KZN Launches Portal Mapping 10,067 Government Properties for Public Scrutiny
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KwaZulu-Natal has launched an online portal listing the location and responsible department for each of its 10,067 government-owned properties, inviting residents to report neglected facilities.
KwaZulu-Natal residents will be able to scrutinise thousands of government-owned properties and report neglected or poorly maintained facilities through a new online portal launched by the provincial Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
The portal gives the location of each government property and the department responsible for it. Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer said the department manages 10,067 properties in the province, adding that the size of the portfolio made it impossible for officials to monitor every facility continuously, so community involvement was critical. "We want all the communities saying: this is our property, this is our government, this belongs to us," he said.
Residents who encounter problems at schools, clinics or other facilities can use the portal to find out which department is responsible and report the issue, and Public Works and Infrastructure would monitor complaints even where another department was responsible.
The department has released the first 81 unused buildings and land parcels to the public as part of its asset-management programme. Meyer said more than 300 schools across the province were standing empty and could be repurposed to benefit communities, and that the department was considering models including long-term leases and alternative uses of its buildings and land.
Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition John Steenhuisen, who joined Meyer at the launch, said an accurate record of state-owned property was essential for planning and development and could improve transparency around the use and disposal of government assets, which he said had for too long been done "in shadowy backrooms and behind closed doors".