CSOS INDABA TRANSFORMATION IN ESTATES
CSOS INDABA TRANSFORMATION IN ESTATES
CSOS INDABA TRANSFORMATION IN ESTATES

One of the reasons that the Community Scheme Ombud Service (CSOS) was established in 2016 is to regulate community schemes in terms of dispute resolution and governance. Recently at the CSOS Indaba held in August 2023, the issue of transformation in Community Schemes was highlighted as being a focus area for the Department of Human Settlements and the CSOS.
COMPLEXES, ESTATES AND GATED COMMUNITIES TO BE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH BEE.
Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says that community schemes need to be subject to mandatory “economic transformation”. Speaking at the first Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) Indaba in Johannesburg, the minister noted the growth in the multi-trillion-rand community scheme economy and its importance in South Africa. South Africa has an estimated 70,000 community schemes. “27% of the total value of residential property in South Africa is from organised communities, which means that community schemes are a significant economic sector,” she said.
Because of the scale of the community schemes economy, services that these schemes utilise such as security, gardening and maintenance are a major contributor to job creation, she said, especially as many of the services are sourced from small and medium enterprises. “We, therefore, need to put measures in place to ensure that a procurement approach that gives opportunities to emerging SMMEs, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities, becomes mandatory.”
She further stated that an estimated R800 billion in assets is managed by community scheme managers, and that therefore the transformation of the managing agents in this sector remains critical.
“There is a need for a greater collaboration from the property management industry for the development of emerging black managing agents so that they can also play a meaningful role in the sector. The collaboration must yield tangible results, and the CSOS has to ensure that these emerging black managing agents are integrated into the sector,” the minister said. “Transparency is important, so it is expected that part of community schemes’ responsibility is to be able to be transparent in the manner that we do things, but also understand consciously that we have a role to play to ensure that the economic participation is broadly opened for all to participate.”
Noting that people from all cultures live in community schemes, the minister also urged stakeholders to embrace diversity within schemes. “Community schemes are growing at a rapid rate because of the growth of the middle class, migration, and rapid urbanisation. As people flock to urban centres in search of economic opportunities, there is an urgent need for spaces to live in. The scarcity of land in urban centres, security concerns and the convenience of community schemes have made them an attractive option for many middle-class people,” she said.
“Implicit in this development is the fact that community schemes are occupied by people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Instead of enriching the living experience, cultural diversity has unfortunately become a major source of disputes within the schemes. Issues and conflict will be greatly reduced if people learn and accept that living together means embracing diversity and not forcing people to adopt their preferred way of living. Embracing cultural and religious diversity has to be made a necessary element of the good governance of community schemes,” she said.
Information about the CSOS, the CSOS Legislation, the various practise directives pertinent to community scheme living issued by the CSOS Ombud, their address and contact details, and the role the CSOS plays in the management of community schemes and dispute resolution between parties through mediation and adjudication, can be found on the CSOS Website www.csos.org.za , or can be obtained from Whitfields by emailing info@whitfields.co.za or by contacting your scheme’s customer service consultant.