GOVT PAYS CETHUKA RENT FOR EMPTY HOUSE

MBABANE – Member of the King’s Regiment and soldier, Cethuka Sigombeni Dlamini, is being paid monthly rentals by government for a house that is not used by anyone.

The house, situated at Lot 951, Fairview North in Manzini, is three-bedroomed and has a garage. Dlamini is the executor of an estate that owns the house. For two years, it has been on lease to government despite that it was long vacated by the civil servant who once stayed there.

The Ministry of Public Service declined to state the amount of money lost by the taxpayer as the lease agreement remains in force and monthly rentals are paid religiously to Dlamini, in his capacity as a guardian for the estate of the owner of the house.

However, when Dlamini was asked about the issue, he said government was paying E2 600 per month, which means, to date, government has paid about E60 000 for an unoccupied house, since August 2018. The amount paid for the house is one of the lowest to be paid for a three-bedroom house as some property owners charge as much as E7 000 for a three-bedroom house.

violation

The ministry confirmed that rentals are being made monthly to Dlamini, adding that refusal to do such would amount to a violation of the active lease agreement between the state and Dlamini. Communications Officer of the Ministry, Hlobisile Vilakati, said the issue was being attended to with urgency.

“The house in question was reported to the relevant ministry that it was not fit for human habitation. As the Ministry of Public Service we are awaiting the necessary renovations to be made,” she said. She said Government General Orders state that a leased house must be returned to its owner in the same state that it was on the day of the leasing.

prejudice

“However, we cannot subject the owner to prejudice, by not paying rentals while we await the said renovations,” she said.

Asked to explain why the house got to be vandalised, she said the ministry was informed that the previous occupant had left it unoccupied for a long time until people started vandalising it.

Meanwhile, when asked about it, Dlamini said he once found five satellite dishes fixed to the house and immediately knew that it was not well looked after. However, it could not be ascertained whether this was during the stay of the civil servant or after the government employee had vacated it.

He said water and electricity connection to the property had also been disconnected, which made him wonder how the occupants were living without the necessary resource.  “Whoever vandalised the house was using the fireplace as a stove and most of the house fittings were removed by these vandals. All that I asked was for government to restore the house to its normal state,” he said.

Dlamini said he was, however, made aware that after a long time, government was now making means to restore the house to its habitable state. Acting Chief Buildings Engineer Manzi Lukhele said the issue was being discussed in the ministry and had been made a priority.

He said lack of resources had caused the delays in the maintenance of the house.

soonest

“We have been busy with quantifying the material needs for the work to be done soonest and have forwarded things to Finance to authorise the work,” he said.

Meanwhile, this newspaper is in possession of communication made by the Ministry of Public Service to Dlamini in which the issue of the house was being discussed on August 7, 2018.

Former Principal Secretary Evart Madlopha, on August 7, 2018 informed his counterpart in the Ministry of Public Works that the house needed renovations soonest.

“The Ministry of Public Service kindly requests your ministry to renovate the aforementioned house (three-bedroomed leased house on Lot 951 Fairview North) to meet practical standards for human habitation. This is a leased house which was occupied by a civil servant whom we had to evict because he was vandalising and subletting the property,” Madlopha wrote.

owned

He further quoted General Order A720 (2) which states that privately owned quarters leased by government shall be regarded as government quarters  in terms of General Order A.703. The lease agreement signed between the owner of the house and government also carries a clause stating that government is liable for internal damages to the property. Reads the clause: “During the period of the lease, the Lesee shall keep the inside and the Lessor the outside of the leased building in the same good order and condition in which they are at present, provided that the lessor shall keep in good order and repair all electrical and any heating of cooking appliances belonging to him and which are leased with the premises.”

When Eswatini News visited the house, the gate was locked, and the house was almost swallowed with overgrowth.

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