MAIN IMAGE: Jan le Roux, CE of Rebosa
Staff Writer
In March this year Steven Ngubeni, Chairperson of the PPRA announced that candidate practitioners who, according to the records of the PPRA, have been registered as candidate property practitioners for a period exceeding two years (24 months), and who have not completed their NQF Level 4 and PDE 4 by 30 June 2023, would be deregistered.
“There are currently around 30 000 candidate practitioners, of which I would estimate at least 20 000 have been candidates for longer than the prescribed two-year period, so thousands of people are going to be affected”, shares Jan le Roux, CE of Rebosa.
Many met this announcement with scepticism as the deadline for qualification had been extended several times before. However, the PPRA has now released a communiqué reaffirming both the deadline, and outlining the consequences for those who have not qualified. You can read it here.
What happens to candidate practitioners who miss the June deadline?
In essence, disqualified practitioners will be legally “blocked”, and have to jump through several administrative hoops, should they wish to re-register. Principally, such candidate practitioners will be;
- Blocked and unable to renew their fidelity fund certificates for ensuing calendar years.
- Have to pay an administrative penalty of R1,000.00 which must be paid before any further fidelity fund certificates may be issued to them.
- Disqualified persons can, should they choose to do so, apply to the PPRA under the provisos of section 52(6) and (9) of the PPA, for consent to practice as property practitioners or the issue of Fidelity Fund Certificates.
It is possible for candidates who follow the processes as outlined above (and in the full PPRA document) to be unblocked, after which they will be granted a maximum further period of six (6) months, calculated as from the date of the unblocking of the applicant property practitioner, within which to comply with any outstanding educational requirements in terms of the Education Regulations.
Considering that several candidate practitioners will only need to apply for their FFC renewals in 2025, one could argue that being “blocked” is a bit of a toothless punishment, and unlikely to prompt tardy candidates to complete their certifications. Similarly, it is doubtful that the R1,000.00 fine will be any more effective.
What about Candidates who cannot comply through no fault of their own?
Several candidate practitioners have not been able to register for the 18 May PDE exam (the last before the end of June deadline), as they were waiting for outcomes on their qualifications as they were still to be externally moderated by the Sector Education and Training Authority, i.e., the Services SETA. It is envisaged that all external moderations will be concluded by latest end of May 2023. Others are still waiting for previous exam results, or experienced difficulties registering for the exam.
“Rebosa has communicated with the acting CEO about this issue and Ms. Ramaili has thoughtfully decided to accommodate these practitioners and they will not be penalised after the June 30th deadline as they are in the process of finalising their educational requirements”, explains le Roux.
The final examination date before the deadline has been confirmed as the 20th of June 2023 and the exam registration is envisaged to be open from 19 May 2023 (the notice about the exam will be communicated widely on 19 May 2023).
The PPRA has emphasised that after the 20th of June exam, there will not be any other exam aimed at accommodating those who failed to meet the 30 June 2023 deadline.
“There are a few open questions to be asked here namely ‘What happens if Services SETA misses the 30 May deadline?’ and ‘Will the 20 June exam results be released before the 30 June deadline ten days later?” One would assume that the PPRA won’t act against practitioners waiting for their exam results, but at present there is no clarity on what will happen should there be any delays”, shares le Roux.
