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Gautengers flee rampant crime
Biénne Huisman Published:Mar 09, 2008
AWAY FROM IT ALL: Ockert Fransch, formerly from Greenside, Johannesburg, in his new home in Simon’s Town. Like many Gautengers he decided to swap crime and traffic for beauty and peace of mind
‘We are getting a flood of calls from people who are gatvol with Gauteng’
Fed-up residents head to the Cape for safety and a quality lifestyle
Being hijacked at gunpoint in his own driveway was the final straw for 50-year-old sales rep Ockert Fransch.
He sold his home in Greenside, Johannesburg, and moved to Simon’s Town near Cape Town with his wife and teenage son last year.
Fransch’s story is not unique. Crime is hitting home in Gauteng, where droves of people are packing their bags in search of better lives in cities and towns along the country’s coastline.
This week — as friends mourned two men murdered in separate incidents, 55-year-old Johannesburg architect Julian Lap and 53-year-old Bashimane “Shimi” Mo***eng — estate agency bosses confirmed a spike in the migration of home- owners from Gauteng to the Cape. They blamed rampant crime, taxi violence, traffic congestion, a lack of quality of life and power cuts for the exodus from Gauteng.
Removal companies agreed, saying there had been a marked increase in the number of families moving to the Western , Eastern and Southern Cape.
Lap was shot dead at his Parktown North home last Sunday night. His wife, Marilyn, 53, and son Julian jnr, 16, were seriously wounded. Mo***eng was shot dead by hijackers on Tuesday.
Fransch recalled his own harrowing experience: “Three guys accosted me with guns in my driveway. I just got out of my bakkie, a new one, and ran away. They took it but I wasn’t hurt.
“After that I just wanted to get out of Joburg. It led to my move to Cape Town, which has been a very positive change. Cape Town just has a slower pace. And the abundance of beauty ... I mean, I can see the sea every day.”
The Alliance Group’s chief executive officer, Rael Levitt, said the company received at least 20 calls daily from Gauteng residents who wanted to move. In the past six months, the Alliance Group had sold the homes and businesses of about 100 high- profile Johannesburg people who had sought greener pastures to the south of the city of gold.
“We are picking up a lot of negativity through client interaction at our auction sales, and dealing with buyers and sellers. We are getting a flood of calls from people who are gatvol with Gauteng and see the Western Cape as a better option,” said Levitt.
Ian Slot, MD of Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl, said his office was inundated with calls from Gauteng daily. “Buyers who contact us from Johannesburg say they don’t have confidence in the state’s ability or commitment to control violent crime, and to provide a reliable electricity supply.”
According to police statistics, hijackings and home break-ins were 10 times more prevalent in Gauteng than in the Western Cape last year. More than 20000 cars and motorcycles were stolen in Gauteng, compared with 6800 in the Western Cape. There were 300 more murders and 13000 more reports of attempted murders in Gauteng than in the Western Cape in 2007.
This week alone, property agency Remax’s branch in the Boland town of Stellenbosch processed eight inquiries from Johannesburg residents who blamed crime for their prospective relocation.
Industry experts said that, while young folk moved to Gauteng to start their careers, scores of financially established families were leaving the province to seek an improved quality of life.
“These people want to move to Cape Town or other coastal areas for a better quality of life. People are looking for more stability,” said Remax SA director Ronan McCool.
“Earning potential is less in the Cape, but there’s a willingness to make sacrifices rather than living in fear.”
The removal company Biddulphs did 505 moves from Gauteng to Cape Town in 2006 and 641 in 2007. Inversely, it did only 359 moves from Cape Town to Gauteng in 2006 and 431 in 2007.
Elliot, another removal company, moved up to 20 families a week from Gauteng to the Western Cape in November, December and January. In the same period, only four families a week moved from the Western Cape to Gauteng.
Another emerging thread of the migration trend is a culture of commuting. “Many people have decided to settle their families in Cape Town but still work in Johannesburg,” said Levitt.
Biénne Huisman Published:Mar 09, 2008
AWAY FROM IT ALL: Ockert Fransch, formerly from Greenside, Johannesburg, in his new home in Simon’s Town. Like many Gautengers he decided to swap crime and traffic for beauty and peace of mind
‘We are getting a flood of calls from people who are gatvol with Gauteng’
Fed-up residents head to the Cape for safety and a quality lifestyle
Being hijacked at gunpoint in his own driveway was the final straw for 50-year-old sales rep Ockert Fransch.
He sold his home in Greenside, Johannesburg, and moved to Simon’s Town near Cape Town with his wife and teenage son last year.
Fransch’s story is not unique. Crime is hitting home in Gauteng, where droves of people are packing their bags in search of better lives in cities and towns along the country’s coastline.
This week — as friends mourned two men murdered in separate incidents, 55-year-old Johannesburg architect Julian Lap and 53-year-old Bashimane “Shimi” Mo***eng — estate agency bosses confirmed a spike in the migration of home- owners from Gauteng to the Cape. They blamed rampant crime, taxi violence, traffic congestion, a lack of quality of life and power cuts for the exodus from Gauteng.
Removal companies agreed, saying there had been a marked increase in the number of families moving to the Western , Eastern and Southern Cape.
Lap was shot dead at his Parktown North home last Sunday night. His wife, Marilyn, 53, and son Julian jnr, 16, were seriously wounded. Mo***eng was shot dead by hijackers on Tuesday.
Fransch recalled his own harrowing experience: “Three guys accosted me with guns in my driveway. I just got out of my bakkie, a new one, and ran away. They took it but I wasn’t hurt.
“After that I just wanted to get out of Joburg. It led to my move to Cape Town, which has been a very positive change. Cape Town just has a slower pace. And the abundance of beauty ... I mean, I can see the sea every day.”
The Alliance Group’s chief executive officer, Rael Levitt, said the company received at least 20 calls daily from Gauteng residents who wanted to move. In the past six months, the Alliance Group had sold the homes and businesses of about 100 high- profile Johannesburg people who had sought greener pastures to the south of the city of gold.
“We are picking up a lot of negativity through client interaction at our auction sales, and dealing with buyers and sellers. We are getting a flood of calls from people who are gatvol with Gauteng and see the Western Cape as a better option,” said Levitt.
Ian Slot, MD of Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl, said his office was inundated with calls from Gauteng daily. “Buyers who contact us from Johannesburg say they don’t have confidence in the state’s ability or commitment to control violent crime, and to provide a reliable electricity supply.”
According to police statistics, hijackings and home break-ins were 10 times more prevalent in Gauteng than in the Western Cape last year. More than 20000 cars and motorcycles were stolen in Gauteng, compared with 6800 in the Western Cape. There were 300 more murders and 13000 more reports of attempted murders in Gauteng than in the Western Cape in 2007.
This week alone, property agency Remax’s branch in the Boland town of Stellenbosch processed eight inquiries from Johannesburg residents who blamed crime for their prospective relocation.
Industry experts said that, while young folk moved to Gauteng to start their careers, scores of financially established families were leaving the province to seek an improved quality of life.
“These people want to move to Cape Town or other coastal areas for a better quality of life. People are looking for more stability,” said Remax SA director Ronan McCool.
“Earning potential is less in the Cape, but there’s a willingness to make sacrifices rather than living in fear.”
The removal company Biddulphs did 505 moves from Gauteng to Cape Town in 2006 and 641 in 2007. Inversely, it did only 359 moves from Cape Town to Gauteng in 2006 and 431 in 2007.
Elliot, another removal company, moved up to 20 families a week from Gauteng to the Western Cape in November, December and January. In the same period, only four families a week moved from the Western Cape to Gauteng.
Another emerging thread of the migration trend is a culture of commuting. “Many people have decided to settle their families in Cape Town but still work in Johannesburg,” said Levitt.
