MPs pass bill to clean state property mess
30 March 2007

A bill to try to put some order into the chaotic management of state-owned property was passed by the national assembly yesterday.

The Government Immovable Asset Management Bill aims to provide a uniform management framework for both national and provincial property and to promote accountability.

The portfolio committee on public works turned the bill down earlier because it did not extend to property in the hands of local authorities, but after meeting with the department of provincial and local government, committee members were assured that another bill would be presented to deal with municipal property.

Public works minister Thoko Didiza told MPs that it was well known that poor maintenance planning had let assets slip into disrepair. "Government land and other structures would stand vacant because of a lack of information about assets acquisition and use."

She told the assembly: "The culture of replacement, rather than ongoing and diligent maintenance, eventually costs government significantly more than the preventative maintenance would have, at the same time creating eyesores because of abandoned and unused buildings and unkempt properties."

Accordingly, the bill orders that "a custodian" - the public works minister, the minister of land affairs, the premier of a province or an MEC - must draw up a management plan following certain principles, which include efficient use and keeping the assets operational.

It requires that the plan include a portfolio strategy, a performance assessment and the maintenance activities required. The asset's condition must be assessed every five years.MPs were interested in ensuring that state-owned land be used for land reform. The minister told them the government owned 30 000 parcels of land to a total of 6 million hectares.

But only about 1.6 million hectares were available for land reform. "A lot is encumbered," she explained. "The majority of tribal lands come under the state, but they have communities living on them and they are not available for reform."

www.busrep.co.za, Michael Hamlyn