Premier selling ‘white elephant’
USED FOR MEETINGS AT COST OF R30K EACH Premier’s unoccupied official residence costs R1.5 million a year to maintain, according to the DA.
Alot of money could have been saved if Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s official residence in Bryanston, Johannesburg had been sold earlier as it is a “white elephant”. This is the view of Jack Bloom, DA member of the oversight committee on the premier’s office and legislature, after Makhura revealed that the executive council had decided all houses owned by the Gauteng provincial government, including the official residence, should be sold.
Makhura was replying to Bloom’s question in the legislature yesterday.
Bloom had asked Makhura why his request for details about the 50 meetings held at the official residence last year was taking so long to answer.
Last year, about 50 engagements and meetings were held at the Bryanston house, which costs about R1.5 million a year to run.
“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,” Bloom said.
He added that it would be 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.
Makhura said that more details about these meetings would be provided to Bloom this week in response to an application he made in March this year in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
In March this year, Makhura made a commitment to the legislature that the future of the official residence would be considered once the department of infrastructure development had done an audit of all assets, including non-core assets of the Gauteng provincial government.
DA MPL Ashor Sarupen asked Makhura about allegations that the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) acting CEO David Masondo had been involved in recruitment rigging and maladministration at the AIDC.
Makhura said the AIDC board had resolved to appoint an independent law firm to investigate the allegations.
These would be submitted to the board on completion of the probe. –