The 2022/23 edition of the annual Western Cape Government (WCG) Property Efficiency Report (PER) provides evidence that the provincial government’s property holdings are continuing to become more efficient. This year’s edition marks the 12th consecutive year of study of a selected study sample of WCG property holdings. It remains South Africa’s only published report on public sector property performance.
As the custodian of the portfolio, the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) establishes baselines, tracks performance over time, and makes positive evidence-based decisions to keep improving property efficiency. The benefits are clear. The more efficient the WCG’s property holdings become, the lower the costs. This frees up resources for better service delivery to citizens.
The DOI’s work responds directly to the climate change imperative by reducing the province’s water and energy consumption. In addition, the rollout of rooftop solar electricity generation makes certain WCG facilities less dependent on Eskom for electricity, freeing up some electricity for other users.
This year’s study sample comprises 37 office buildings (with total useable space of 196 853m2), 22 health facilities (a total space of 774 530m2), and 45 education facilities (a total space of 294 946m2). The number of health facilities included in the study increased to 22, compared to 12 in 2021/22, and the number of educational facilities increased to 45 from 19 in 2021/22. The WCG owns certain buildings in the study sample, and leases others.
The PER reports on three dimensions of efficiency – environmental performance (water and electricity consumption), space utilisation, and occupancy costs. The study compares WCG performance with private sector benchmarks, and with a select portfolio of City of Cape Town properties.
The cost of occupying WCG office space has decreased by 8.8% since 2021/22, at a time when the private sector occupancy cost benchmark increased by 6%.
WCG electricity consumption per square metre increased by 6.6% since 2021/22. While the City of Cape Town’s consumption of electricity is only 93kWh/m2/per annum, the WCG’s consumption of 113kWh/m2/per annum compares favourably with the private sector benchmark of 240kW/m2/per annum.
The WCG study sample’s water consumption of 0.58kL/m2/per annum continues to outperform the private sector benchmark of 0.73kL/m2/ per annum.
The average amount of space for each full-time employee over the last three years has been 19m2/desk, but the amount of space required in WCG buildings in the Cape Town city centre has fallen from 16m2 per full-time employee to 14m2.
So far, the WCG has obtained 115 energy performance certificates (EPCs) for its buildings, well ahead of the 2025 National Energy Act deadline requiring public sector buildings of over 1 000m2 to display such certificates. The DOI has plans in place plans to obtain EPCs for a total of 1 200 WCG buildings over the next three years.
View the PER documents: