Question NW435 to the Minister of Public Works
12 March 2018 - NW435
Figg, Mr MJ to ask the Minister of Public Works
(1) Whether, with reference to his reply to question 3910 on 6 December 2017, any plans have been put in place to upgrade any of the buildings in his department’s custodianship that are in a state of disrepair; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) what (a) number of the buildings in accordance with each condition level are occupied illegally and (b) steps will be taken to evict the illegal occupiers?
Reply:
1. Yes, the Department of Public Works does have building maintenance plans in place outlined as follows:
(i) Day-to-day maintenance, which involves responding to daily maintenance calls as and when required;
(ii) Repair and Refurbishment (R&R), which is done year on year;
(iii) In addition, recently the Department has developed a structured program by identifying the top 300 buildings to be prioritised for the implementation of Total Facility Management (TFM) approach in effecting planned maintenance. As pilot 15 buildings have been prioritised, to date condition assessments have been completed on 13 buildings by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) on behalf of the Department of Public Works.
(iv) The Department of Public Works, through DBSA, is in the process of creating a panel of service providers earmarked to provide a full Facility Management spectrum addressing the current maintenance related challenges;
The Department will continue to increase the number of buildings to be included in the TFM model as and when budgets are approved.
(2) (a) The Department has commenced with the physical verification process of the occupancy status of the suspected 1 299 illegally occupied properties.
(b) Through the verification process, there will be engagement with the occupants, to either to:
(i) Conduct physical inspection of alleged illegally occupied properties;
(ii) confirmation of illegal or unauthorised occupation without a valid lease agreement;
(iii) engage with relevant stakeholders such as municipalities, Department of Human Settlements (DHS), Department of Rural Development and land Reform (DRDLR), as well as the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to provide alternative accommodation where required;
(iv) formalise legal occupation with the current occupants through lease agreements; or
(v) follow the eviction processes in an event where it is deemed necessary.
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