A prospective buyer has offered the National Intelligence Agency R7-million for its luxury beachfront mansion in Cape Town.
Aucor South MD Martin Dibowitz said the offer, by an undisclosed Johannesburg buyer, will be forwarded to the NIA, which has 72 hours to accept or reject.
He said about 80 people attended the Monday-morning auction, among them 17 registered buyers.
Bidding started at R4-million, went briskly up to R6-million, then more slowly to R7-million. The entire auction took about 15 minutes.
He said the top bid was made by a woman acting on behalf of the Johannesburg buyer. Only if the bid is accepted will the woman have to disclose the buyer’s identity to Aucor.
The auctioneers’ commission, which the buyer will also have to pay if the offer is accepted, will amount to another R500 000.
NIA spokesperson Lorna Daniels said later in the day that the agency is still waiting for the offer to be formally put to it by the auctioneer.
The luxury Sunset Beach dwelling, dubbed variously the ”spook house” and ”Lindiwe’s folly” in reference to former intelligence minister Lindiwe Sisulu, has been on the market for at least nine months.
The decision to go ahead with the auction was taken after the NIA earlier this year hesitated over and then lost out on a R8,5-million cash offer.
The house was bought for about R6,5-million and extensively renovated.
The sale follows a change in priorities, including disposing of some assets, in the department.
Daniels reportedly earlier said the NIA wanted to get R8,5-million out after the auctioneer’s commission.
However, Dibowitz said he had only seen that figure in the newspapers.
The property was used by Sisulu herself, while her home was being renovated, and by several Cabinet ministers, and was even earmarked as a possible home for exiled Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Democratic Alliance spokesperson on intelligence Paul Swart said Monday’s ”meagre” offer indicates a loss on investment for the intelligence ministry.
”Acceptance of the R7-million offer means that the taxpayer will be out of at least R1,5-million, possibly even more, depending on the final sum that was pumped into this house, including its refurbishment,” he said.
”The DA is awaiting a reply to the questions it put to the minister concerning this final cost, as well as the reason why the R8,5-million offer was not accepted.”
He trusted this ”lesson” will ensure that the limited funding available to intelligence agencies will in future be used only for their core business. — Sapa