“I am very happy with the relationship, they obviously care about my success and they have delivered all they said they would. I am exited about my new business and am full of hope for the future.”

“Although I am making money, these commission splits and royalty payments are really taking the cream off the top.”

“Yes, I am successful, but my success is a result of my hard work. I could probably be just as successful without them.”

“I want to break free… I really don’t like all these restrictions they are putting on the way I run my business. I feel frustrated and annoyed at their constant interference. I want to be able to do my own thing and express my own ideas.”

“I guess I can see the importance of following the system. I do acknowledge the value of their support services. I can see that if we all did our own thing, standards would drop and we would lose the very things which give us our competitive edge.”

“We all need to work together to make the most of our business relationship. I need some specific assistance in certain areas to develop my business and I also have some ideas which I want considered.”

I was privileged enough to crack an invite to the Absa-sponsored educational tour of the striking South American country, Brazil.

In Brazil the sun shines down all year round and with 4,500 miles coastline, this is probably the perfect holiday destination. It is the fifth largest country in the world and is split-up into four separate climates; namely the wet Brazilian Plateau, the humid Amazon Basin, the Tropics which are the popular east coast popular holiday destination and lastly there are the southern states where you can see an average of 9 hours of sunshine a day.

There is so much to see in Brazil, and once you have been there, you are left longing to go back. The people are unbelievably friendly and welcoming, while the atmosphere there can be described as ‘vibrant’. With its stunningly golden beaches littered with palm trees and its crystal blue waters, Brazil attracts an abundance of tourists every year.

We, and maybe also our Government, could certainly take a few lessons from the Brazilian business sector and Government when it comes to dealing with affordable housing needs.

At the moment, Brazil’s housing construction sector is booming as it focuses on providing the 7,9 million new homes that the government estimates are needed now for lower middle-income buyers. Companies that once devoted their entire business to building chic residential properties for the cosmopolitan wealthy in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, are now building smaller and cheaper homes in state capitals and the provinces.

Progress in opening up the market to such buyers can be measured by the fact that the number of houses financed by the government-run Caixa Econômica Federal – Brazil’s biggest mortgage lender - doubled between 2003 and 2006 to more than 600 000 a year.

According to Décio Tenerello, president of the Brazilian Savings and Loan Trade Association, this is largely due to a change in lending legislation which makes it possible for banks to repossess property in one year rather than seven if a borrower defaults on a home loan.

Very evident is the fact that both government and the private sector have made a commitment to tackle Brazil’s huge affordable housing problems on a coordinated basis. More than 20 property development companies are publicly listed in Brazil, and Rossi Properties, a very prominent listed development company which we visited, itself has raised more than US $1 billion for a variety of projects that will deliver 7000 residential units at the affordable end of the market during 2007.

When we compare our country to Brazil, we probably face a few more challenges that what they do, as they enjoy higher skills levels, a lower unemployment rate, zero illegal immigration, a good work ethic and as noted by Mr. Tjaart van der Walt, a qualified SA Town Planner, the fact that public services such as electricity and water are being supplied by government at a much faster rate and in a planned way, creates a positive climate for developers.

It has not always been an easy environment with a good state of affairs. For years, Brazil’s poor had little access to credit. And even if they could get credit, they could not hope to meet interest rates that were frequently among the highest in the world. That, combined with unemployment and underemployment, low pay and the instability brought on by regular economic crises, explain the explosion of favelas, the shantytowns scattered in and around Brazil’s urban centers.

Until recently, Brazilian banks were afraid to lend to home buyers as they would get caught up in complex foreclosure procedures that took up to 7 or 8 years to bring to conclusion. Thanks to new legislation and additional security mechanisms, banks now have much more confidence and home loans of up to 25 years is now a possibility. According to Décio Tenerello, president of the Brazilian Savings and Loan Trade Association, the new legislation means that “Brazil now has one of the most modern mortgage systems in the world.”

Brazil’s newfound economic stability and changes in lending laws are for the first time making it possible for the country’s working poor to buy their own homes. Using money that has been pouring in from foreigners who sense a lucrative investment – US $4.8 billion since September 2005 – the country’s construction and real estate companies are building as fast as they can.

Brazil’s construction firms are using the huge new investment for foreigners to help meet the growing demand and it appears that foreign investment in Brazil is favored by the government. Foreigners are allowed to own 100% of property and land, while one can have up to 10 names registered against one Brazilian property – thus simplified fractional ownership.

Over the past five years the price of property has risen roughly by 20%. Brazil has an incredibly low cost of living, just a third of what it is in Europe and both tourists and investors alike are finding that their money goes a lot further.

Brazil is tipped to be amongst the top 10 leaders of the world economically in the near future, and it is considered a safe place to live with little thread of wars, terrorism, hurricanes and even taxes.

The Brazil Tourism and Culture Movement has huge aspirations for Brazil and by 2007 would like to have transformed it into one of the twenty most appealing tourist destinations of the world, aiming to attract more than 10 million visitors.

Construction projects in Brazil offer an exciting new opportunity to investors as there is a noticeable lack of housing there and what better than a brand new property at a faction of any price in Europe. Considered in conjunction with Brazil’s ever increasing popularity with tourists making use of short-term holiday rentals and generating excellent rental yields for investors, one has to deduct that Brazil is on the edge of a property investment boom.

In order to be fair, one has to mention the background to all of this and immediately the word “favela” jumps to mind. A favela is the Brazilian equivalent of a shanty town or a squatter camp, which is generally found on the edge of the city. Brazil’s favelas can be seen as consequence of the unequal distribution of wealth in the country.

Favelas have electricity, but often not formally. Favelas are constructed from a variety of materials, ranging from bricks to garbage. Many favelas are very close and very cramped. They are plagued by sewage, crime and hygiene problems. Although the most infamous ones are located in Rio de Janeiro, there are favelas in almost every large Brazilian town.

Over the years, most of the pour population, comprised mainly of freed black slaves moved in, replacing the refugees and the major ethnic group there. However, long before the settlement called “favela” came into being, poor blacks were pushed away from downtown into the far suburbs. Favelas were handy for them because they allowed them to be close to work, while keeping away from where they would not be welcome. Sound familiar, doesn’t it?

A favela is fundamentally different from a slum or tenement, primarily in terms of its origin and locations. While slum quarters in other Latin American countries generally form when poorer residents from the countryside come to larger cities in search for work, favelas are unique in that they created as large populations become displaced. Another important distinction is that, in a typical favela, there is an anomalous form of social life that diverges from mainstream culture. Such a state of things was recognized as early as 1940.

These shanty towns are units of irregular self-constructed housing that are unlicensed and occupied illegally. They are usually on lands belonging to third parties, and are almost often located on the urban periphery. These residences are built at random, although ad hoc networks of stairways, sidewalks and simple tracks allow passage through them. Most favelas are inaccessible by vehicles.

These areas of irregular and poor-quality housing are often crowded onto hillsides, and as a result, these areas suffer from frequent landslides during heavy rain. In recent decades, favelas have been troubled by drug-related crime and gang warfare. There are rumors that common social codes in favelas forbid residents from engaging in criminal activity inside their own favela and we were made to believe that these neighborhoods are often not even patrolled by police. We were advised not to take any pictures as we walked through a favela of 1,5 million people, as the drug lords are known to be quite sensitive in this regard.

People who live in favelas, known as “favelados”, are often very poor. Many live below the poverty line on less than US$ 100 per month. The best-known favelas are those in and around Rio de Janeiro. They provide a dramatic illustration of the gap between poverty and wealth, positioned side-by-side with the luxurious apartment buildings and mansions of Rio’s social elite. Several hills in Rio are densely populated by favelas, with exquisite views of Ipanema Beach, Copacabana Beach, the Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Corcovado Hill, only to mention a few very popular tourist attractions.

I wish to sign off by thanking ABSA Bank Limited, Peter Lach, Ana Bonanni and the 12 other South Africans who contributed in making the trip to Brazil extremely interesting and definitely an unforgettable experience.

Having said all that: There is no place like home.

We wish to congratulate Jan De Kock and Melinda Knoetze on the union of their marriage, which took place on Monday, 24 September 2007. Jan, Principal and co-owner of Aida Klerksdorp, met Melinda during the first week of June when she came from Welkom to purchase a residence in Klerksdorp. In Jan’s own words: “ When speaking to her over the telephone and I heard her voice, I knew she was meant for me.” And indeed it has proved to be the case.

Being an attorney as well, he stuck to his promise and hastened the transfer process. On 7 July the engagement romantically unfolded on Table Mountain upon sunset. The beautiful wedding included guest artists like Manuel Escorcio, Hessel van der Walt and the Zephyros Youth Brass Band.

We wish Jan and Melinda many happy and blessed years for the future!