciting events lined up for 2024, which include the return of the Berg Seminar in KZN, the National AGM & Seminar in the Northern Branch, the Agri Seminar in the Central Branch, seminars in the Southern Branch, including one in George, along with regular workshops in the Eastern Cape Region.
As previously communicated, we’ve partnered with Professor Samuel Azasu and Wits Commercial Enterprise to bring you the Real Estate Market Analysis Course, which will kick off in the first quarter of the new year, and enrolments will open soon.
The blog on our website remains an invaluable source of reading material for the industry, and I’d like to thank all our contributors for the rich content. Please visit the page during your break for some good reads. We’re always seeking content for the blog; if you’ve been yearning to put that thought on paper, please get in touch with me.
At a recent meeting with the SACPVP attended by myself, Northern Branch Chairperson Dave Furness and Vice-Chairperson Stanton Alberts, then as the Acting Registrar, Roshinee Naidoo and Gabriel Mashishi, Manager for Governance Support, presented an update on the happenings at the Council. In summary, this included some administration improvements, such as the migration to a new platform and website upgrade. The Council conducted gap analyses on various policies and procedures.
The development of the Gold Book is in progress, which includes the IVS and local standards, practise notes and everything that relates to a valuer in South Africa.
The SACPVP’s ‘Education and Standards Committee’ has also recently been renamed the ‘Education, Standards and Research Committee’ to advocate for more research within the sector.
Discussions with the PPRA and the Council are still underway, where a regulatory forum was established to address the way forward with property practitioners doing valuations. Engagements with SARS are also taking place.
Transformation in the sector remains a challenge, with 55% of registered persons being white males. More certainly needs to be done to ensure that the sector is representative of the country’s demographics. One of the objectives of the SAIV’s Mentorship Programme is to address this issue. More than 95% of the programme’s beneficiaries are previously disadvantaged individuals. We are still seeking funding for the programme and have continued to knock on doors throughout 2023. We have now also asked the Council to assist us.
SACPVP has committed to having quarterly meetings with VAs going forward, and we encourage you to submit any matters or ideas to your local Branch Executive Committee that you’d like to have addressed in these forums.
On 12 December 2023, SACPVP announced Roshinee Naidoo’s appointment as the Registrar of SACPVP for the next five years. We are thrilled to welcome Roshinee into this pivotal role and wish her all the success.
The SAIV Community learned with a heavy heart of the passing of Peter Burmeister on Friday, 8 December 2023. Peter was a member of the Southern Branch for many years, and it was rare to miss him at any of the Southern Branch events. Robyn Jackson, Southern Branch Chairperson, put it so well when speaking of Peter, and said, “There are some who bring a light so great to the world that their cheerful presence and disposition will always be fondly remembered by the people who they encountered”. We send our heartfelt condolences to Peter’s family, friends and colleagues.
I wish you a blessed Festive Season filled with moments of togetherness and a happy New Year. May God bless you and your families. For now, it’s time to recharge!
Stay safe,
Lerato
It is with great pleasure to read these encouraging articles from the SAIV members. We need to keep on written about the scarce skill profession as Valuer’s Profession. Further to that SAIV need to play a proactive way in assisting SACPVP with regard to ethical and diminishing integrity from number of valuers. It is important that while we promoting the profession we need to protect it from unscrupulous valuers. Lastly, I know the SAIV contributes by funding the aspired young people to study Valuation however, I will suggest that we knock at the government institution that seems to ignore that Real Estate when it comes to funding hence there are few Valuers in the country. This month alone ( December 2023) I have seen many adverts encouraging encouraging young people to apply for funding / Bursary but none talks about Real Estae Valuation in particular. This is concerns for me.