Government targets cost cuts with review of state-owned homes

The rates and taxes bill for state-owned homes occupied by public officials runs into tens of millions of rands every year, and the government is now looking at the way it manages its property portfolio. The government is reviewing whether thousands of state-owned homes occupied by public officials continue to serve the public interest. Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has ordered an investigation into the more than 6000 government-owned residential properties and wants a strategy to sell or repurpose those that are no longer needed for official duties.

The move could save taxpayers millions. Macpherson says, “The problem is that Public Works has to maintain them, and pay for the rates, and water, and electricity and just the cost for 108 was R40 million rand per year, and that also includes maintenance. So, you can actually imagine, now that figure is far higher, and our view is that we as Public Works and certainly as government, shouldn't have the situation where we have all of these residential houses across the country, when in fact those officials are already getting housing allowances, as part of their benefits. So, those housing allowances would go either towards rent or to a home loan.