KZN Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer will present a R2.4 billion budget focused on reducing lease costs and boosting job creation via innovative projects and digitisation.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) MEC Martin Meyer is set to deliver his 2025/26 budget speech in July, highlighting a core direct budget of R2.4 billion.
A focus of the budget will be a concerted drive to reduce the nearly billion-rand expenditure on leases by refurbishing and utilising the department’s own buildings, focusing on projects such as the Esplanade Government Building (EGB) refurbishment.
“We spend close to a billion on leases. We are on a drive to refurbish our own buildings and then stop the leases. The EGB is a good example of this. We are working closely with education as an example to do this,” Meyer said.
In his previous budget, Meyer had said that the building had been in a state of abandonment and decay for decades because of neglect, which forced government staff to relocate. The building cost the department millions of rands in utilities, whilst laying bear with minimum use.
