Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa June 2013 | Page 20

NEWS ALERTS

BY MONIQUE TERRAZAS

Judgements, E-tolling & Guptagate
The Good

The Bad

The Ugly

Claims against negligent
conveyancers

E-tolling: this is just the
beginning...

Guptagate

A recent judgement by the Supreme Court of
Appeal (SCA) in the case of Margalit v Standard
Bank of SA Ltd (883/2011) [2012] ZASCA
208 has been welcomed in the property industry,
because it permits claims for damages against
negligent conveyancers.
The case involved the sale of immovable property,
with two Standard Bank mortgage bonds held over
it, which had to be cancelled before the property
could be transferred. The bank had reportedly
misplaced the title deed and mortgage bond
documents, and proceeded to make a number of
errors in lodging the application for transfer. The
conveyancing attorneys mistakenly prepared for the
transfer as if only one mortgage bond was registered
over the property. As a result, it took more than a
year to cancel both bonds.
Due to the delay in Margalit receiving the
purchase price, he instituted an action for damages
in the Magistrates’ Court against the bank and
attorneys, alleging that at least a portion of the
delay was caused by the attorneys’ unprofessional
conduct. The court held that it was clear that the
attorneys were in possession of a copy of the title
deed from the outset and that it reflected the two
bonds registered over the property. Taking this
into account, it concluded that the conveyancing
attorneys were negligent and that their conduct
did not meet the standard of care expected of a
reasonable conveyancer, whose mistakes can cause
adverse financial consequences to the parties. The
judgement serves as a stern warning to attorneys
who negligently allow undue delays.

18

June 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

While government is bulldozing ahead with
tolling in Gauteng, despite massive opposition,
and the City of Cape Town is fighting in court
against the N1/N2 Winelands toll project, the
South African National Roads Agency (Sanral)
has announced plans to build another five toll
roads across South Africa.
Sanral is studying the feasibility of building
new toll roads on the stretch of the N3 between
Durban and Pietermaritzburg, on the N12 from
Kimberley to Johannesburg, the N1 ring road
at Musina, on the N1 between Kroonstad and
Winburg, and on the N1 Botlokwa Interchange
in Limpopo. The Eastern Cape has previously
been earmarked for a n ew toll road.
The agency says it is increasingly forced to
look at implementing tolls as it did not have
suff icient funds to upgrade and maintain
national roads. This is despite the fact that
the fuel levy of 29.6c /l on 93-octane petrol
and 30.3c /l on diesel is expected to generate
R46 billion this year, according to Treasury’s
forecast. Unfortunately, for the past 19 years, the
fuel levy has not been used for road maintenance,
but proceeds have gone into the “general revenue
pool”. If the fuel levy, portrayed as a road
maintenance fund, is actually used to maintain
and build roads, the tolls would be unnecessary.
This is a matter of national concern! Support
organisations such as OUTA as a matter of
urgency: if we do not stop this injustice against our
already overtaxed and overburdened people now,
there is no telling how far government will go.

In the most extraordinary display of flagrant
disregard for the citizens of this country, most of
whom are struggling just to survive each day in
crime-ridden communities, the ANC government
flouted national security considerations to allow
the wealthy and politically-connected Gupta
family to land a private aircraft with wedding
guests at a key South African military air force
base. Worse yet, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa
has ordered an investigation to determine if any
South African Police Service rules were violated
in providing VIP protection - including 20 flying
squad members, 10 high-powered flying squad
cars, and 40 members of the police counterassault team and VIP protection unit - for guests
attending the Gupta family wedding in Sun City!
Perhaps we should demand that the “inquiries”
into this abuse of power should be led by the
people who were paying the price during the
Gupta’s lavish two-day wedding celebrations:
the impoverished workers earning their meagre
minimum wage; the 8-year-olds in child-headed
households trying to feed their hungry brothers
and sisters; the women of this country, one of
which is raped every few seconds. Let these
victims of government’s unspeakable greed and
arrogance decide whether government practiced
Batho Pele (“People First”) when they allowed
the Gupta’s to use our state resources for their
private pleasure. It is a blatant abuse of power that
should enrage any South African – regardless of
race, colour, sex, age or political affiliation. South
Africans need to stand together now against
this abuse of power that is turning our Rainbow
Nation into a banana republic.
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