Nxesi wants property management plan running by November

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi wants the newly-approved Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) to be operational by November.

"I want this to be up and running in November, having appointed key strategic top level management or executives," he told reporters via video link from Cape Town.

Nxesi announced on Tuesday that Cabinet had approved the establishment of the PMTE to improve management of state properties.

"Last week Cabinet approved the business case for the establishment of the Property Management Trading Entity as a government component under the minister of public works."

"Within a week we will be advertising for the top management positions.... We're not going to delay this particular area. We want to move. We are steaming ahead."

The PMTE would report directly to the minister.

"The objective of operationalising PMTE as a government component is to ring-fence and professionalise the management of state property," Nxesi said, adding that this would give the department more control over the PMTE.

During the question and answer session, PMTE acting head Dhaya Govender said that sourcing emerging black estate agents would be more effective than using the department's staff.

"We would be in a position to create jobs and businesses that begin to maintain government buildings," Govender said.

Nxesi said the PMTE's objectives were to better manage the state property portfolio to save money.

It would improve the quality of government services to the public by improving access to, and the quality of, buildings. It hoped to use the property portfolio to empower emerging black business and create jobs.

The PMTE was established in response to negative audits in the past eight years, irregular leases, sub-standard government facilities, no planned maintenance of government properties, and their under-utilisation.

Nxesi said "major achievements" had already been made in the department's turnaround plan in the past two years.

"These fundamental improvements in the core property business meant that we have also improved our audit findings over the last two years."

The department had gone from a disclaimer to an unqualified opinion.