Today, I witnessed the handing over of 36 title deeds in Soweto by the City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba.
33 businesses and three different churches in Soweto were given title deeds. This is part of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) commitment in ensuring that those who occupy the land, where their businesses and churches are situated become the owners of the land.
This is not the first time that we have handed over title deeds to business owners in Soweto.
Last year June, as part of the City of Johannesburg’s Land Regularisation Programme, we handed over title deeds to business owners who have been waiting for 30 years to become land owners.
We want South Africans to own their land and property, which is why the Land Regularisation Programme which aims to redress the distribution of council-owned land is so important.
Land ownership plays an important role in growing our economy and by handing over these title deeds, we are ensuring that our people who previously did not have an opportunity to own land are now given this chance.
The DA does not only pay lip service when talking about land ownership, but walks the talk by ensuring that businesses and churches operating from city-owned land are given title deeds.
Under the governance of the DA, the past injustices will be directly addressed and ownership will be rapidly expanded to those who were previously excluded.
Secure property rights are the cornerstone of any successful economy and any uncertainty around this will destabilise our economy.
The DA is the only party that is committed to giving people security of tenure by issuing titles deeds to businesses, churches and homeowners.