Minister of public works and infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, on Friday confirmed that her office had used its first right of refusal and purchased the Lindela Repatriation Centre property.
The property had been bought by another company during an auction of the Bosasa assets two weeks ago. Before the bidding, the auctioneer had explained that first right of refusal had been given to the department of public works. This meant that despite the property going under the hammer, the department had been given 14 days to decide if it wanted to purchase the property instead.
The Krugersdorp property, which houses undocumented migrants pending their deportation, was highly contested during the bidding and was finally auctioned for R60m as part of the assets belonging to the now liquidated African Global Operations, formerly known as Bosasa.
“In terms of the right of first refusal, the liquidators invited the government to match the price of R60m. The DPWI has matched this offer and is in the process of finalising the acquisition of the property at a price of R60m,” De Lille said in a statement.
Government to cease leasing Lindela Repatriation Centre after buying the former Bosasa-owned property
Image: 123RF/andiafaith
Minister of public works and infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, on Friday confirmed that her office had used its first right of refusal and purchased the Lindela Repatriation Centre property.
The property had been bought by another company during an auction of the Bosasa assets two weeks ago. Before the bidding, the auctioneer had explained that first right of refusal had been given to the department of public works. This meant that despite the property going under the hammer, the department had been given 14 days to decide if it wanted to purchase the property instead.
The Krugersdorp property, which houses undocumented migrants pending their deportation, was highly contested during the bidding and was finally auctioned for R60m as part of the assets belonging to the now liquidated African Global Operations, formerly known as Bosasa.
“In terms of the right of first refusal, the liquidators invited the government to match the price of R60m. The DPWI has matched this offer and is in the process of finalising the acquisition of the property at a price of R60m,” De Lille said in a statement.
Before this acquisition, the government had been renting the premises and using the services of Bosasa to manage the property at more than R1m a month.
De Lille said by concluding the sale to the government at this price, the department had secured a superb return on investment at 9.75% and realised substantial savings on the lease.
The 26.4ha property was used as a mining compound before being converted into a youth development and repatriation centre. It has a workshop, a residential development containing nine buildings and a soccer field.
Lindela refugee centre sold for R60m as part of Bosasa auction
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