The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature's portfolio committee highlights alarming delays in the Pietermaritzburg government precinct project. In Picture: The 5th National Men and Boys Parliament was held at the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.
Image: Department of Social Development
The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature’s portfolio committee on the Office of the Premier, Community Safety and Liaison has raised urgent concerns regarding the costly delays in the rollout of the Pietermaritzburg government precinct.
The purpose of the precinct was for the purpose of having various government departments at one address, to strengthen service delivery and ensure better co-ordination of government work.
And the big spin-off was the savings that the government would derive from no longer having to pay huge rental bills for the various buildings the respective entities rented in previously.
This queries stemmed from a three-day oversight visit by the portfolio committee to various government buildings across the province, which provided the realisation that the precinct project and its intended purposes were stalled indefinitely, while government departments were forking out large sums of money for rental expenses.
Work on the the multimillion precinct began in 2022 and when complete, it will house more than 5 000 workers. The cost of the project was an estimated R6.8 billion, but it ground to a complete halt in 2024.
Mbali Frazer, the committee's chairperson, said that a thorough assessment of both financial and non-financial performances was conducted to ensure that government departments remained accountable and responsive to the needs of the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure reported that the provincial government was currently spending around R 475 million annually on leased office space.
The committee held the unanimous belief that the rental figure was unsustainable, particularly in the current challenging fiscal climate. Therefore, the longstanding delays plaguing the Pietermaritzburg government precinct project required urgent attention.
The committee also recognised the key benefits of precinct, including curbing unnecessary rental costs and fostering better coordination of government departments.
“This project is critical to reducing expenditure while enhancing integrated service delivery,” the committee said in a statement.
However, they warned that ongoing delays were directly undermining these beneficial objectives.
In light of the findings, the committee called for urgent intervention from relevant authorities to expedite the project.
Failure to act swiftly may exacerbate the financial strain on the province and compromise efforts to improve the delivery of services to its residents, the committee warned.
DAILY NEWS