Macpherson asks Treasury to guide probe into R70m PMTE lease for Pretoria building with no tenant

By Lebone Rodah Mosima

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has asked National Treasury to advise on an independent investigation into a roughly R70 million lease agreement concluded by the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) for a Pretoria building that was never occupied.

The Department of Public Works & Infrastructure said on Sunday that Macpherson had requested Treasury’s “directives, guidance and/or requirements” on instituting an independent probe into the procurement process and implementation of the lease for 146 Lunnon Road in Pretoria.

The lease was concluded in March 2023 by the PMTE for the then Department of Public Enterprises at a cost of R69,574,607.77 over five years, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa having already announced that the department would be reconfigured and closed.

The agreement was never enforced because occupation did not take place, the department said.

A preliminary report by the department’s Anti-Corruption and Fraud Awareness Unit found that