“The handover of these properties is part of the work we are doing to ensure that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure plays a meaningful role in improving the lives of all South Africans. By working together, we are using public assets for the public good to build a better country. Let’s build South Africa,” the Minister said at a  handover ceremony in Mpumalanga.

Five of the properties are located in Badplaas, four in Lothair, and one in Delmas.

They had previously stood vacant and unutilised by the department but will now be renovated by the Mpumalanga provincial department.

Macpherson said Monday’s handover to the Mpumalanga MEC for Social Development, Brenda Moeketsi, aligns with the department’s mission to ensure that public properties do not stand idle, but are instead used for the public good.

The Minister was joined by the Mpumalanga MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport, Thulasizwe Thomo.

The handover follows a similar transfer last month of five unutilised properties in Waterkloof, Pretoria, to the Gauteng Social Development MEC, Faith Mazibuko.

“When I was appointed Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, I promised that the days of public buildings standing empty and being underutilised were coming to an end. Instead, I want public buildings to be used for the public good—particularly to help us address the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa,” Macpherson said.

“As a department, we have an important role to play in helping to provide the facilities needed to safeguard the most vulnerable in our society,” he said adding that 15 properties have now been handed over.

“In the weeks and months ahead, we look forward to increasing this number as we work to bring an end to gender-based violence.”

Minister Macpherson emphasised that his department remains firm in its commitment to working with Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe and other key stakeholders to ensure that every district in South Africa has access to a fully functional GBV shelter.

According to the department, of the 52 districts across the country, 47 already have such facilities, and work is being expedited to ensure the remaining five receive shelters as soon as possible.

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On the evening of 22 January 2025, security personnel stationed at the government building confronted the group, who were armed with dangerous weapons. The group is alleged to have carried out similar acts of vandalism in the area. The confrontation resulted in two suspects being shot while the others fled. The group reportedly used pangas to intimidate and attack security guards as they attempted to steal materials likely intended for sale to scrap metal dealers.

Public Works House has been a frequent target of criminal activity, with incidents of fencing and infrastructure theft becoming alarmingly common. The DPWI has expressed concerns about the connection between these acts of vandalism and the illicit scrap metal trade, which undermines both the economy and vital infrastructure.

The injured suspects were transported to the hospital, and security personnel involved in the incident are being questioned as part of an ongoing police investigation. The department has pledged to enhance security measures at all public assets, reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding infrastructure meant to serve the public good.

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R1.669 billion of the debt, for accommodation charges, Groenewald told a Parliamentary questioner, was as of 30 June 2024 in dispute with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. Another R2.728 billion, including interest, for municipal services, is also being disputed.

Questioner, Rikus Badenhorst, a Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape National Council of Provinces (NCOP) public representative, was further informed by Groenewald the municipal invoice for shared savings and energy contracts was not settled timeously “due to long outstanding requested supporting documentation”. This is in line with what Badenhorst was told by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga when he asked about monies, seemingly also in the region of R4 billion, the Department of Defence (DoD) owed DPWI.

In her response to Badenhorst’s question, Motshekga said Minister Dean Macpherson’s department was claiming money without providing proof of services supplied. The DA Member of Parliament (MP) was told, in the case of the DoD, it is dissatisfied with the payment claim adding DPWI was “officially informed”.

On the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) debt, Badenhorst was told there were several meetings with senior representatives from Groenewald’s department, National Treasury and DPWI regarding the disputed amounts and all ended without resolution.

A discussion for additional funding between the three “did not yield the desired result”.

DCS will continue “engaging the relevant stakeholders until this matter is fully resolved” the Ministerial reply reads, adding the disputed amounts are in the department’s annual report and financial statements listed as “unconfirmed inter-governmental payables”.

Groenewald stated it is also worth noting that “the Department of Correctional Services is underfunded to meet financial commitments pertaining to municipal payments.”

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Ntshavheni was reacting to so-called “revelations” of at least R300 million lost to cyber theft at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) over a 10 year period. In a statement she said a State Security Agency (SSA) investigation was ongoing with continuing support and advice to government departments on cyber security.

Next in line for SSA attention in this regard, according to Democratic Alliance (DA) Portfolio Health Committee member, Michelle Clarke, should be the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), a Department of Health (DoH) entity.

It assists with communicable diseases, occupational health and cancer surveillance in addition to providing diagnostic pathology services. It has specialised institutes including the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), which includes the National Cancer Registry (NCR), National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH), Forensic Chemistry Laboratories (FCL) and SA Vaccine Producers Association (SAVP). NHLS has laboratories in all nine provinces and is seen as a critical component of South African government healthcare.

A cyber-attack on NHLS, Clarke said, “rendered critical data unusable, significantly disrupting delivery of essential health services”.

Unlike the DPWI allegations, where money was uppermost in the cyber thieves’ minds, the NHLS attack could be life threatening in certain instances.

The attack, attributed to a group going by the name BlackSuit, affects issuing of test results to clinicians. This delay, Clarke said, especially for life-threatening conditions such as TB and HIV, can have dire consequences for patients.

The NHLS has implemented alternative measures, including a critical test list to manage the workload and ensure urgent tests are prioritised. “However, routine tests are still being performed, albeit under strained conditions. The development of an electronic registration system for new samples and test results is a positive step, but the current manual communication of urgent results is not a sustainable solution,” Clarke said.

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A statement yesterday (Thursday 11 July) in the wake of so-called “revelations” of at least R300 million lost to cyber theft at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) over a 10 year period has it an SSA (State Security Agency) investigation is “ongoing”. This comes over two months after then DPWI minister Sihle Zikalala said a multi-disciplinary team, including the SSA, was busy with “a full forensic investigation” on the illegal “siphoning off” of departmental funds.

Patricia de Lille, now Tourism Minister and former incumbent of the public works and infrastructure portfolio, was quick to respond to her successor Dean MacPherson’s announcement of the apparent massive cybercrime.  She will meet him and “request a copy of the report [relating to the alleged theft] for the period relevant to my time at DWI”. She notes during her DPWI tenancy R253 million was recovered relating to lease overcharging adding where corruption was found “I acted swiftly,” reporting matters to the Auditor General (AG) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

According to Ntshaveni the DPWI investigation is “still ongoing” with teams “urged to work with speed” to finish “without compromising the thoroughness of the investigation”.

On government and cyber security she noted “the SSA continues to provide support and advice to government departments on cyber security”. The agency is finalising a consolidated assessment on government’s cyber security strengths, and initiatives are underway to address any weaknesses found in the system. The report, once completed, will be submitted to the National Security Council (NSC) for further processing and direction, her statement reads in part.

MacPherson, the GNU (Government of National Unity) DPWI minister, said it was important to let South Africans know what happened and “what we are doing about it”. He is reported as saying “I cannot discount the possibility of collusion between officials and criminals in this prolonged period of theft. It is clear that we need better financial controls which I have said to the department are a matter of urgency”.

To date the DPWI investigation has seen four officials, three in senior management positions, suspended and 30 laptops confiscated.

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This revelation came after a recent incident in May 2024, which resulted in the theft of R24 million from the department. The Minister noted that this led to a full joint investigation by the Hawks, South African Police Service, the State Security Agency, and experts from the cyber security industry.

Promising to tackle the cyber threat to the department, the minister stated it had become evident “that the department has been a soft target and playground for cyber criminals for over a 10 year period and this should have been picked up a lot earlier.”

The Minister emphasized the importance of alerting the public, adding “I felt it important to let South Africa know what has happened and what we are doing about it. I cannot discount the possibility of collusion between officials and criminals in this prolonged period of theft. It is clear that we need better financial controls which I have said to the department are a matter of urgency.”

The attack further resulted in the department having to shut off its payment system, causing significant delays in payments. The minister is quoted as saying, “We want to put a stop to this immediately because we cannot allow our department to be subjected to unchecked looting. This is money that could have been spent on our infrastructure drive to improve the lives of South Africans.”

The investigation has thus far resulted in the suspension of four department officials, and the seizure of 30 laptops. Three of the suspended officials were revealed to be from the department’s senior management. Determined to root out corruption in the department, the Minister welcomed the precautionary suspension of the four officials. He added, “There is simply no place for corruption in this department.”  The department has further committed to strengthening its cyber security defenses to prevent further incidents.

Cyber attacks of government systems is not a new phenomenon. In July 2021 Transnet was forced to shut down and declared force majeure amid a cyber-attack. The incident was described as “an act of cyberattack, security intrusion and sabotage”, which crippled the ports of Durban, Ngqura, Gqeberha, and Cape Town. Ultimately revealed to be a ransomware attack, Transnet was able to restore order and resume operations after six days, on 28 July 2021.

In the aftermath of the hack, Transnet remained tight lipped around the details of the incident, citing national security concerns. Bloomberg later attributed the hack to a known ransomware strain of “Death Kitty”, believed to have originated from Eastern Europe. The timing of the attack in relation to the July 2021 riots left many questioning if the events were related.

A few months later, on 6 September 2021, another series of cyber attacks targeted the Department of Justice and the South African Space Agency, which left the systems encrypted and inaccessible. No demands were received by either department.

More recently, in August 2023, the Department of Defence found itself the target of a cyberattack, which resulted in the theft of 1.6TB of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) data. The DoD and SANDF initially denied there had been an attack, with the SANDF spokesperson dismissing the incident as “fake news”.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Snatch group, who stated that they sought to “[expose] the current government as totally corrupted, involved in international illegal arms trade. It reveals illegal traffic on the African continent and all interested parties from other countries, mainly from the United States.” The SANDF hack laid bare the extent to which South Africa was vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

With South Africa increasingly becoming a playground for hacker groups, and this recent revelation from the DPWI, many are asking if the new administration and its departments are equipped and prepared to prevent and mitigate these risks.

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