President Cyril Ramaphosa during his 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA). His 11th SONA will be delivered Thursday evening.
South Africa’s government plans to set up a new company to manage its vast property portfolio worth an estimated R155 billion.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce the establishment of the firm, which will oversee about 88 000 buildings and 5 million hectares of land, in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential cabinet decision.
Vincent Magwenya, the president’s spokesperson, declined to comment on the contents of the speech.
The plans for the new company are consistent with a decision by the nation’s 10-party ruling coalition to retain a tight hold over most state assets and ensure they are put to good use, the people said.
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson first mooted the creation of a state property-management company shortly after he assumed office in mid-2024, to deter government departments from leasing expensive buildings from private companies rather than utilising those owned by the state.
“We are going to create an asset book that is worth hundreds of billions of rands that could possibly be traded, could possibly be sold for equity or could raise debt for social infrastructure,” he said at the time.
Bonginkosi Madikizela, a lawmaker who, like Macpherson, is a member of the DA, said the government could save about R6 billion a year if it ended the practice of state entities leasing private buildings.
