The South African Property Owner’s Association (SAPOA) President, Mr. Malose Kekana,
congratulates the Green Buildings Council of South Africa (GBCSA) on its 15-year
anniversary, and wishes the Council’s Chair and Board all the best for their upcoming
conference which takes place from 2 to 4 November 2022.

This conference comes at a time when South Africa is experiencing climate change related
disasters such as the floods in Durban which destroyed a lot of property and deepened
challenges faced by poor households.

In 2007, the then CEO of GBC Australia Romilly Madew, invited the SAPOA CEO Neil Gopal
and Mr. Bruce Kerswill, Managing Director at Spire Property Group, to their conference in
Sydney Australia.
The SAPOA Board agreed to the establishment of the GBCSA by providing seed capital and
other support.

Mr. Kerswill said, “We received much valuable support from the Australian Green Building
Council and assistance with the development of South Africa’s own Green Star tool. Neil Gopal
from SAPOA was instrumental in our efforts in establishing the GBCSA.”
With support of the Australians, SAPOA and the GBCSA team led by Bruce, quickly
customised Green Star, ran a number of accredited courses and programs and also holding
its first Convention in Cape Town.

Mr. Kekana stated that the property industry in South African has come a long way in the last
15 years transforming the sector since through measurable targets in delivering certifications,
training, accreditation, job creation and the climate change debate.

Mr. Kekana called on the property industry to continue supporting various climate change
initiatives and for SAPOA members to continue with projects to reduce Greenhouse emissions
in support of government’s obligations to comply with COP26 commitments.
He concluded that SAPOA will adopt a guideline to assist its members to navigate the issue
of sustainability in the property industry in partnership with NBI and GBCSA.
“What we know is that for a lot of private property owners, there is no push factor like there is
for listed companies due to the JSE reporting requirements and pressure from institutional
shareholders. We will therefore seek ways to encourage property companies to embrace
Sustainability initiatives including for privately held businesses” stated Mr. Kekana.

SAPOA intends to continue engaging with government to remove the red tape currently being
experienced by members who wish to install Solar PV plants with some municipalities still
wanting to license projects contrary to announcement that for 100MW for own consumption,
there is no need for a license. The members of SAPOA also stand ready to provide
government with excess solar energy once the regime for wheeling and tariffs become clear.
We believe this is urgent to deal with the electricity crisis the country is experiencing.