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Government Immovable Asset Management Act, 2007 (Act No. 19 of 2007)

4. Relationship between and responsibility of custodian and user

 

 

(1) The departments managed by the following executive organs of state within the national and provincial spheres of government are custodians:
(a) The Minister,  in  relation  to  immovable  assets  that  vest  in  the  national government, except in cases where custodial functions were assigned to other Ministers by virtue of legislation before the commencement of this Act;
(b) subject to subsection (5), the Minister responsible for Land Affairs, in relation to immovable assets acquired for land reform, as well as immovable assets that vest in the national government and are situated within the former homelands, except in cases where custodial functions in respect of those areas were assigned to another Minister by virtue of specific legislation before the commencement of this Act; and
(c) a Premier of a province or an MEC designated by the Premier, in relation to an immovable asset that vests in a provincial government.

 

(2)        A custodian—

(a)        acts as the caretaker in relation to an immovable asset of which it is the custodian;

(b)        may—

(i) in the case of a national department, acquire and manage an immovable asset as contemplated in section 13 and, subject to the State Land Disposal Act, 1961 (Act No. 48 of 1961), or any other Act regulating the disposal of state land, dispose of that immovable asset;
(ii) in the case of a provincial department, subject to the relevant provincial land administration law, acquire, manage and dispose of an immovable asset; and
(iii) is, subject to section 18, liable for any action or omission in relation to an immovable asset of which it is the custodian, excluding an act or omission in good faith.

 

(3)        The Minister or MEC of a user is—

(a) subject to section 18, responsible for the performance of the functions assigned to it by this Act or any agreement with the custodian of the immovable asset that it occupies; and
(b) liable for any act or omission in relation to the immovable asset concerned, excluding an act or omission in good faith.

 

(4) A custodian and user must settle any dispute between them in the manner contemplated in the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 (Act No. 13 of 2005).

 

(5)        

(a) Notwithstanding section 19(1), the accounting officer of a user is the designated custodian in the case of a public private partnership relating to an immovable asset, from the date of signature of the public private partnership concession agreement and for the duration thereof.
(b) Upon termination or expiry of the term of the public private partnership concession agreement, the ownership or custodianship of that immovable asset is transferred or reverts to the custodian referred to in section 4(1).

 

(6) Despite subsection (1)(b) and section 38 of the PFMA, the Minister performs the custodial functions referred to in section 13(1), (2) and (3)(a) in relation to immovable assets situated in the former homelands and occupied by a national department in support of its service delivery objectives.

 

(7) For the purposes of this section, the words ‘‘former homeland’’ bear the same meaning assigned to ‘‘homeland’’ in Schedule 6 to the Constitution.