Plenty of appetite from private sector to take over hijacked buildings, says KZN Infrastructure MEC

JOHANNESBURG - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure says there is "a lot of appetite" from the private sector to take over government-owned abandoned and hijacked buildings in the province. 

KZN has a high number of abandoned and hijacked buildings, particularly in the Durban inner city. 

In a recent interview with Eyewitness News, MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, Martin Meyer, said this was one of his biggest challenges in his 100 days in office.

Meyer said the KZN government was in the process of conducting a full audit of its buildings and their condition. He said the department was looking at developing some of these buildings as government offices to save money on private leases. 

READ: KZN Infrastructure MEC Meyer reveals plans for hijacked Palm Beach building

Meyer said they were also looking at public-private partnerships for social housing.

"For instance, let's say the Palm Beach Hotel, which is an empty abandoned hotel on South Beach, we are going to go to the private sector and say come with suggestions what do you think should happen but we want two or three floors of that must be available for social housing or student housing. Whatever the case might be, we get something to benefit from it. We don’t sell the building to them, we give it to them as a long-term lease," he said.

Meyer said it's important the KZN government remains stable and commits to cutting stringent regulations to make this work.