17 Aug 2023

The government is mulling over the idea to allow public officers to purchase pool houses leased to them.

Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Development acting permanent secretary, Mr Bareng Malatsi told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday that in the past, public officers were allowed to buy government pool houses leased to them.

However, a moratorium was put on the arrangement by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM), Mr Malatsi said, adding that even when the moratorium was subsequently lifted, the process of allowing public officers to buy government pool house was not instituted.

Mr Malatsi said the delay in finalising the process was as a result of consultations with DPSM. He expressed optimism that a decision would be communicated in the near future. 

“Pool housing belongs to the employer which is the DPSM, we are only managing it on their behalf,” he said.

The acting permanent secretary, who appeared as the ministry accounting officer was responding to comments from the PAC chairperson Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, who wanted to know progress made by the ministry to allow public service employees to buy pool houses.

He said such move could also help to address some of the issues experienced by the ministry in managing pool houses, such as families refusing to vacate houses.

Mr Malatsi had earlier in his submission stated that among the challenges faced by the ministry was failure by tenants to pay rentals fees.

Also, he said some abandoned pool houses at the end of their tenure in the public service, adding that the ministry was owed heavily by public officers especially those who continued to live in pool houses after  exiting the service. He said some tenants were deceased and their dependents occupied the pool houses.

Mr Malatsi added that for eviction orders and recouping monies owed, the ministry was working with Attorney General Chambers for legal assistance.

Recouping money owed by pool house tenants was not easy because some parent ministries processed terminal benefits of their employees without requiring for pool house vacation certificates, he said.

Apart from challenges faced in managing the government pool houses, Mr Malatsi said they were grappling with poor supervision of projects, poor contract management, delayed decision making and officers conniving with contractors. ends