Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, was in Goodwood, Cape Town, yesterday to lead a high-profile operation aimed at reclaiming government properties that have been illegally hijacked and occupied.
The initiative, dubbed “Operation Bring Back,” is a concerted effort by the department to take back state-owned assets that have been stolen and are being used for purposes that do not serve the interests of the public or the government.
During the operation, Deputy Minister Zikalala outlined the scope of the problem, revealing that the process often goes wrong when properties allocated to client departments—such as the South African Police Service (SAPS) or the Department of Defence—are not returned after officials vacate them.
“The department of public works will give a property to a client department. It will be allocated to members to reside in,” Zikalala explained. “When those individuals leave, they do not report back. Their department does not report to us, and these houses become vacant and are then illegally occupied.”
The Deputy Minister stated that while the operation was initially conceived as far back as 2011, it was not properly executed. The current administration revitalized and formally conceptualized the mission in 2023, identifying numerous properties across the country that have been unlawfully taken over.
In some of the most egregious cases, these state properties are being rented out to third parties or are occupied by organizations falsely claiming to be non-profits. “That is wrong and very illegal,” Zikalala emphasized.
The department is now in the process of fully quantifying the number and value of the hijacked properties. Once reclaimed, the strategic plan is to optimize their use for public benefit, including converting them into social housing or repurposing them as student accommodation, particularly those properties located near tertiary institutions.
The specific property visited in Goodwood was a residential home that belonged to the Department of Public Works and was previously allocated to a SAPS official who vacated it without the necessary reporting procedures being followed.
Following the reclamation in Goodwood, the Deputy Minister’s team proceeded to the Khayelitsha area to reclaim another illegally occupied government property.
This aggressive campaign signals the government’s renewed commitment to auditing and securing its portfolio, ensuring that public assets are used for their intended purpose: to serve the communities of South Africa.
