Load-shedding, water security put trustees under added pressure
Another common issue arising is schemes changing their rules around solar panels, generators and water tanks.
Governing community schemes has become increasingly challenging for trustees, who are under pressure to comply with complex legislation, overcome challenges like non-payment, and deal with a growing number of disputes over issues such as alternative energy and water backup systems.
This is according to Thembelihle Mbatha, the acting Chief Ombud and CFO of the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS), recently speaking ahead of the first CSOS Indaba for stakeholders in Johannesburg.
Mbatha, who delivered talks on the role of CSOS and host a breakaway session on governance and financial management, said many common challenges in community schemes can be attributed to poor governance.
“Good governance starts with registering with CSOS. With less than half the estimated 70,000+ community schemes in the country on their register, CSOS is stepping up efforts to enforce registration, with the support of the NPA.”
“Many of the disputes escalated to CSOS relate to poor financial management. For example, homeowners don’t know how levies are calculated, there’s no transparency, and their property values are impacted,” she said.
Mbatha noted this was not necessarily due to deliberate mismanagement, but rather because many schemes lack the necessary audit and financial management skills among their trustees.
She added that another common issue arising in recent months was schemes changing their architectural rules around solar panels, generators and water tanks.
“The changes can lead to disputes, which could have been avoided if they followed the proper process. Because of load shedding, trustees are now also expected to make these big financial investments such as generators and inverters for the complex. They are faced with hefty financial decisions on behalf of owners.”
According to Mbatha, many trustees were unaware that support is available, adding that there’s a need to ramp up education and training, hence the start of the indabas.
“CSOS is not just for dispute resolution. We are also a promoter of good governance. As part of our mandate, we do quality assurance on the scheme governance rules. One of our pillars is education and training – and we can even go to a scheme to deliver training as part of our mandate.”
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