Gauteng spending R260 000 monthly on empty GBV shelters

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Since 2019, five newly constructed and renovated shelters intended for victims of Gender-Based Violence in Gauteng have remained unoccupied. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) revealed that in 2020, the provincial government requested a reworking of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Subsequently, in 2021, the province faced budget constraints, and in 2022, coordination issues among DPWI, Gauteng, and the Department of Social Development hindered the establishment of a user agreement.

As of November this year, all five shelters were still vacant, with one repurposed as an office block.

Despite being unutilized, DPWI disclosed that it has spent nearly 12 million rand to secure these unused buildings, incurring a monthly cost of around R260 000.

This was revealed through a written Parliamentary reply in response to a question from the Democratic Alliance