Public Works and Infrastructure Department rejects distortions presented at Department of Correctional Services Portfolio Committee
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has noted with concern allegations and media reports on the inaccurate information presented to the Correctional Services Portfolio Committee on the services it is rendering to the Department of Correctional Services.
The DPWI appreciates and respect the role of the Portfolio Committee in taking a firm stance in holding both the DPWI and the DCS to account as part of exercising its oversight responsibilities.
The DPWI rejects and take serious exception to the misrepresentations and untruthful narratives presented before the DCS Portfolio Committee, leading to the committee resolving to issues a public communication based on the inaccurate reflection of the tabled information before it.
The Director-General of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sifiso Mdakane, vehemently disputes the presented narratives and considers them to be unfairly damaging to the reputation of the Department hence they warrants a detailed response.
The Director-General wishes to state the following facts:
As reflected in its financial records, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) wishes to indicate that an amount of R842 million for accommodation charges was not received as reported to the committee. It is unfortunate to learn of this through the media when recently, the Ministers of the two departments met and resolved that the Accounting Officers of the two departments must lead the task team to resolve all the matters including payments, budget and state of facilities occupied by the Department of Correctional Services.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure records reflects that in the 2024/25 financial year, the DCS paid to the DPW an amount of R672 million for accommodation charges. The DCS occupies 12 282 properties at a rate of R14.33 per square metre, while the approved finance model determined R2.6 billion at a rate of R53.60 per square metre. This results in an annual financial deficit of R2 billion. These facts have been brought to the attention of relevant officials in the department of correctional services.
The R14.33 per square metres basic user charge paid by the Department of Correctional Services is insufficient to cover any basic services related with property management, ownership, or custodianship as per the DPWI mandate. This is even more worrying when considering the fact that the DCS is a department with specialised and complex infrastructure needs.
To further illustrate the point, the amount of R672 million received from the DCS in the 2024/25 financial year, more than R520 million was used to pay municipalities for property rates, with only the remaining R152 million spent on maintenance costs and repairs.
As a matter of fact, the DPWI has over the years been spending more to service the Department of Correctional Services and its needs than it has been receiving payments for services rendered from Department of Correctional Services
Over the period of four years, the DCS has paid the DPWI R2.6 billion while the DPWI has spent R4.4 billion servicing the Department of Correctional Services. This translates to a staggering R1.8 billion budget shortfall which the DPWI has find and make available to keep services going at DCS facilities.
As the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, we have spent R416 million on maintenance on repair, refurbishment and day to day maintenance while an about R519 million was spent on property rates. Against the above, the DCS paid the DPWI a paltry R672 million while total expenditure on the upkeep of DSC facilities was R936 million.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, feels obligated to correct these distortions in the interest of transparency and accountability. The DPWI will present this information to the relevant Portfolio Committees to enable balanced oversight and accountability.
Contact:
Lennox Mabaso
Head of Communications and Marketing
Department of Public Works and Infrastructure
Cell: 082 884 2403
Thami Mchunu
Director: Media and Stakeholder Relations
Cell: 079 519 6997
