Debt-ridden ANC sells off Shell House

It was the scene of an infamous massacre as well as the headquarters of the ANC throughout the negotiations that led to the 1994 elections.

But as soon as next year, members of the public may be able rent a living space there.

Twenty-four years after buying it, the ANC has decided to sell its iconic Shell House building in downtown Johannesburg, the Mail & Guardian reported on Friday.

The sale comes as the party finds itself saddled with millions of rands in debt from last year's general elections, the newspaper stated.

In 2014 it reportedly owed R31 million in debt, a figure it has managed to cut down to R19 million.

The building has been sold to Hosken Consolidated Investments, a publicly-listed company that was established by the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union, an affiliate of Cosatu. HCI will hold 75% of the building and the ANC's property holding company Dakawa Properties will retain the other 25%.

Dakawa was established less than a year after the ANC was unbanned in 1990 and has since been used for a number of property transactions, City Press reported.

The building could house up to 500 families but will need some serious renovation as it is currently, as the ANC puts it, an "eyesore".

It was one of several buildings that was raided by the Hawks in downtown Johannesburg as part of a Hawks operation focusing on counterfeit clothing, according to City Press. The party said it was unaware of the raid.

In 1994, ANC security guards killed 19 Inkatha Freedom Party marchers following a tip-off that they were planning to attack the building.

Source: News24