South Africa: Committee on Public Works Calls for Urgent Action to Strengthen Operating Bring Back Government Properties

The Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure has called for urgent action to strengthen Operation Bring Back (OBB) and ensure that government properties are returned to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the custodian of state-owned property. The committee received a briefing from the DPWI on progress in implementing Operation Bring Back, as well as a briefing from the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) on outstanding legislation. Operation Bring Back aims to recover state properties that have been illegally occupied or unlawfully transferred. The DPWI informed the committee that it faces widespread challenges, including the illegal occupation of buildings, land invasions, and the unlawful commercial use of state-owned properties. The department reported that it had appointed four service providers at a combined cost of R237 million to identify, audit, analyse, evict occupants from, and recover illegally occupied or hijacked properties. The committee heard that, of 1 285 potential recoveries, only 20 properties had been successfully returned to the DPWI. Committee members expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of recoveries and raised co