Information on Yearly Rental of the previous and current Premises of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation; as well as information on Tenders prior to the Leasing of the current Premises

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 1096 (NW1284E)

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 11-2012 OF 4 MAY 2012

Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation:

1. What are the (i) yearly rental and (ii) floor space of the (aa) current and (bb) previous premises occupied by her department’s head office and (b) when (i) was the current building occupied and (ii) does the current lease expire;
   
   
2. whether her department publicly invited tenders prior to the leasing of the current premises; if not, why not; if so, (a) when, (b) where was it published and (c) which (i) companies and (ii) properties were shortlisted;
   
   
3. what was the (a) floor space and (b) annual rental offered by each shortlisted (i) company and (ii) property?

Reply:

1. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation entered into a Public Private Partnership Agreement (PPP) for the finance, design, construction, maintenance and operation of its Head Office building and two guest houses in 2009. A Unitary Fee of R156 144 399 (excl VAT) is payable in the 2012/13 financial year, which amount is adjusted annually with CPI increases for a total of 141,733 square meters of constructed area. The PPP Agreement will expire in September 2034. Please note that the Unitary Fee includes the capital repayment, maintenance and operational costs of the Head Office and guest houses. Prior to the Department’s relocation to its new accommodation, 7 different buildings in the Pretoria CBD with a total floor space of 50,077 square metres was rented at a cost of R 68,218,781 per annum.
   
   
2. A public tender process for the PPP was followed in compliance with Treasury Regulation 16 and the necessary Treasury approvals for the project and specifically the procurement phase thereof, was obtained in 2005 – 2006.
   
   
3. Not applicable.

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