MEC of Public Works and Infrastructure for KZN, Martin Meyer, says he is pleased to share that the comprehensive Physical Verification of Immovable Assets Management initiative is progressing steadily and remains on track.
Meyer made the announcement in a media briefing held at the departmental offices in Mayville on the morning of Tuesday, 21 January.
Meyer stated that to date, 4,334 out of the 10,067 assets belonging to the department have been physically verified, representing 43% of the total project scope.
“We can confirm that 92.34% of the identified assets are fully utilised, while 5.54% remain unutilised, and 2.12% are underutilised. Of all these assets, 93.19% of the facilities are legally occupied, 4% are vacant, and 1.45% are illegally occupied. Others are faced with encroachment issues; however, 94.36% of facilities are free from encroachments, indicating minimal issues in this area,” said Meyer.
He said all verifications were done internally as a means of cost-cutting.
Meyer explained that since assuming his role as MEC of this department, reducing unnecessary and wasteful expenditure has been a priority. “Through stringent financial measures, we were able to make savings. Coupled with soliciting payments owed to us, last year we successfully paid out R500 million to contractors, some of whom had been waiting for months or even years for work completed. This ensured that they were able to save their assets and businesses.
“We are also moving to engage financial institutions in good faith to maintain open relations and take them into confidence about issues that affect contractors and payments so that these institutions do not turn down the opportunity to extend finances to contractors. Our extensive financial discipline and control is also reflected internally.”
Meyer stated that to cut costs, his department has successfully revised its policy on cellphone and data usage, which previously exceeded R670,000, of which R192,000 constituted irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure. This included multiple contracts allocated to single individuals, contracts exceeding policy limits, and extended contract durations of 36 or 48 months instead of the standard 24 months.
“These irregularities made cost management impractical. The revised policy introduces significant changes, particularly concerning the ownership of cellphone contracts. Under the new policy, cellphone contracts are registered in the names of the respective officials, with the department providing a monthly subsidy of up to R500 (inclusive of VAT) for data allowances. Officials are permitted to select a package from the RT-approved list within the subsidy amount, with any additional costs borne by the official.
“Previously, cellphone contracts were held in the department’s name, creating several issues. When officials exited the department—whether through resignation, retirement, or other reasons—the department was often left with unused or damaged devices, many of which were untraceable or unsuitable for reassignment. This resulted in significant fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as new devices had to be procured for other officials unwilling to utilise returned devices.”
Meyer noted that his department has also significantly reduced travel costs. “Since assuming responsibility as Executive Authority (EA) for this department, I have placed a strong emphasis on curbing expenditure on non-essential items. As part of this effort, spending trends reveal a notable increase in the 2022/23 financial year, during which the Office of the MEC, under my predecessor, incurred R5.981 million in expenditure. In the 2023/24 financial year, this was reduced by R1.529 million due to cost-cutting measures.
“Upon taking office in July 2024, the Office of the MEC had already expended R1.910 million in the 2024/25 financial year, with a significant portion, R1.065 million, attributed to trips undertaken in the months between May and June 2024. Notably, in the past six months, since my tenure, the expenditure has been significantly curtailed to R237,000. This reduction reflects a strong commitment to controlling costs and underscores a commitment to further reduce spending to achieve a record reduction by the end of the financial year.”
He assured that his department will continue to cut costs to ensure that the money saved is used for the benefit of the people, as commended by the KZN Premier Thami Ntuli.
