The Gauteng government owns 41 abandoned buildings and has resorted to leasing them as a ‘temporary measure’.
The Gauteng provincial government has been accused of using a building it is renting for R2.9 million per month solely for making photocopies.
The building is believed to have five floors and is situated on 55 Fox Street in the Johannesburg CBD.
DA members of the provincial legislatures in Gauteng, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, told The Citizen that the party had been reliably informed that Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) staff would only use the building when there was a need to use the printer.
Oversight inspection reveals empty building
“The DA Gauteng has been reliably informed that these offices are not being fully utilised but only used by GDE employees to make photocopies.
“This is unacceptable because the Gauteng Provincial Government pays R34 104 005,07 monthly for office rentals for various departments,” she said.
Rasilingwane, along with other DA officials, went on an oversight inspection on Wednesday to investigate why the building is not being fully utilised.
However, the team was stopped by security at reception.
Rasilingwane said that when she arrived at the building in question, she was informed that it was not safe to enter.
“They told us that it is not safe to enter the building, but if that is the case, why is the province paying for this building?
“They told us people have been moved to the other building because that building is not meeting Occupational Health and Safety Standards,” she said.
It was still not clear if the province is being billed municipal rates for that building.
However, Rasilingwane said, upon investigation,n she discovered that the province rents five buildings from the same owner or company,
“This is a blatant waste of government money, and we need an explanation for this.
“I will be posing further questions in the legislature about what we know about these buildings and the exact reason why the education department cannot use a building that is being paid for monthly,” she said.
The Citizen contacted the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to enquire about its office at 55 Fox Street.
However, GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said the provincial Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) is best suited to respond to the questions about the building.
“Hi please interact with DID,” Mabona said.
ActionSA laments wasteful expenditure
Meanwhile, ActionSA provincial chairperson Funzi Ngobeni told The Citizen that he was alarmed by the amount of money being spent renting buildings for government departments.
He said the provincial government owns 41 buildings which have been abandoned.
“This blatant display of mismanagement and inefficiency is a slap in the face to already overburdened taxpayers.
“This wasteful expenditure is a shocking indictment of government’s fiscal mismanagement, poor asset oversight, and a total disregard for the efficient use of the public purse,” he said.
Ngobeni said the province claimed that it is renting the buildings as a temporary measure.
“Whilst provincial leaders claim that this is a temporary measure, it is quite disturbing that over R2.2 billion has been wasted on office rentals in the past five financial years, indicating failure to appreciate the urgency of addressing this matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, DID had committed to respond to questions from The Citizen with an explanation concerning the GDE building on Fox Street.
However, no response had been received by the time of publication.
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Why is Gauteng renting buildings for staff?
However, responding to Legislature questions recently, the MEC responsible, Jacob Mamabolo said the current buildings the province owns did not comply with Occupational Health and Safety Standards.
“The lack of maintenance resulted in deterioration of GPG-owned assets, primarily office buildings, compromising their overall condition and usability.
“As the custodian responsible for providing compliant office buildings to GPG User Departments, DID explored alternative solutions including leasing from third parties to ensure the provision of required office accommodation, thereby fulfilling its mandate,” he said.
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