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Cape Argus reports that the ANC in the Western Cape legislature wants to know whether provincial government officials are paying market related rents in the government properties they occupy in some of Cape Town’s suburbs.
The provincial Department of Human Settlements recently revealed in the legislature that a number of government officials lived in government properties in areas such as Plumstead, Gardens and Milnerton for as little as R1,500 in monthly rent. The ANC’s Cameron Dugmore said: “There needs to be full disclosure about every official who is staying in provincial government property. We need to know exactly what rental they are paying and also their salary level. As the ANC, we are concerned that there may be some officials who can afford to buy or rent in the market, while others who really need such accommodation are not assisted. Also, we need to know the criteria for those who are leasing; how the leases were advertised and the process followed to award leases to certain officials.” Human Settlements MEC Tertuis Simmers had responded to a query about whether the department and municipalities in the province owned properties that have been rented out to government officials with a spreadsheet detailing the properties, their addresses and monthly rents paid. However, he omitted the names of the government officials saying that information was prevented by the Protection of Personal Information Act. He also said the department could not respond in respect of municipal rental stock. Research into the average market rents in Plumstead, one of the areas on the department’s list, showed that an average two bedroom, one bathroom flat goes for R8,289, while the average 3 bedroom, one or two bathroom house fetches R16,272. According to the spreadsheet provided by the department, government flats and houses in Plumstead were rented from between R1,500 and R5,500.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mwangi Githahu at Cape Argus
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