By Bekezela Phakathi

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi yesterday announced new measures to manage lease contracts in a bid to address the problem of abuse and maladministration that has dogged the department in recent months.

The new measures effectively mean that lease contract management will be centralised in the office of the department’s director- general, who becomes the only person delegated to give final approval for all contracts.

Mr Nxesi said yesterday that under the new measures, residential leases relating to executives such as political leaders, commissioners and chief justices would be initiated and approved at head office level.

His announcement came on the day that another lease scandal rocked the department.

It emerged yesterday that the Independent Complaints Directorate was paying more than R880000 a month for leasing the building it uses as its Pretoria headquarters. This was more than twice what it would have been paying for premises the directorate itself had identified as suitable for headquarters.

Moreover, the building housing the directorate ’s offices is owned by Roux Shabangu, who was at the centre of the police headquarters lease scandal that resulted in the sacking of former public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and the suspension of police commissioner Gen Bheki Cele pending the outcome of an inquiry.

Mr Nxesi, who came into office late last month, said yesterday he had instructed acting director- general Mandla Mabuza to immediately withdraw all procurement delegations with regard to the signing and approval of leases. He said all contracts pertaining to office accommodation and commercial leases would from now on be initiated and concluded at head office by the office of the director-general. All regional offices of the department would now be allowed to conclude only leases that relate to annual contracts for residential accommodation.

All procurement for leases would be adjudicated by a special bid adjudication committee at head office, Mr Nxesi said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) yesterday welcomed Mr Nxesi’s announcement "as a first response to the ongoing problems at the department". DA public works spokesman John Steenhuisen said: "The withdrawal of the delegations will certainly assist in getting the leasing issue under control in the short term but must not be seen as a magical elixir that will suddenly solve all the ills."

He warned that centralisation of the lease management function could well cause bottlenecks in actual service delivery and the minister would have to monitor the new system "very carefully".

Mr Steenhuisen said the DA hoped the latest move would be a prelude to a more lasting solution to the lease management crisis at the department. "Let us not forget that the issue relating to the (police) leases probed by the public protector emanated from the upper echelons of the (department), not the lower ones." He said in the long term Mr Nxesi needed to conduct a wholesale clean-out of the department.

"(He needs to) ensure that all officials who have been involved in supply chain management irregularities and mismanagement are removed from the department.

"A zero-tolerance approach must be adopted in rooting out corrupt officials," Mr Steenhuisen said.