Picture: for illustration purposes
Through an initiative, dubbed the Khaya Lam Land Reform Project, under the Free Market Foundation, billionaire Johann Rupert, along with his wife Gaynor, have provided houses and land to 10,000 underprivileged South Africans. A partnership with First National Bank (FNB) brought the project into fruition, with an aim to promote wealth creation and dispense title deeds within disadvantaged communities.
Originally, the project was incepted with the motive of transforming apartheid-era leasehold titles into freehold titles, in communities that were predominantly affected. Without official title deeds, inhabitants often risked forfeiting their properties if they had to move to other areas or needed to utilize their property for business loans.
The project, aptly named 'Khaya Lam', Xhosa for “My Home”, addressed this critical issue. The Rupert family, major contributors to the project, have sponsored thousands of these title deeds. The Free Market Foundation CEO, David Ansara, highlighted that 10,000 title deeds have already been transferred to rightful homeowners.
A significant challenge for homeownership in underprivileged communities revolved around the high costs involved in transferring title deeds, often unaffordable. Yet, with the Khaya Lam initiative, these costs are covered, allowing for these inhabitants to officially own the homes they reside in.