Note to Editors: Please find a soundbite in English here by Michael Waters MPL.
• Gauteng spends R230 million a year on rented GDE district offices amid school budget cuts.
• The DA questions why government-owned buildings are not being used.
• DA-led government would insist on district offices using government properties to cuts costs.
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is spending more than R230 million annually to rent and operate privately owned district offices for the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), all while schools across the province face devastating budget cuts that have left them struggling to keep the lights on and the taps running.
This information was revealed by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo in a written response to questions tabled by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). He disclosed that 10 of the GDE’s 15 district offices (67%) are housed in privately owned buildings while only five (33%) operate from government-owned premises. The department spends R15.27 million monthly (R183.2 million annually) on renting these offices, plus an additional R47.2 million per year on municipal services.
See the reply here.
This means taxpayers are spending more than R230 million annually on just 10 district offices, before maintenance, security, cleaning, and other operating costs are even considered.
The fact that two-thirds of the department’s district offices are housed in privately leased buildings raises serious questions about whether the Provincial Government is making the best use of its own property portfolio or unnecessarily enriching private landlords at taxpayers’ expense.
Even worse, these revelations come at a time when the GDE has slashed budgets to Quintile 5 schools by 64%, leaving many schools struggling to pay municipal accounts and, in some cases, having their electricity disconnected, severely disrupting teaching and learning.
The DA is not questioning the need for district offices. Effective district offices are essential to supporting schools. What we are questioning is why the provincial government continues to pay hundreds of millions of rand on property leasing when government-owned buildings may be standing vacant or could potentially accommodate these offices.
The Premier Panyaza Lesufi-led government cannot claim there is no money while spending millions of rand on leasing office space. If the province’s finances are so constrained that it must slash school budgets, why does it continue to prioritise expensive office rentals over essential education funding?
The DA will table follow-up questions to the Infrastructure Development MEC to ascertain why district offices continue to be leased from private landlords, why suitable government-owned buildings are not being used, whether the province has adopted a “Government Buildings First” policy, and how much taxpayers could save by accommodating district offices in government-owned properties.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would put learners first by prioritising investment in classrooms, teachers, and school budgets, while ensuring that government-owned properties are used efficiently before considering costly private leases.