Moneyweb reports that the Johannesburg Attorneys Association (JAA) has confirmed that relocation plans are underway following a sewage flood at the Johannesburg Deeds Office.

This follows video footage showing a leaking parking area at the building, initially assumed to be water but later confirmed to be human waste. “It was definitely sewage. The stench was unbearable. The maintenance company said it came from the outside toilet on the ground floor of the building,” said Karla Strydom, a committee member of the JAA property committee. She noted that the JAA had been raising concerns with the deeds registrar for years about the building’s uninhabitable conditions, but it took a sewage flood to prompt any action. In a statement, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development conceded that the facilities and environment presented occupational hazards to the department’s employees and presented safety concerns for clients. Strydom confirmed that they have received communication indicating that on 1 September staff at the Deeds Office would relocate to an interim building while construction was completed on a new facility in Anderson Street, Marshalltown. She said the new building would probably be finished in 2026, but at the latest 2027, if everything went according to plan.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Anathi Madubela at Moneyweb

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