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Institute welcomes Government investigation into EAAB   Article Date :28 Oct 2005 IEASA Press Release. (Consumer) Government investigation into the regulation of the estate agency industry has been been hailed as "a good thing and long overdue" by Bill Rawson, president of the Institute of Estate Agents. In a Cape Town dated-lined October 14 press release, Rawson says the Institute will contribute to the pending investigation into industry regulation and property legislation by the Department of Trade and Industry. The investigation has been announced following the forensic audit of the EAAB, which, according to the press release, "reveals high level corruption in the industry regulator." "The forensic audit into the EAAB came as a shock," says Rawson. "We had long regarded the EAAB as inefficient and, at times, as somewhat hostile towards the industry, but we did not expect revelations of corruption at the highest levels, and the reported resignation of a third of the board members including the chairman and vice-chairman. "Fortunately, the board's CEO has publicly assured us that the fidelity fund is still sound." The fund, to which all estate agents have to contribute, was set up by the Institute in the 1960s and transferred to the EAAB when it was formed in 1977. "The question now," asks Rawson: "is what is the Minister of Trade and Industry going to do about the problem? Although the audit was officially announced only a couple of weeks ago, a respected financial publication indicates that the audit report has been in the hands of the DTI since July. We are told that action has been taken to rectify the financial irregularities and that disciplinary action will be taken in terms of the laws governing the manag CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE MAIN NEWS PAGE