The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is responsible for the provision of office accommodation for government departments through using state-owned properties or leasing in from the private sector.
In order to achieve greater operational efficiencies in the provision of office accommodation for government departments, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille has convened the first Landlords Conference with all landlords which DPWI currently leases properties from.
The aims of the conference are to:
- To engage landlords regarding various issues that face the department, the landlords, and the industry as a whole.
- To give a clear policy direction going forward and clarify any inconsistencies that currently persist.
- To outline the various tools that the DPWI has adopted to mitigate the rising costs of leasing and achieve a greater level of water and energy efficiency
- To outline the various strategies that the DPWI is implementing to reduce overreliance on private leases
- To outline the DPWI’s strategy to optimize the utilization of the State Owned Property Portfolio
- To engage the landlords on specific issues they may have with the Department
During the conference Minister Patricia de Lille and senior managers from the department will engage landlords on various issues that the department, landlords and the industry at large grapple with.
Some of DPWI’s leasing portfolio challenges entails letting-out agreements that run on a month-to-month basis and large number of rentals not being market-related.
The conference ultimately aims to strengthen working relationships and partnerships between DPWI and private landlords and map the way forward for more efficient and effective operations that will assist both the department and landlords in their day to day operations.
Source: Government of South Africa