Pretoria - Vlakplaas, the base for the notorious apartheid death squad under convicted murderer, now paroled Eugene de Kock, is back in the state property fold – after illegal occupants, who claimed its ownership for years, were evicted.
And talks are under way with the Department of Arts and Culture to turn the farm outside Pretoria into a heritage site or museum, Public Works director-general Mziwonke Dlabantu said on Wednesday.
Reclaiming “misappropriated” state properties under “Operation Bring Back”, completing the immovable asset register and the finalisation of the wholesale lease review, which led to an annual saving of R33-million, are part of the three-year-old turnaround strategy in the troubled Public Works, effectively government’s landlord.
For the first time in 21 years there is now a national government immovable asset registry: valued at R59-billion, including 108 657 buildings and 32 509 land parcels.
The registry was “99.1 percent verified” and assigned fair values to government’s property portfolio, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said before the parliamentary debate on his budget vote.
He called on provinces to come on board, and it is understood an asset register at local government level is also expected.
During his budget vote speech, Nxesi described the immovable asset register as “reliable” and key to enhancing his department’s “ability to leverage this portfolio for socio-economic development, black economic empowerment, support for small businesses and job creation”.
Public Works continues to investigate 1 000 illegally-occupied state properties with the assistance of black-owned investigation firms.
The department has identified 100 vacant properties for re-development by black developers and 600 surplus freehold properties to let out through black real estate agents.
Nxesi told MPs the turnaround strategy had dealt with a backlog of 289 allegations of fraud and corruption, leading to 129 disciplinary actions and 18 referrals to the SAPS for criminal investigations.
Following recommendations by the Special Investigating Unit, disciplinary steps against 41 officials led to seven dismissals, three resignations and seven final written warnings. In addition, the lease review led to eight criminal cases against service providers and a department official.
Disciplinary and criminal cases related to the R215m taxpayer-funded security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s rural Nkandla homestead also emerged during his pre-budget vote briefing.
Political Bureau