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Offices in South Africa for Rent – South Africa Office Space Information:

Commerce and Commercial Property:

Many of the business organisations that have search for offices to rent in South Africa using officebroker.com chose to rent highly flexible office space that does not require the commitment required by a sub-lease / sublet rental agreement, a conventional commercial real estate lease and outright freehold sale of commercial property in South Africa. Many offer additional services to their tenants inc. secretary support, reception areas with receptionist staff, broadband with onsite IT support and onsite property management executives. Furniture is provided at many of the South African serviced offices within business centres and the desks and chairs are usually of a very high standard. Cat 5 cabling or the local equivalent is usually pre-installed and security systems are generally installed inc. cctv. Layouts are flexible and cubicles, workstations and director suites can all generally be created in line with your commercial and corporate requirements.

Ad hoc meeting rooms and conference suites are an additional business service available at most South African business centres allowing you to rent these flexible rooms as and when required saving your business both time and money. In fact, serviced offices are so flexible that many directors are choosing them as a base for their headquarters as they make life so much easier for their executives. South Africa’s stock exchange is one of the world’s top twenty and the currency, the South African Rand, being one of the worlds’ most actively traded emerging market currencies and South African president Thabo Mbeki is strongly focuses on actively improving the South African economy. The country is classed as a middle income country by the United Nations with established sectors inc. transport, energy and communications. The four main areas of development are Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg / Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town although the 2010 FIFA world cup South Africa should enable further development in other locations.

General:

Situated at the southernmost tip of Africa, the Republic of South Africa shares borders with Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia and completely surrounds the land locked country of Lesotho. Office space in South Africa is mainly located in one of five main commercial centres and can be searched for using search terms inc. offices to rent in Cape Town, office spaces in Durban to let, Johannesburg commercial property, flexible office rental in Mowbray and managed offices in Pretoria. South Africa is divided into 9 provinces, each with its own provincial capital – Eastern Cape and its capital Bhisho and Western Cape and its capital Cape Town are the two most southern states, Northern Province, Free State and KwaZulu-Natel South Africa and their capitals Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg are centrally located whilst Gauteng, Limpopo South Africa, Mpumalanga and North West province make up the northern territories with their respective capitals Johannesburg, Polokwane, Nelspruit and Mafikeng. South Africa has the largest economy of all the nations within the African Union and it was also one of the founder members and homes a diverse directory of peoples inc. Afrikaners. South Africa was also a founder member of NEPAD and the United Nations as well as being a member of the World Trade Organisation, the Commonwealth of Nations and the International Monetary fund. South Africa is renowned for its diamond and gold production and has mines throughout the country although initially the resources triggered the Anglo-Boer War in the 19th century.

Tourism in South Africa:

South Africa offers no less than eight UNESCO World Heritage sites which attract many visitors to the country each year - The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape is managed and owned by descendents of the Khoi-Khoi people, the Nama community. The area is in the north west of the country and is a stunning mountainous desert which has been reserved for the sole purpose of conservation. The Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park can be found in KwaZulu Natal and stretches from Kozi Bay in the North to Mapelane / Cape St. Lucia in the south. The park incorporates conservation areas inc. the Coastal Forest Reserve, Lake St Lucia, Kosi Bay Nature Reserve and the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves. The Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng is made up of fossil sites of human remains at Environs, Swartkrans, Sterkfontein and Kromdraai and the Cape Floral Kingdom in Western Cape incorporates eight areas all displaying outstanding biological and ecological processes.

Located near South Africa’s borders with Zimbabwe and Botswana, the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape in Limpopo is a stunning savannah landscape at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers. Robben Island near Cape Town has served many different purposes throughout history inc. a prison, a military base and a hospital and in KwaZulu Natal the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park homes rock art in that is preserved better than any other location to the south of the Sahara. The final UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Vredefort Dome is the world’s largest and oldest meteorite impact site. Other popular tourist attractions and destinations in South Africa include the Sun City Resort in Pilanesberg in the North West Province, Sea World in Durban, the St Lucia Crocodile Centre and the Cape Whale Route which runs between Hermanus and Yzerfontein on the West Coast. The Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn are another geological attraction that attracts many visitors each year. The country is also famous for its wildlife and safari’s with numerous national parks on offer such as the Paul Kruger National Park, Pilanesberg National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

20th Century History:

Following the gold rush in the 1880’s, the Union of South Africa was formed between Orange Free State, the Cape of Natal and the Boer republics of Transvaal in 1910. In 1913 the first steps towards official segregation in South Africa were taken with the introduction of the Land Act. In 1948 the National Party adopted the apartheid policy which was then strengthened further by the Group Areas Act which prompted civil disobedience initiated by African National Congress (ANC) leader and future President of South Africa Nelson Mandela. South Africa was declared as a republic in 1961 and then in 1964 ANC leader Nelson Mandela was imprisoned following the imposing of a life sentence. The 1970’s and 1980’s were difficult times in South Africa with international sanctions being imposed and forced resettlement leading to civil unrest and the township revolts until, in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison leading to the end of international sanctions and the end of apartheid. 1993 saw Nelson Mandela and President De Klerk awarded a joint Nobel Peace Prize and in 1994 Nelson Mandela himself was elected President following its first elections that were open to all races. 1995 saw South Africa host and win the rugby world cup and in 1999 Nelson Mandela stepped down from the presidency and in 2004 the ANC gained 70% of all votes in the election giving Thabo Mbeki his second term as president.