That’s according to Marina Constas, who noted that number of schemes registering with the CSOS has dropped since news came to light of the organisation’s involvement in the failed VBS bank, and the negative publicity that flowed from that.

In September, Estate Life reported on the suspension of the of its Acting Chief Ombud, Adv. Seeng Letele and Chief Financial Officer, Mr Themba Mabuya, following allegations of gross negligence, dishonesty and dereliction of duty regarding an R80 million investment in VBS Bank and failure to provide relevant information to the Board relating to the investment of surplus funds.

Speaking at a recent National Association of Managing Agents (NAMA) training event, Constas said that as at the end of September, of the 76 667 registered sectional title buildings in South Africa, only 20 979 have registered so far.  In the third quarter, (July to September) only 737 complexes registered, which she said was a significant decline over the second quarter.

Revitalisation plan

However, the CSOS is in the process of implementing a ‘revitalisation plan’ that will see a tightening up of mechanisms to force all schemes (sectional title and Home Owners Associations) to comply with their legal obligation to register with the CSOS.

“The CSOS has entered into exchange of information documents with South African Revenue Services (SARS) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), which will enable it to more effectively bring schemes into their net,” said Constas.

 “SARS and the CIPC and will be exchanging information and from October to March 2019, 20 000 inspectors will have been employed to start looking at all information of all schemes.  Those that haven’t yet registered with CSOS will be receiving notices that they are non-compliant and if they still don’t comply by March, the SAPS will start knocking at their doors.”

CSOS Roadshow to restore trust

The CSOS further announced in its latest newsletter that, starting this month, it will be embarking on a national roadshow called Phakama (“Rise”), aimed at engaging stakeholders and communicating the CSOS position to restore trust in the organisation.

The roadshows will be held in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban and Bloemfontein, and will culminate in one in Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, according to Acting Chief Ombud, Ndivhuwo Rabuli, it is ‘business as usual’ at the CSOS and it is still receiving and acting on complaints. New complaints numbered 1575 between July to September, while 1392 matters were finalised in the same quarter.

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