Bodlani Petition

Meeting report

Bodlani Petition

Chairperson's opening remarks

As the Portfolio Committee plays the oversight role in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), there was an obligation to deal with the petition, as the Office of the Speaker of Parliament sent it to the Committee for a briefing.

Whilst the Committee had previously raised concerns with the Department on its asset management and rules of government properties, the main aim of the proceedings was to listen to the petitioner and deliberate on the report as a Portfolio Committee.

Background on Bodlani Petition

Ms Tsholfelo Motshidi–Bodlani (DA MP) said she had brought the petition to Parliament in her capacity as a constituency head in Ward 38 in Alberton. The Brackendowns Police Station has been a temporary police station since 1991. Various councillors and the provincial legislature had been informed of the challenges faced by the community, and the petition to the National Assembly was the last resort of the residents.

The lease agreement had been signed on 11 June 1991 by the Department of Public Works and the Alberton Town Council, now known as the City of Ekurhuleni. The lease had expired, and was presumed to be a month-to-month tacit lease. This arrangement had created no certainty. The lease was later terminated on 30 June 2016 due to the non-payment of arrears. The tenant was handed over to the legal department on 22 November, but no feedback has been received. As of June 2022, the arrears were a sum of R1 434 656.61.

However, these were the least of the concerns of the petitioners. The main concern was that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were housed in an unconducive environment. The customer service centre within the police station could assist/house only one person at a time. The holding cells in the station were not suitable. With crime levels at the rate they were in Ekurhuleni, it became difficult for police officers to do their work efficiently and effectively. The issue was that the legal department of the City of Ekurhuleni was sitting with the issue of non-payment by the Department of Public Works.

The residents of Ward 38 were petitioning the Department to enable SAPS to build a permanent police station and ensure there were sufficient facilities. As it stood, the current police station needed an upgrade of facilities, as it did not have sufficient ablution facilities for the public and police officials. This also affected the morale of the officials.

The Department was requested to make a formal request to acquire Erf 3231 in Brackendowns Ext 5 to build a permanent police station.

DPWI's response

Mr Alec Moemi, Acting Director-General, DPWI, acknowledged awareness of the issues brought forward by the petitioner, and said attempts had been made to ensure the land was handed over to the Department so that SAPS could issue a procurement request for a police station.

The matter had been looked at previously by the Department, as the facility remained owned and in the asset register of the Ekurhuleni municipality. It was a difficult task for the DPWI to build on property that did not belong in its asset register. This resulted in serious accounting and auditing challenges. Currently, R30 059.23 is being paid to the Ekurhuleni municipality as a rental. The government was in the process of organising a gratis transfer. Currently, the lease agreement in the form of confirmation of occupancy has been signed by the Department and the municipality.

The facility had been assessed and established that it was not in a good position, was oversubscribed, and did not cater for expansion. Even with the use of park homes the Department provided, it was not enough. Upgrades and remedial work were required for this building. Until SAPS gave the Department a mandate to look for alternative accommodation, not much could be done, as SAPS's current mandate was to expand the existing lease until March 2028.

Committee comments

Ms M Hicklin (DA) stressed the importance of active citizenry, and expressed gratitude to Ms Bodlani for bringing the petition to the attention of Parliament. The Government Immovable Asset Management Act (GIAMA) clearly stated that the DPWI, as the custodian of assets, must compile and prepare a document called the user asset management plan as a prerequisite. This should set out the obligations of the user, client and the Department regarding rent, land and lease agreements entered into.

 (Audio was interrupted for about three minutes due to connectivity issues).

She said the Department had mentioned the laborious process, but surely there was a need to capacitate its lease management units. Previous oversight visits have proved that the absence of lease management led to tension and ongoing disputes. There needed to be an undertaking in writing from the Department that management units had become mandatory.

The immovable property register was known to be incomplete, with the national and provincial asset registers not speaking to each other. Provincial registers should feed information to the national register so that everyone has a clear picture of what land and assets were owned in a province, so they could link with one another. Once the register had been completed and audited, the Department could ascertain what land and buildings they owned, and could then determine what could be offered to clients.

Was there a comprehensive immovable register for Gauteng? It was concerning that the Department was renting land on behalf of the SAPS with a municipality in Ekurhuleni. Was there not a single solitary piece of land in Alberton that was owned by the government for the police station to be built on?

Four modular structures had been procured from Kwikspace. At what cost had these been procured? Who were the service providers? Had these modular structures been tested and proved to be fit for the purpose of SAPS?

As a result of the renewed lease, the Department was said to owe R1.5 million as of June 2022. No further communication had been heard from the Department since 2016; how was this possible?

The Committee needed full disclosure on whether the Department owed money to Ekurhuleni. This needed to be investigated, as the Department had said it had been fully paid up, while the municipality said it would not enter into negotiations with a bad payer. In the end, the municipality's residents were beneficiaries of a non-functioning police station.

The Minister of both the Departments of Police and Public Works and Infrastructure needed to find a solution to meet the needs of the community.

The managers of lease management in the Department needed to do their jobs.

Ms A Siwisa (EFF) expressed concern over a police station in temporary structures for over 30 years. The renewal of the lease agreement until 2028 meant the Department did not intend to resolve this matter of the police station in ward 38 Ekurhuleni.

Did the Department not have any property or land in Ekurhuleni that could be used for a police station?

Furthermore, renovating leased property appeared to be reckless spending. Residents of Ward 38 needed a proper and functional police station.

Mr T Mashele (ANC) said it was in such instances that the need for fast-tracking the Expropriation Bill was felt. The government should have the capacity to expropriate land for public use without compensation. The situation described by the petitioner indicated that a solution was needed. The Department needed to build a better police station so they could serve the community.

Ms S van Schalkwyk (ANC) suggested that SAPS input was needed on this matter, as clarity was needed on what it was doing with its funds for maintenance. She stressed the need for a permanent solution in the interests of the morale of both community and police officials. There was a need for buy-in and commitment from all stakeholders.

If it was so difficult to get accommodation for the police station, then the Expropriation Bill would come in handy, for the benefit of the public.

DPWI's response

Mr Moemi welcomed the recommendations of the Committee.

He said the suggestion that there was a non-existent asset user management plan, was not true -- it was there, as required by National Treasury. It may be that the Government Immovable Asset Management Act guided the Department, but as a start, the DPWI was dealing not only with state properties, as private properties were also used when clients could not find state properties.

The Department had not been in a position to acquire municipal land for public use. The negotiations had been protracted. Cities and provinces had been hoarding property that could be used for national use, social use, human settlements or economic objectives. However, this paradigm was being changed, so all entities could recognise that there was one government.

The SAPS was faced with a difficult choice to make. Either they did not give the Department a mandate to renew the lease and be without accommodation completely, or they issue the Department with a mandate to renew, and hope that a long-term solution could be found. Therefore, the DPWI had to rely on the Police Department for a mandate regarding ways to resolve the matter.

The DPWI had been toiling with the idea of alternative accommodation as a temporary solution for the Brackendowns police station. Even if an instruction to build a police station was a permanent solution, realistically, this process would take at least two years for the Department to resolve the matter and negotiate to get a property. Only then could activity toward building a police station be undertaken.

Whilst the Department and the Gauteng province had properties they owned to build a police station, the reality of the matter was that the community would want a police station at a site that was close to their needs. Building in the same area as the current police station would require negotiations between the Department and the municipality for the land to belong to the state, not the municipality.

Committee comments

Ms Siwisa expressed concern over the level of urgency and commitment to resolving this by the Department. Moreover, were there no properties belonging to the state in Ward 38?

The Chairperson, in closing, highlighted the need for a Public Works and Infrastructure Bill so that the Department could strengthen its control over the asset register, the release of land, and the collection of debt for the service delivery department to perform its duties. The DPWI has proved many times not to have any legislation to assist in performing its tasks for its client departments. The bill should have clauses talking to expropriation and the Government Immovable Asset Management Act.

Adoption of minutes

The minutes of 30 November 2022 and 15 February 2023 were adopted.

Announcements

A response had been received from the House to the Committee's request to participate in the Agrément stakeholder engagement. The application had been approved, provided that three Members of the Committee attend  -- the Chairperson, a member of ANC, and a member of the opposition.

Notification had been received from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) requesting the Minister to brief them on buildings.

The meeting was adjourned.