Avatar photo

By MaryAnn Virginia Keppler-Young

Pretoria Bureau Chief


Tshwane mayoral mansion goes on sale for R5m

Tshwane mayor says R12m spent on renovations under watch of previous ANC administration had evidently been misused.


The mayoral mansion, which has been dubbed “the house of corruption”, opened its doors yesterday to potential buyers.

The house, which was renovated at a staggering R12 million under the watch of former mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, yesterday went on sale for R5 million.

Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga said the proceeds from the sale of the house would be used to build 40 to 50 houses for those people already on the waiting list for housing.

Msimanga said it was important to get the house sold to avoid any more spending on it.

“Some of the things, like the cupboards, are substandard, the cupboard doors are substandard, the garage door had to be fixed and the security fencing had to be done all over again after the controversial upgrade,” he said.

The paving outside the house also had to be redone because the water was flowing into the house instead of away from it, he added.

According to the city, the renovations entailed improvements to the walls, paving, swimming pool and the automated irrigation and gate system.

The property is a single residential dwelling with five bedrooms, two en-suite bathrooms, two additional full bathrooms, two separate guest toilets, entrance foyer, dining room, lounge, TV room, family room, scullery, pantry and a fully-fitted kitchen with built-in cupboards throughout.

There is also a study on the ground floor and two outside staff rooms.

The DA-led administration is still conducting a probe into the renovations because it believes the R12 million that was spent is not reflected in the work done on the house and that it was misused on dodgy renovations by the previous ANC administration.

Msimanga has pressed criminal charges against those implicated by a forensic investigation. He added that he was frustrated that the investigation was taking so long.

– Caxton News Service

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter

Read more on these topics

municipality

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.