13 August 2026
The empty Telkom Towers complex, intended as police headquarters in Pretoria, is costing the public about R6.7-million a month. Archive photo: Ihsaan Haffejee
The vacant Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria, meant to house the South African Police Service (SAPS) headquarters, is costing the public R6.8-million a month, the department of public works has admitted. Meanwhile, SAPS is spending nearly R40-million a month to rent premises in the city centre.
Officials from the department were grilled on Wednesday during a meeting of the portfolio committee for public works and infrastructure in Parliament.
Telkom Towers, purchased in 2016 for nearly R700-million, was evacuated in February 2024 due to health and safety concerns. It has been vacant since.
Only one of its nine buildings were ever used by SAPS. The rest, which cost at least R592-million, have been vacant. The Auditor General flagged this as a material irregularity.
Public works minister Dean Macpherson launched an investigation into the purchase in August 2024.
In October 2024, the police minister said SAPS would withdraw from the Telkom Towers Complex and pursue “an alternative accommodation strategy”.
Public works deputy-director general Mandla Sithole told MPs on Wednesday that SAPS had 68 leases in Pretoria. Of these, 22 leases in the city centre, costing about R444-million a year, cover 150,000 square metres of office space and 2,000 parking bays.
He said Macpherson intends to meet the minister of police to discuss the matter.
The department estimates R1.6-billion would be needed for the refurbishment of the Telkom complex. A public-private partnership is being investigated, Sithole said.
But MPs were unimpressed. Nkosinathi Nxumalo (MK) said it was “not a lack of money or expertise, it’s a lack of political will to simply move SAPS into the building we already bought for them”.
“Private landlords are getting richer from the government rent. This is unacceptable,” he said.
Bonginkosi Madikizela (DA) asked why it was taking so long for the two ministers to meet. Officials replied that they were waiting for the finalisation of a forensic report in order to discuss a way forward.
Sipho Mahlangu (ANC) asked how much money the Telkom Towers were costing the public while the complex remained vacant. Only towards the end of the meeting did officials provide the answer. According to Sithole, R5-million a month is spent on municipal services, R500,000 on security and about R1.3-million on rates. He stressed that these figures were an estimate and unverified.
