An analysis of conveyancing business processes in South Africa

The purpose of this study was to investigate the conveyancing process in South Africa with a view to identify how the process might be improved in terms of its efficiency and effectiveness. Land is an asset and still remains a valuable factor in production, even in the modern knowledge economy. In many parts of the world, land is a limited resource, therefore, in most countries, custodianship and ownership of land and landed properties generally tend to be guarded through the meticulous capturing, recording and storage of appropriate data and information. Legislative provisions for the transfer of custodianship and/or ownership require the involvement of a variety of role players in the conveyancing processes that culminate in the registration of land and associated immovable property. In some countries, the conveyancing processes tend to be complex and cumbersome. The study provides a conceptual framework for conveyancing processes based on a content-based review of land and immovable property registration systems in five countries, namely, Barbados, the Netherlands, Australia, Taiwan and South Africa. The study further investigates the South African conveyancing processes. Quantitative questionnaires were completed by six respondent groups from the conveyancing service chain, and qualitative interviews were conducted with two of the four major banks in South Africa. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the quantitative data, and content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The findings were used to develop a de-bottlenecking framework for South African conveyancing.Business ManagementM. Com. (Business Management

Towards a framework for the integration of data and data sources in the automation and dematerialisation of land administration systems

The South African property process is cumbersome, tedious, and complex mainly since it is a manual paper-based system that involves numerous activities of many disparate firms and organisations in the private sector as well as business processes of regulatory agencies, public sectors departments and other institutions. Although much effort had been made by private organisations to automate pockets of the process, the integration efforts are still founded in paper documents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the conveyancing end-to-end process in South Africa in order to develop a conceptual framework that could be used to eliminate paper and dematerialise the land registration process. The study was guided by the following research question: How can the end-to-end property transfer process be integrated among the different role players to dematerialise property transfers? Seated in the interpretative paradigm, an exploratory study was undertaken. The study followed a multidisciplinary approach which incorporated aspects of records management, supply chain management, land administration management, information technology and payment systems. Nineteen in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with major organisations and societies (i.e. stakeholders) involved in property exchanges in South Africa. These included the South African Reserve Bank, The South African Deeds Registry, National Treasury, The Law Society of South Africa, The Surveyor General and various vendors which operate within the property sphere. These interviews were analysed using content analysis, and documentary evidence were used to triangulate the data collected. The study revealed that private organisations and banks are more ready to embrace dematerialisation than governmental institutions. The main findings of the study were that a need existed for the integration of information and data from the onset of the property application, dematerialisation in addition to digitisation should be incorporated into e-DRS, there is a need for a centralised information sharing capability, same-day, irrevocable payments must be implemented and biometric information can be used to validate parties involved in each transaction. The findings were used to develop a framework for a dematerialised electronic deeds registration in South Africa, which were further generalised for use in other industries. It is recommended that key supply chain partners are integrated into a land administration system that is hosted by the deeds office. This study is of value to all organisations involved in the property land management administration processes, both in a private and governmental capacity, as well as indigenous tribunals. Recommendations for future studies were made

International E-Conveyancing Strategies: Lessons for South Africa

Conveyancing is the legal process of creating, transferring and dealing with interest in land. In a global world, where there is an increased use of technology to streamline and implement fast and efficient client service delivery, it would suffice that the registration process of property be digitatised. Yet in South Africa and other countries this process remains manual. Different countries have looked at innovative e-conveyancing strategies and implemented these strategies successfully. It is the aim of this article to review the different e-conveyancing strategies used by different countries and how they were implemented giving focus to the South African conveyancing process. The article examines the conveyancing process of South Africa through the use of a conceptual framework, mapping the different stakeholders involved in the end-to-end conveyancing process. This article presents the benefits associated with e-conveyancing for the South African context and gives recommendations on the implementation of this process within South Africa. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p23

Legal Aspects of Engineering Asset Management

Immovable assets include engineered infrastructure such as buildings, manufacturing plant, roads and railways. These assets are built on land. In most jurisdictions, proposals to acquire and/or establish immovable assets on landed property must comply with several legislative provisions. In many instances, the acquisition and/or establishment of an immovable asset becomes embroiled in legal disputes between contending stakeholders asserting rights to ownership/custodianship of land. Such disputes add to the costs of capital development projects, mergers and acquisitions, and influence decisions as to where an asset intensive business venture can be located. Legislation not only provides the means to resolve ownership/custodianship rights but also, it stipulates legal imperatives for control and utilization of engineering assets on landed property. It is in this regard that this chapter presents some of the legal aspects of engineering asset management.Colleges of Economic and Management Science

Implications of Cadastral Systems on Engineering Asset Management

Fixed or immovable assets include engineered infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, electrical and water utilities, roads, railways, and manufacturing and processing plants. These assets are built on land that often have inalienable rights implications, and in most jurisdictions, proposals to acquire and/or establish fixed or immovable assets, or even to deploy and utilize certain classes of movable assets must comply with a multitude of legislative stipulations. For example, the development of land through the establishment of an immovable asset may be embroiled in legal disputes between contending stakeholders asserting inalienable and alienable rights to land titles. Such disputes add to the costs of capital development projects, as well as the cost of utilizing major assets, and influence decisions as to where an asset intensive business venture may be located. Legislation not only provides the means to resolve ownership/custodianship rights but also, it stipulates legal imperatives for control and utilization of engineering assets. It is in this regard that this paper discusses some of the implications of land registration and cadastral systems on the management of major engineering assets.Colleges of Economic and Management Science

Contemporary Issues in Sustainable Operations Management

Global atmospheric and ecological changes necessitate the implementation of environmental regulations to manage global warming contributors and other waste-related matters. Better management of scarce resources and the protection of social, economic, and environmental dimensions are crucial. To adopt green business practices, products and services must be adapted. Despite tax and other benefits through corporate social responsibility initiatives, not all managers have embraced green operational initiatives. This chapter explores sustainability in operations and supply chain management, green labelling, design for the environment, environmental economics, and humanitarian operations management. A thematic desktop literature review of journal articles, books, and conference papers was conducted to compile the chapter. The traditional linear economy that disposed of waste after the production of products and services has evolved into a circular economy (also the theoretical underpinning) that uses waste as inputs into new products and services. With this new wave of sustainable operations management, jobs are created, waste becomes more useful, and the exploitation of scarce resources is reduced.Colleges of Economic and Management Science

Proceedings of the 2nd African Operations Management Conference: Competitive operations management for driving automation in Africa forward

Both private and public sector businesses are aware of the need to deploy information and communications technologies to improve their internal processes as well as to optimise external linkages. For public sector organisations, there is even the greater need to promptly capture, store, transmit, and retrieve information in the electronic domain, particularly because of the large volumes of vagarious data that legislatively must be recorded. This article describes an empirical study on e-conveyancing, that is, business processes legally required to transfer landed property from one owner to another. The survey of respondents focused on the identification of types of data and information sourced from the various private firms and public sector agencies involved in conveyancing processes. The paper surmises that conveyancing is tantamount to data and information supply chain linkages between stakeholders. The study explores issues and challenges for automation of information and communication systems for land administration.Colleges of Economic and Management Science

Using blockchain technology to facilitate property transactions

BACKGROUND: As a medium of exchange, money enables the transfer of economic value and forms the basis of financial transactions. The transition from the third to the fourth industrial revolution has brought about technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies that are transforming monetary transactions and methods of payments. OBJECTIVES: This article discusses an exploratory qualitative study into the use of the blockchain technology to facilitate the processes and payments related to land and landed property administration. METHOD: Nineteen semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with role-players who are involved in an authoritative capacity in the current property transfer process. FINDINGS: The findings show that blockchain technologies could significantly improve the processes involved in maintaining the electronic records associated with landed property. Blockchain technology has only been associated with cryptocurrencies before, and the argument advanced is that fiat currency should be able to be used with the same technology. To maintain the integrity of the property register, the deeds office and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) must remain in control of the processes. Irrevocable payments should be made against registration confirmation, thus replacing the current paper-based processes with electronic records. CONCLUSION: Blockchain technologies can be used with fiat currency and should be considered for ownership tracking of immovable property.Colleges of Economic and Management Science