Why Would Johannesburg’s city council settle for an undervaluation of the property at 100 Grayston Drive?
Over a period of five years, and after notching up 30 bus trips, countless nights in Johannesburg backpacker hostels and many evening strolls through the City of Gold’s upmarket suburbs, Howick-based rates crusader Rob McLaren is trying to have nearly the entire richest square mile in Africa, and its neighbours, revalued.
Without the assistance of a cell phone or an internet connection, he has uncovered what appears to be the deliberate, routine under-valuation of high-value buildings, resulting in the owners’ paying significantly less than they should in municipal rates.
Shortly after Johannesburg’s General Valuation Roll for 2018 was released for public comment in 2017 McLaren objected to the valuations of 67 high-end commercial buildings, among them was 100 Grayston Drive, Sandton, then owned by Growthpoint Properties Limited. The occupant was and still is Investec Bank Ltd.
This story is from the May 2019 edition of Noseweek.
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This story is from the May 2019 edition of Noseweek.
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