Restoration of title deeds to unlock Alex renewal

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News of the government’s pending restoration of title deeds and property rights in Alexandra is more than just cause for celebration.

It is a move that will ignite the much-awaited renewal of the township as envisaged by then-President Thabo Mbeki when he set out to establish the various urban node renewal entities in the country, and more specifically, the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP).

The ARP was promulgated in 2001 and its primary objective was to renew Alexandra and rid the township of the decay which had set in due to years of neglect under the apartheid regime.

It was also meant to restore the dignity and pride of black people who had been forced to live in subhuman conditions under apartheid.

But the government was a bit naive and never got to grips with what the issues were before implementing the project. Government thought the renewal process of the country’s oldest township was as simple as taking a pick and shovel and digging up a foundation and replacing all the old and dilapidated houses in Alexandra.

This naivety was fuelled by the so-called ‘Alex Mafia’ which, for all these years, denied leaders of the Alexandra Land and Property Owners Association (Alpoa) access to the various presidents of the country in to block them from stating their case.

Alpoa was denied, not once, but many times their Constitutional right to see and have an audience with President Nelson Mandela, President Mbeki, stand-in President Kgalema Motlanthe and then President Jacob Zuma. Denied all the channels, Alpoa had no choice but to take an interdict against the City of Johannesburg, ARP and the Gauteng Provincial government.

The three parties were not allowed to touch, demolish or alter any structure in old Alex before the issue of title deeds was resolved, and hence the ARP resorted to building on the peripheries only.

As you know, the president is treated like a child and does not get to answer even his own cellphone. His secretary does and she answers only to the president’s advisors who then screen the calls and decide who the president can speak to, meet and have an audience with. They are the gatekeepers to the president.

For all these years, the gatekeepers vetoed, not once, but many a time and thwarted efforts by Alpoa to find an amicable solution to the vexing issues of Alexandra land and property ownership without resorting to the courts.

It was only when President Zuma fell foul of these gatekeepers that he was able to meet, in his own words, “the real leaders of the people of Alexandra who gave me some insight into the issues affecting the township and blocking the renewal process”.

The president sounded like he had just opened his eyes for the first time and began to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings. Zuma immediately ordered talks and a process towards the restoration of the title deeds which is progressing, albeit in government style, as slow as a tortoise.

The simple logic was that if you renew Alexandra by demolishing and rebuilding old structures, whom are you building those houses for before you have settled the issue of ownership and title deeds?

It is common knowledge that people bought those properties from Herbert Papenfus who wanted to establish the Alexandra settlement named after his wife.

The solution for Alexandra is quite simple. Determine the true owners of the stands, give them their title deeds back, rebuild and hand the completed houses back to the owners. Land should then be found to build tenants their own houses. Finish and klaar.