MINISTER DEAN MACPHERSON ORDERS 30-DAY PROBE AND DISPOSAL STRATEGY FOR 6,200+ STATE-OWNED HOUSES
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PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), Dean Macpherson, has instructed Department Director-General Sifiso Mdakane to launch a comprehensive 30-day investigation into 6,238 state-owned residential properties allocated to government officials across the country, setting the stage for a major disposal of redundant assets.
The directive aims to identify unneeded state residences, eliminate double-subsidisation of public servants, and curb millions in unaccounted maintenance costs on the public fiscus.
Portfolio Breakdown & Accounting Deficits
Department records reveal a significant geographical concentration of state residences, alongside glaring gaps in financial reporting:
KwaZulu-Natal Bottleneck: Over 58% (3,626) of the total 6,238 allocated residences are located in KZN, compared to 566 in the Western Cape and 407 in Gauteng.
Maintenance Expenditure Gaps: An estimated R39.6 million was spent from the Department's Day-to-Day Maintenance budget in the 2025/26 financial year—yet available expenditure records account for only 108 of the 6,238 properties.
Key Priorities of the 30-Day Audit Mandate
Director-General Mdakane must deliver a full report covering six core areas:
KZN Inventory Assessment: Map all 3,626 KZN properties by user department, intended purpose, occupant status, and determine whether each should be retained, repurposed, or sold.
Internal DPWI Scrutiny: Audit DPWI-occupied residences to ensure no preferential treatment, exemptions, or governance deviations were granted to DPWI staff compared to other government departments.
Regulatory & Statutory Compliance: Verify full compliance with the Government Immovable Asset Management Act (GIAMA), the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), and Treasury regulations.
Market-Related Rentals: Assess whether charged rentals reflect fair market value and verify that formal approvals exist for any pricing deviations.
Fringe Benefit Tax & Qualification: Confirm that occupants qualify for state housing under their employment terms and ensure fringe benefit tax is properly applied.
Surplus Asset Rationalisation: Identify unneeded properties surrendered by departments to prepare them for redevelopment or transparent public sale.
Policy Shift: Default to Disposal
Minister Macpherson emphasized that the state should not be carrying the financial burden of over 6,000 houses, especially when many public servants already receive housing allowances or subsidies in their remuneration packages.
"Unless there is a clear and compelling operational reason for the State to retain a residential property, it should be sold. The default position cannot be that the State indefinitely carries the maintenance, rates and other costs of thousands of residential properties while the public fiscus remains under immense pressure... Selling properties that the State does not need will reduce unnecessary expenditure, generate value for the public and ensure that government focuses its limited resources on infrastructure and assets that directly support service delivery." — Minister Dean Macpherson
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