Public-private partnerships: KZN's strategy to save R24.3 million annually

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure says offloading close to 100 state owned land pieces and buildings for public private partnerships ,will save taxpayers R24.3 million in annual rates.

On Friday the department advertised the vacant land pieces and other unused immovable properties, calling for interested parties to come forward with proposals on how to utilise these assets to the benefit of the public.

In a statement on Monday, the department’s MEC, Martin Meyer, said these are assets that have been identified as no longer having significant value to the department and as such have been sitting as dead weight on the department's asset registry.

He said that the move to dispose of them was for the benefit of the greater public following resolutions taken during the Build KZN Betterconference on sustainable approaches regarding asset management last year.  The disposed assets are worth over R120 million.

“To put this into context, the release of these assets will save KZN Public Works and Infrastructure an amount of R24,3 million in annual rates. As a landlord, the department pays large amounts of money in rates for all its properties, whether they are in use or sitting vacant. This is money that could be better utilised towards other priorities,” said the MEC.

Since being appointed last year under Government of Provincial Unity between his party, the DA, ANC and IFP, Meyer has been on a drive to find solutions to the unused state buildings particularly in eThekwini where many of them have been hijacked by criminal syndicates for drug peddling. As part of the solutions he proposed that all those buildings that the state no longer needs should be handed over to the local municipalities for low- cost housing and for private-public-partnerships. 

Last year, the department undertook an audit process to update its asset registry to better gauge which assets were used for what purpose and what was the usage status as unused assets continue to drain the department of significant amounts of money each year.

“This week the department will issue invitations for bidding for those wanting to make use of the assets to come forward and bid for them. However, in keeping with the department's mandate of serving, uplifting local communities and creating job opportunities, during the bidding process preference will be given to those whose goals align with this objective through the acquisition of these assets.

"Institutions of higher education, those wanting to build schools and NGOs will get priority with the assets given to them either at free or at low-cost long term leases,” said Meyer.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za