These properties, of which custodianship has passed to the national DPW, are located in Paris, Rome, and London. Consultants have been appointed to market the property in Paris. The Department of Finance is charged with the responsibility of disposing the State's shares in the Rome property. These were in New York, Paraguay and St Petersburg. Further properties have since been declared redundant and are being considered for disposal.
Vacant residences are costly to maintain and are susceptible to vandalism and illegal occupation.
The National Department of Public Works will, within the next two months, approach cabinet for approval to dispose of all redundant residences that have been identified to date. The way in which this will be done will be largely determined by local market conditions, but it is our declared policy to dispose of assets at market value. The other provinces have indicated to the national department that their base information will be available by the end of February 1997. Budgetary proposals have been put forward to help address this question. In the meantime, however, a number of other strategies are being looked at and we hope to make details available in the near future.