Reflection on 100 Days in Office

MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works Jomo Sibiya as he hands over Public Works property to a community in eSikhawini 

First and foremost, I wish to express my appreciation to the Premier Sihle Zikalala, all MECs and members of portfolio committees on Public Works and Human Settlements for the support since my deployment to this portfolio. 

I am also indebted to the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the Republic of South Africa for the guidance. 

As part of 100 Days in office, on Thursday 17 June 2021 I will hand over a property owned by Public Works to vulnerable members of the community in eSikhawini Township.  

When I took office, I offered to undertake a programme focusing on utilizing our properties and state owned land across the province for the benefit of communities. I have stated on several platforms that it cannot be correct that such properties and the land ends up in the hands of criminals.  

It was reported sometime last year that the government of South Africa owns somewhere around R1.5-trillion of buildings, compared to the entire listed sector where the market cap is between R600bn and R700bn, with the value of its assets just under or around R1-trillion. On this basis, the government is the largest property owner by value of assets. 

In various parts of KZN including rural areas there are buildings and the land owned by government. We want to unlock the value of these properties and the land for the use by the ordinary members of society to drive their own development. 

Source: Government of South Africa