Several outgoing ministers and deputy ministers have left the homes that they were given during their tenure in a “dreadful state”.
According to the Public Works and Infrastructure Ministry, shortly after Minister Dean Macpherson took office, he found some properties in the Prestige Unit in a disgusting or derelict state.
The ministry spokesperson, James de Villiers said that South Africa owns 97 state homes within its Prestige Unit, valued at around R830 million in Cape Town and R137 million in Pretoria.
The ministry said that one of the main problems that occurred when Macpherson took office was that some non-returning ministers and deputy ministers refused to vacate their properties.
Some of these office bearers also delayed vacating their properties.
When the department was finally able to access the homes, they found that some of them were in a “dreadful state”.
The ministry said that the kitchen cabinets had been removed in some of the homes. The department also noted that in certain cases, carpets had been taken or were damaged and there was graffiti that defaced the property.
“In one instance, a taxi business was being run from a property,” De Villiers said.
The department also found that some of these properties had outstanding debt for utilities.
As a result of these actions, Minister Macpherson is now working to amend the lease agreements entered with ministers and deputy ministers when they take occupation of State houses.
The department wants to make sure that these prestigious homes are never left in such a disgusting condition again.
“It’s important that we treat these leases in the same way as someone in a private sector lease would be treated, which includes incoming and outgoing inspections,” De Villiers said.
“The minister has similarly taken action to reform the governance of the Prestige Unit by ensuring that the Director General has direct oversight over its activities, and he has removed the delegations which empowered State officials to spend up to R20 million without accounting officer approval,” De Villiers explained.
The department wants to make sure that public servants, including senior officials, cannot get away with casually walking off with assets of the State, or have the ability to vandalise state property, without any consequences.
“The minister would like to introduce a culture of pride in the assets of the State, and, therefore, where people have taken State property, the department will ensure that they are criminally charged and that the items are recovered,” he added.
De Villiers said that the department is currently engaging with the non-returning members to return assets which were reportedly taken or to account for them, or to repair damages which have been encountered.
IOL Business reached out to the department to find out who these ministers are and how much it is going to cost the State to fix these houses. These questions were not answered at the time of publication.
IOL BUSINESS