Johann Rupert, the veteran South African businessman, has continued his backing of the Khaya Lam project, an initiative of the Free Market Foundation (FMF).

The FMF confirmed that Rupert would recapitalise Khaya Lam with an undisclosed amount.

Khaya Lam, which was founded in 2010, seeks to convert municipal rental properties in townships to full private ownership by transferring legal title deeds to long-term occupants. The programme is designed to give residents formal property rights at no cost, allowing households to move from insecure tenure arrangements into legally recognised home ownership.

Johann Rupert and his associated foundations have been long-standing funders of the initiative. Between 2018 and 2024, the Reinet Foundation and Remgro contributed a combined R50 million, which the FMF says helped finance more than 18 000 property transfers. With the latest recapitalisation, the project is expected to expand its pace and reach beyond its current total of more than 24 000 completed transfers recorded by the middle of this year.

The FMF says the primary aim of Khaya Lam is to turn dead capital into dynamic capital.

David Ansara, the CEO of the FMF, said in a statement: “The Khaya Lam project seeks to ensure that all South Africans, regardless of race or income level, are invested in a policy environment where private property rights are secure from state interference. Insecure tenure has historically been one of the main causes and drivers of the immense poverty from which our society suffers. Dignity is out of the question when the place in which you live is not securely yours.”