Thirty one residential properties owned by the Gauteng government‚ including the premier’s official residence‚ will be sold at auction next month‚ Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced on Tuesday. Makhura has not stayed at the official residence‚ despite millions of rands being spent on it during the time of his predecessor‚ now Water Affairs and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokanyane. He announced two years ago that the mansion would be used to host official events‚ while he remained in his own home. The property was purchased in 2004 for R11.4 million‚ but further renovations costing an additional R4 million were subsequently made due to what government called “structural defects” to areas such as the swimming pool.Jozi chases Gauteng for a R259 million debtThe City of Johannesburg is gunning for the Gauteng government, demanding R259-million that it says provincial departments owe in unpaid services and rates. Last year about 50 engagements and meetings were held at the Bryanston house‚ which costs about R1.5 million a year to run‚ according to the Democratic Alliance's Jack Bloom.Makhura‚ responding to written questions at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature‚ said he had in March made a commitment that the future of the official residence would be considered once the Department of the Infrastructure Development had done an audit of all assets including non-core assets of the Gauteng Provincial Government."To this end‚ the asset register and valuation of all government fixed property has now been completed. "The majority of these properties are occupied by public servants. Thirty one (31) properties will be disposed at the first online auction to take place towards the end of October 2016‚" he said.Makhura said he was confident that this decision will not only save the provincial government money from maintenance but it would help raise additional resources to fund the provincial government’s programme of transformation‚ modernisation and re-industrialisation (TMR) priorities such as student bursaries and rollout of Tshepo 500‚000‚ an employment creation and entrepreneurship development programme. “We will only keep the property portfolio and land assets which add value to serving delivery‚ infrastructure development and our overall agenda TMR”. Bloom commented in a statement that he was awaiting more details about the conferences that were held at the premier's official residence in the past year.He said Premier Makhura had assured him that more details about these meetings would be provided to him this week in response to an application he made in March in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA)."It was revealed last year that R4.2 million was spent on the house since May 2014 when Premier Makhura took the decision not to live there."My view is that it is much cheaper to use the province-owned Emoyeni conference centre or a private venue as the annual cost of the Bryanston house works out to about R30‚000 a meeting just as a venue. "A lot of money could have been saved if the house was sold earlier‚ as it is a white elephant‚" Bloom said...