THE R260million Gert Sibande district municipality's new office complex in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, evokes a bag of mixed feelings in the district's seven local municipalities.

People who spoke to Sowetan during the official opening of the state-of-the-art building on Saturday said though officials of the district municipality were in need of office space, the cost of the new building was extravagant.

District mayor Andries Gamede said they had spent between R150million and R200million annually on service delivery projects.

In terms of roads, Gamede said, the district in conjunction with the national government had invested close to R4billion in road construction.

According to the district's service delivery report, more than R559million has been invested in the provision of water and sanitation in the past four years.

Justifying the need for the building, Gamede said the district's offices in Secunda presented challenges because of the limited space, which led to non-recruitment of the necessary personnel.

He said the bidding process for the sale of the building in Secunda had started because "there was no need for it and it would be vandalised if it stood empty".

Mpumalanga MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Madala Masuku said the provincial government would not be able to deliver on its mandate if it had no place to work from.