(1) (a) The contract of the security service provider, which was appointed to secure the property at No. 18 Market Street, Stellenbosch, Western Cape Province, came to an end on the 30th April 2018.
(b) The contract was not renewed after expiry due to budgetary constraints.
(2) The estimated cost to restore the property as per the condition assessment conducted in May 2017 is R1 562 560.00
(3) The Department of Public Works has reviewed its letting out process to ensure that a free, open and fair process is undertaken during the letting out of surplus State-owned properties. In February 2019, the Department issued an interim circular all its regional offices, which outlines the process to be followed in the letting out of State-owned properties. The Department plans to advertise all surplus State-owned properties, including the property in question, No. 18 Market Street, Stellenbosch, through a Request for Proposals process. All offers submitted prior to this process must be resubmitted.
(4) The property is a surplus State-owned property and thus should be leased out.
(5) All surplus, vacant and unused State-owned properties will be advertised for letting out. The Department aims to begin the letting out process by April 2019.
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