“The Convention has long been acknowledged as the priority event on the industry’s calendar,” says SAPOA CEO Neil Gopal.

“We want to make sure is also known as the place where hard issues are tackled fearlessly and constructively.”

The Convention kicks off with a keynote address by respected businessman Tom Boardman, CEO of Nedbank and then moves into what promises to be an energetic debate about harnessing the property sector to achieve economic growth.

The individual panel discussions promise to be spirited.

An entire session on Thursday morning, 29 May, is devoted to the controversy around foreign land ownership in SA and it will be lively. University of the Witwatersrand professor and accomplished property economist Francois Viruly will join professor Shadrack Gutto, director of UNISA’s Centre for African Renaissance Studies to weigh in on the topic.

Professor John Makumbe, a political scientist from the University of Zimbabwe, will table experiences from that country.

The ongoing electricity load-shedding that has plagued SA’s property sector this year opens the door to heated discussions about the wider issue of environmental consciousness. Aptly entitled Shedding light on delivery and capacity, a panel session on Friday morning features Andrew Etzinger from Eskom and Bruce Kerswill from the year-old Green Building Council of South Africa.

Rajnish Changrani, a director at private equity real estate company Red Fort Capital in New Delhi, will share his insights from India’s experience.                   

Another program highlight is a session called Safer cities, safer SA which is billed to debate the New York City approach of zero tolerance. Crime is not a new topic in SA, but it’s one that still needs to be effectively resolved in SA cities.

Neil Fraser of Urban Inc., doyen of SA’s urban renewal sector, will be swopping views with professor George Kelling from the Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice in the US and Busines Against Crime CEO Siphiwe Nzimande. Author Antony Altbeker, who wrote A Country at War with Itself: SA’s Crisis of Crime will also be adding his voice to the discussion.

The Convention is scheduled to run from Wednesday, 28 May 2008 to Friday 30 May 2008 at the International Convention Centre on Cape Town’s Foreshore.