Allegations made by the Estate Agency Affairs Board that established agencies are anti-transformation



A major row is brewing in the real estate industry over allegations made by the Estate Agency Affairs Board that established agencies are anti-transformation and are actively practising racism.This week, Board CEO Stanley Moshidi berated the Institute of Estate Agents - a voluntary body representing estate agents - for its lack of commitment to the transformation begun two years ago with the election of the first black Institute president and eight black councillors.This, he said, had prompted the formation of a number of splinter groups in opposition to the Institute and was holding up Board funding of industry projects, which was not possible without a fully representative industry organisation. Consequently, the Institute should now either prove it was fully capable of embracing the transformation process - which he doubted it could do - or encourage the formation of a completely new body.But Bill Rawson, says the Board itself is to blame for the Institute failing to reach its transformation goals.Quoted in the Property Profesional Online, he says the Board was well aware, two years ago, that the Institute had minimal funding, 'and could easily have put some of its R15-million annual marketing budget or training money towards our transformation'.However, it had not done so - and worse, was now threatening to fund splinter groups promoted by the same people who had been elected to the Institute to further transformation.Meanwhile, industry leaders are still seething over Moshidi's claim last month that racist behaviour 'in the workplace' was becoming more prevalent and was preventing black people from entering the industry.Among them are Aida National Franchises CEO John Herbst, who says the statement is not only untrue but smacks of sensationalism or, 'at the very least, an attempt to divert attention from the EAAB's own lack of achievement, over the past few years, in the field of consumer protection.'It has failed to provide even the least incentive for agents to better their training and improve service levels, such as a minimum mandatory qualification for practising estate agents.' What's more, says Realty Executives MD Anthony van der Riet, it has continually tried to sabotage moves by industry players themselves to raise standards and prevent malpractice.'The fact is that companies like ours have done far more than the Board has in the past few years to encourage black people to enter the industry, to ensure equal training and opportunities for all agents in our employ - and to .'What is more, there are now many black agents operating very successfully in formerly white suburbs, among buyers and sellers of all races, and at exactly the same rate of commission as their white counterparts. 'However, instead of recognising these achievements, or consulting with the agencies involved to see how their efforts can be extended, the Board has chosen to tar the whole industry, in the public domain, with the racism brush.'And, ironically, nothing the industry did or might have done could have been more calculated than its own statements to deter previously disadvantaged people from considering a career in real estate.' Article: Property24 News for the latest real estate news, visit www.property24.co.za