The Mthatha deeds registry is expected to resume operations on Monday from a temporary office after a fire that gutted the historic 11-storey Botha Sigcau building, which housed the registry and many other government departments.
The department of land reform and rural development has assured the public that efforts are under way to secure a new permanent location for the deeds registry.
In the meantime, services will continue at the temporary office at 40 Blakeway Road in Mthatha, about a kilometre from the Botha Sigcau building.
This was announced by Jabu Maphomolo, Eastern Cape registrar of deeds, on Saturday.
The department of land reform and rural development offices are located at 40 Blakeway Road.
The fire, which broke out at about 7pm on March 24, destroyed a significant portion of the deeds office and is believed to have damaged or destroyed some of the registry’s physical records and equipment.
The estimated damage to the building is still being assessed.
The incident is expected to have a significant impact on the local property market.
“The department is pleased to inform the public and those requiring deeds services in the Mthatha and surrounding areas that, due to the electronic deeds registration system (eDRS), all paper records of deeds regarding registered land have been digitised and are available on the eDRS,” Maphomolo said.
“In the unlikely event that it is discovered that there are registered deeds that are not available in the deeds registration system, as well as those lost by the holder of the deed, section 38 of the Deeds Registration Act allows for the recreation of the deed.”
There were fewer than 100 deeds being processed between lodgement for registration and delivery at the time of the fire.
The affected law firms have been informed, and the deeds will be recreated and relodged for registration within five working days, Maphomolo said.
Land reform and rural development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso will visit the site on Monday.
On Friday, heads of the 11 departments that were housed in the Botha Sigcau building met public works and infrastructure development MEC Siphokazi Lusithi to discuss finding alternative accommodation for the almost 1,000 workers who occupied about 700 offices in the damaged building.
It’s unclear whether archives in the Mthatha Archives Repository in the basement of the building are safe.
Office space is limited, and it’s uncertain if all departments will find offices in Mthatha or have to operate from other government offices in surrounding towns.
The Botha Sigcau building, a prominent landmark in Mthatha, was constructed in the 1950s and housed various government offices.
The building is named after King Botha Sigcau, who was paramount chief of Eastern Mpondoland and president of the Transkei.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, with arson suspected as a possible cause. The Hawks have been tasked to investigate.
The building is guarded 24/7, and sections of surrounding streets have been cordoned off.
Lusithi’s spokesperson, Siyabonga Mdodi, said contingency plans are in place to ensure essential government services continue, with some workers allowed to work from home.
The Botha Sigcau building is one of 11 prominent buildings in Mthatha gutted by fire since 2021.
Others include:
- The Lewis Stores building in 2020;
- The historic three-storey Transkei Hotel (built in the 1970s) in Elliot Street on March 12 2021;
- The historic Grosvenor Hotel (built in 1952) on the corner of Sutherland and Madeira streets on July 28 2021;
- Jimmy’s SuperSPAR in Sutherland Street on May 30 2023.
- The 71-year-old Umtata Pharmacy and Lillian Bedding building in York Road on June 23 2023; and
- On March 24, 2024 a fire swept through three buildings and four police vehicles, destroying the offices of several law firms, part of the Madeira police station, a string of shops and the five-story Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) building in York Road.
Mthatha ratepayers and the business community fear the eight-storey ECDC-owned 64-room Windsor Hotel in Sutherland Street, which was declared unsafe for human occupation in 2023, poses a fire risk.
Daily Dispatch
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