Digital nomad visas NOT driving up rental prices - Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis
Hill-Lewis tells Lester Kiewit that digital nomads are not driving up rental prices in the Mother City.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis talks on Kfm 94.5 | 13 July 2023 | Photographed by Ruth Smith
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis joins Lester Kiewit.
Listen below.
ALSO READ: Nomad visa dubbed the 'most attractive visa' in South Africa - here's why
The introduction of the Remote Work Visa looks set to see South Africa coming a step closer to realising its hope of becoming a global hub.
In September last year, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber claimed the visa would be a win-win for the country.
It's available to high-earning visitors who want to spend extended periods living and working in South Africa and who, according to data from Nomad Hive, spend around R38 000 a month while they're here.
But is the visa really a win-win for South Africa?
Some argue that digital nomads are driving up rental prices in Cape Town.
Mayor Hill-Lewis disagrees.
"The people coming, earning well over a million rand, are not the people who are driving up the rental prices for normal Capetonian young people who are trying to move into their first place, to move into a one bedroom."
- Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor - City of Cape Town
He suggests that rather these high earners are driving up the cost of renting elite properties in places like the Atlantic Seaboard.
"I'm not really going to lose sleep over the cost of those rental properties on the Atlantic Seaboard."
- Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor - City of Cape Town
ALSO READ: Mother City: A tough, passionate film about the battle for affordable housing in Cape Town
Hill-Lewis says the City of Cape Town is trying to speed up the supply in the property market in the Mother City by addressing what he calls 'bottlenecks' within the City's planning process.
"The thing that slows down supply most in Cape Town, is the City's very lengthy approvals process... two years or more to get planning approval for a big new block of flats."
- Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor - City of Cape Town
But it's hard to deny, counters Kiewit, the impact of those who enter South Africa even on a 90-day tourist visa, who benefit from a favourable exchange rate and can easily pay R20 000 or R30 000 for a short to mid-term rental, therefore reducing the amount of affordable rentals for locals.
"The only way to solve that is to speed up the pace of new supply. You're not going to fix that with any kind of manipulating of government regulations."
- Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor - City of Cape Town
ALSO READ: 'Remote Work Visa' a win-win for South Africa - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.