Technical MinMec Advances AI-Driven Asset Register for Government Immovable Assets

Pictures by Caroline Mokotedi

In a move to deliver a credible immovable asset register, and to enhance transparency and efficiency, the Director- General of the Department, Sifiso Mdakane, led a Technical MinMec today in Mpumalanga. The meeting interrogated extensively the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to build a credible, all-encompassing asset register for government immovable assets.

Learning from the best practice initiated by the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure, the initiative aims to integrate asset data, improve governance, and enable real-time access to reliable information for planning, maintenance, and reporting. The model combines data governance, digital asset registers, and AI tools that support advanced analytics, maintenance optimisation, and natural-language access to asset information.

Reflecting on the presentation delivered by the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure, Director-General Mdakane said “this is a fundamental shift in how we will manage public assets in the future. This will usher a new era of timely, accurate valuations and proactive maintenance planning that stakeholders can trust.”

This project is expected to transform how public assets are managed, enabling more accurate budgeting, better asset optimisation, and clearer reporting to citizens.

The Western Cape model was today adopted as a blueprint that will serve as a guide to the execution of the model. Furthermore, a task team has been established to explore how this model can be utilised to modernise asset management across the sector. This model is set to deliver a credible asset register that supports precise valuations and ensures smarter capital expenditure decisions.