Govt. pays P180m per year for office rental in GC alone
Government pays over P180 million per annum as office rental in the capital city Gaborone alone in its bid to support the private sector and grow the economy.
Answering a question from MP for Francistown West Ignatius Moswaane, minister Kefentse Mzwinila said government spends P15, 013, 012.50 monthly and P180, 156,150.30 annually in Gaborone.
Mzwinila said government also spends P4, 860, 462.74 monthly and P58, 325, 552. 86 annually out of Gaborone being rental payments for leasing private properties as of October 2020.
Moswaane had asked the minister to say how much government is spending on leasing private properties in and out of Gaborone monthly and annually.
Making a supplementary question MP for Maun west Dumelang Saleshando asked the minister what it is they are doing to ensure that all the buildings they are paying for are fully utilised as there are some buildings in Gaborone which have been leased to some government ministries, but have been vacant for years. In response Mzwinila said the arrangement is that “a ministry is the one that comes to us to request to use a certain property, and then we start the process of acquiring that property, from there we ensure that it can be used”. It is upon the department or ministry to make use of that property because they are the ones who would have requested to use that property. In a supplementary, MP for Palapye Onneile Ramogapi asked if given the high public funds used to pay for rent, does the minister not think it is cheaper and better to build in the long run as this would also mean “we would have our own assets as Botswana”?
But Mzwinila did not agree. He said first as government, they have to ensure that they assist the private sector to grow. “So if we start building all the offices that we need as the government, then it means there will be no chance for the private sector. “Secondly, maintenance or refurbishment of the premises is a responsibility of the property owners. Therefore, it is important for us to give the private sector the necessary
funds as they are able to do the maintenance timeously unlike if we were to maintain those places for ourselves”.
The minister said the current arrangement is flexible in that if they want to improve or to extend or to reduce the offices, they can do so at the quickest. “When the offices are not ours, it is easier for us to reduce their size or increase it as it is always the case when departments are moved to other places or when they downsize,” Mzwinila said.