By Thapelo Molefe
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has ordered an investigation into more than 6,200 state-owned homes occupied by government officials after the department spent nearly R40 million maintaining the properties despite having expenditure records for only a small fraction of them.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure spent an estimated R39.6 million on day-to-day maintenance during the 2025/26 financial year. However, expenditure records were available for only 108 of the 6,238 state-owned residential properties allocated to government departments for official use.
Macpherson has instructed Director-General Sifiso Mdakane to investigate all 6,238 properties and submit a report within 30 days detailing who occupies each property, whether it is still required for operational purposes, and which properties should be retained, repurposed or sold.
KwaZulu-Natal has the largest number of state-owned residences, with 3,626 properties, followed by the Western Cape with 566 and Gauteng with 407.
The investigation
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