DTI releases names



The Department of Trade and Industry has released the names of twelve of the fifteen new members of the Estate Agency Affairs Board. The remaining three members are to be nominated by the Department of Housing. The old board's term of office ended in March, and the delay in finalising the new appointments left the industry without a regulating authority for nearly four months. Mr Bill Rawson, national president of the Institute of Estate Agents - which represents the industry - says the lack of continuity has been a disservice to the industry and the consumer alike, and the IEA hopes that the new board will convene as soon as possible. "It is a poor reflection on the DTI that it left the industry without a regulating authority for nearly four months," says Rawson. "While the EAAB's administration has continued to operate, there are still decisions which require the approval of the board itself, or of its committees, and that has evidently not been possible during these past four months. Those decisions include approving consumer claims on the fidelity fund, and finalising disciplinary hearings and appeals. However, the situation has now been rectified and we can all move forward." The IEA, which celebrates its 66th anniversary this month, is represented on the new board by one of its national directors. The names of the new board members (as published on the DTI website) are: Miss Jill Corfield (an IEA national director) Ian Cruickshank Ms Anne Fry Phethola Makgathe Geoffrey Mashigo Ms Valencia Mazibuko Ismael Mohamed Ms Lilibeth Moolman Ms Magauta Mphahlele Linda Nyembe Ms Zena Poggenpoel Ms Mandisa Sinuka.