The Western Cape government has squandered R562 million on office space for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) without delivering a permanent headquarters, prompting accusations of fiscal mismanagement.

Parliamentary disclosures from November 2020, April 2025, and June 2025 by Infrastructure MEC Tertuis Simmers and former MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, in response to Good party queries, detailed the expenditure.

Launched in 2010 as part of the Cape Town Central City Regeneration Programme, the Dorp Street Office Development aimed to relocate the WCED from leased to owned premises via a public-private partnership (PPP), budgeted at R1 billion.

Promoted as a flagship project to revitalise the city centre with vague affordable housing commitments, it saw R81.7 million spent on prime Dorp Street land and R13 million on consultants and planning. Deemed unaffordable, the PPP and regeneration programme were abandoned.

The project’s failure was exacerbated by the controversial 2016 sale of the Tafelberg school site, justified as funding for Dorp Street. Despite public promises by then-MEC Donald Grant to use the R135 million proceeds for social projects, cabinet approved their allocation to the Dorp Street PPP’s Asset Finance Reserve, as confirmed by provincial Treasury in 2015.

The sale, opposed by foreign-funded NGOs Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City (backed by the Open Society Foundation) sparked legal action, halting the transaction for public consultation. Both sites remain vacant, with R9 million spent defending the sale.

Since 2020, the government has spent R295.6 million leasing ENS House (18,434m²) until February 2026, R132.7 million refurbishing it (excluding ICT), and R38.4 million upgrading off-site records facilities at Alfred Street (excluding ICT and furniture).

The Dorp Street project, initially requiring a R540 million upfront contribution (up from R210 million to cut long-term costs), relied on property sales like Tafelberg’s to bridge a R330 million shortfall.

Critics, including Good’s Brett Herron, argue the funds could have built a WCED headquarters in underserved areas like the Cape Flats, fostering jobs and economic growth. Instead, the DA-led government’s reliance on costly leases reflects poor planning and spatial injustice. Good demands accountability and prioritisation of public land for affordable housing and development.