Well-known South African company licking its wounds after getting into bed with the government
Balwin Properties is having a tough time recovering the money it spent on infrastructure for a project in the East of Pretoria from the government.
This was revealed in the company’s 2026 integrated annual report, which was released on Tuesday, 12 May 2026.
The debacle dates back to October 2020, when President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Mooikloof Mega Residential City in Tshwane, Gauteng.
“The launch of the Mooikloof development is the outcome of a successful public-private partnership,” Ramaphosa said.
“I want to congratulate the developers, Balwin Properties, the provincial government, and the City of Tshwane, for their commitment to bringing this project to fruition.”
“The Mooikloof Mega City may end up becoming the world’s largest sectional property development, with land earmarked for schools, shops and offices.”
The Mooikloof Integrated Development, with a total project value of over R84 billion, was one of the 62 Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) gazetted in 2020.
Being a SIP means that town planning and regulatory approvals, such as water-use licenses and zoning, are fast-tracked to avoid years of bureaucratic delay.
In the original agreement, the government was intended to fund the bulk services, like installing water, sewerage, electricity, and major roads.
The Department of Public Works was set to pay for all external bulk services installations, such as water, sewer, electricity, roads and stormwater.
In 2025, Balwin secured a R1 billion loan from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to advance the project.
Development on the Mooikloof Smart City project is progressing well, and Balwin Properties has already hundreds of units.
Balwin’s battle to get money from the government
Balwin Properties is finding out the hard way that the government is big on promises but not equally enthusiastic about keeping them.
Balwin expected the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to cover the cost of external bulk services for the Mooikloof Smart City, as it was an SIP.
However, in recent feedback to MyBroadband, the department said it was unsure where Balwin got this information, as it was “incorrect in fact and law.”
“The SIP framework is instead a planning, coordination and facilitation mechanism, intended to fast-track regulatory approvals,” it said.
“The framework is further aimed at improving intergovernmental coordination and signalling national strategic importance.”
“It does not assign funding responsibility for bulk infrastructure to DPWI or any other national department by default.”
Balwin Properties said the DPWI earmarked approximately R1.4 billion towards those services to unlock the land for development.
However, that does not mean the funding should come from the department. The DPWI insisted that the City of Tshwane is responsible for bulk municipal engineering.
The City of Tshwane previously said it did not have the budget to fund the infrastructure expansion. It is unclear why the project proceeded if this was the case.
Balwin was under the impression that the City of Tshwane must construct the infrastructure, with funding from the National Treasury.
Balwin had already spent over R200 million of its own money to build this infrastructure, which has been handed over to the municipality.
In its annual report, Balwin said that its increase in capitalised development is predominantly concentrated in the Tshwane node.
It is driven by infrastructure expenditure for the next phase of the Mooikloof Smart City development.
Overall, Balwin Properties invested approximately R120.6 million in infrastructure during the financial year.
The company said that it is actively engaging with three parties to recover the infrastructure costs.
These three parties are the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the National Treasury, and the City of Tshwane.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launches the Mooikloof Mega Residential City project in October 2020
Mooikloof Smart City development
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