Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson says government continues to spend about R6 billion a year on private leasing, despite the state owning large portions of land and property.
The minister was giving an update on the progress made on internal investigations in his department during a media briefing in Parliament.
Macpherson says most of the transgressions in relation to lease agreements have to do with the flouting of relevant laws and regulations.
He adds due to poor internal controls and wrongdoing in relation to private leases; there is a need for new reforms.
“Despite the state owning thousands of valuable buildings and portions of land, government continues to spend R6 billion on private leases, many of which raise serious concerns about value for money, market-related pricing, and compliance. This is not sustainable or acceptable, which is why we must strengthen oversight over public property transactions. There are too many examples where this does not happen on the most basic requirements of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and our very own supply regulations,” says Macpherson.
The Minister says the Property Management Trading Entity also needs an overhaul. The entity is tasked with managing the state’s immovable asset portfolio, maintaining a credible asset register, and providing public facilities.
“Some of the most urgent areas of reform is in the portfolio of the Property Management Trading (PMT) entity. The PMT should be one of the most strategic institutions in our government. It is responsible for managing one of South Africa’s largest public property portfolios. And it should be helping the state in reducing waste in these things, unlock value for state assets, provide quality accommodation to client departments and use public land buildings for the public good. Instead, we often see that it is associated with weak systems, inflated leases, under utilised buildings, poor contract management and severe financial pressure. Its overdraft has doubled to nearly over R4 billion in the last 20 months,” says Macpherson.
Macpherson says while he may not be responsible for the day-to-day operations of leasing processes, it’s his responsibility to ensure that there’s compliance with legislation.
“Let me be clear: I do not procure buildings, I do not select landlords, and I do not run the bid evaluation process. However, I do have a responsibility to ensure that major leasing decisions comply with the law, protect public money, and are in the best interests of the state. This includes ensuring compliance with the Government Immovable Asset Management Act, the Public Finance Management Act, Treasury regulations, and Section 217 of the Constitution, as well as the basic principle of value for money,” he adds.
Meanwhile, he says about 60 employees of the department have been identified as ghost workers and they were earning salaries for years while not reporting for duty.
“That’s why we initiated a ghost employee audit within the department. Preliminary work has identified 60 individuals who have been paid salaries for years while not being in the employ of the department. The majority of these ghost employees have been identified in KwaZulu-Natal. This is a serious matter and it raises obvious questions about how these payments were processed, who authorised them, whether internal controls failed, and whether officials looked the other way, as well as whether the public money can be recovered. We are working to finalise this audit to determine the full extent of these payments, identify those who are responsible, and ensure that civil and criminal proceedings follow where wrongdoing is confirmed,” he says.
Minister of Public Works, the DA’s Dean Macpherson MP, detailing how ANC-run eThekwini has misappropriated the EPWP by awarding jobs to those that are politically connected and paying ghost employees at the expense of taxpayers. pic.twitter.com/ggRCi0Q5hm
— DA KZN (@DA_KZN) June 6, 2026
The Minister says in addition, the department has also established a lifestyle audit for its officials.
“We have also taken a firm position on lifestyle audits. Officials who managed public money, leases contracts properties and infrastructure projects must be prepared to account. This is not an attack on any public servant. It is a basic requirement of public trust. Honesty people have nothing to fear from accountability. But where the officials refused to submit the necessary documentation for lifestyle audits or where they cannot explain matters that requires an explanation, the department cannot just look away. Already three officials have resigned after refusing to submit to the required lifestyle accommodation. And that tells its own story,” adds Macpherson.
About the Author
