Gauteng’s properties are falling apart

BALDWIN NDABA

MOST of Gauteng’s properties, including its hospitals, are in a poor condition because of a lack of maintenance and support by the provincial government.

MEC for Infrastructure Development Bheki Nkosi said this on Friday when he delivered his R1.3 billion budget in the Gauteng Legislature.

While Nkosi complained about the poor condition of schools, hospitals and libraries, he also indicated that measures were under way to recover some state properties occupied illegally by people related to public servants in the province.

He dedicated most of his address to laying bare the extent of damage to state properties, particularly hospitals, which have a lifespan of more than 50 years.

Nkosi admitted that these institutions have continued to be neglected after 1994.

He said some of the public institutions established in the past 15 years were also poorly maintained.

“It is my view that we need to establish a maintenance plan for the province. We have had, and continue to hold, various meetings with the CEOs of all public institutions serviced by the Infrastructure Development Department, such as hospitals, in order to ascertain their challenges and to develop more responsive mechanisms for better service delivery and infrastructure maintenance at these public service points. We believe this will help unlock the systematic challenges and also eradicate backlogs,” Nkosi said.

He added that his department would tighten its supply chain management by ensuring that all those responsible for the issuing of public tenders did so in compliance with the Public Finance Management Act.

In November last year, The Star reported that more than 780 state-owned houses in Gauteng were occupied by friends and relatives of government officials.

The provincial government owns 826 state houses across six regions, but only 46 tenants have signed lease agreements.

The friends and relatives are accused of defaulting on rates and taxes as well as rent. The houses’ occupants are also paying less than market-related rentals for the properties.

Nkosi said his department had set aside R270 million for the payment of rates and taxes to municipalities.

“We are accelerating the implementation of market-related rentals, as well as prevention of vandalism of state-owned residential and commercial-owned properties. Revenue collection from provincial property transactions will be expedited,” he added.

The department hopes to register and verify 1 000 properties in its asset register as well as submit 550 property-vesting applications to the Provincial State Land Disposal Committee.

Nkosi said he had established two teams to inspect and verify hijacked properties. He said investigations were under way on the West Rand and in Ekurhuleni and Tshwane.

He also announced that his department had set aside R133.2m for the construction of lifts and generators in the provincial government pre-cinct, including the legislature.

He said a 300-bed hospital in Germiston was complete and various other school projects in Sedibeng, Diepsloot, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni were nearing completion.

Nkosi said 14 schools would be built this year.