Property News South Africa

Proposed legislation could be cure for government's R148bn property portfolio headache

Valued at R148bn as of 31 March - up in worth by R9bn since 2017 - the state's property portfolio is extensive, but managing these properties has been an almost 30-year-long headache within a red tape-ridden administration.
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Source: Pexels

The state today holds 29,169 so-called land parcels with 80,631 improvements, effectively buildings, it emerged at a Public Works briefing on 7 June 2023, according to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group.

The property headache includes national and provincial state asset registers that are still not fully verified and completed — incorporating ex-Bantustan properties proved taxing — and various initiatives to reclaim state properties, like Operation Bring Back from April 2011, as well as the Sisyphean battle of maintaining properties against repeat budget cuts.

The proposed National State Enterprises Bill holds a way out.

Read the full article by Marianne Merten at Daily Maverick.

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