Only 20% of Public Works targets were met in 2022/23

This was the state of one of the rooms at the SAPS office inside the Telkom Towers in Pretoria earlier this year. The offices were evacuated and closed by labour inspectors. Photo was supplied.

• Members of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Public Works and Infrastructure will visit the controversial Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria.
• MPs questioned whether there had been any progress on work at the complex which was meant to house SAPS.
• Earlier this year GroundUp reported on the Auditor-General’s report on material irregularities to the portfolio committee. It found that the Telkom Towers had been largely underused for eight years.
• The building used by SAPS was declared unfit for human use after an inspection by labour department officials.

Members of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Public Works and Infrastructure raised concerns that the department failed to meet about 80% of its projects planned in the 2022/23 financial year.

The DA’s Edwin Bath asked if the department had an action plan to fast-track delayed projects. He said it was “not acceptable” that the department failed to achieve 80% of its targets.

In March GroundUp reported on the Auditor-General’s report on material irregularities to the portfolio committee. It found that the Telkom Towers complex in Pretoria was purchased by Public Works in April 2016 for nearly R700-million. But eight years later, the complex had been underutilised and police staff were recently evacuated from the premises due to safety concerns. Eight of the buildings in the complex were vacant, costing the government at least R592-million. This was flagged by the Auditor-General as a material irregularity.

The Telkom Towers were meant to be the South African Police Service (SAPS) headquarters in Pretoria but they were declared unfit for human use after an inspection by labour department officials earlier this year.

But then Police Minister Bheki Cele admitted that he had been working from home for the past four years due to the state of the Telkom Towers.

During the briefing on Wednesday, Wayne Thring of the ACDP, questioned the progress of the Telkom Towers matter. He said hundreds of millions of rand had been “spent to house SAPS” in the complex which remained incomplete.

To which Siza Sibande, head of Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) at the DPWI, said that the department was in the process of addressing some of the issues.

“There are some matters that go as far back as 2013 and include the Telkom Towers issue, where the Minister has instituted an investigation … We are currently reviewing our annual performance plan as part of the budget assessment process,” he said.

The portfolio committee is expected to visit Telkom Towers next month.

Incomplete projects

Meanwhile, the presentation by the Auditor-General’s office also revealed that only 20% of the department’s planned targets were achieved in the 2022/23 financial year.

Tintswalo Masia, deputy Business Unit Leader at the Auditor-General’s office, said that 107 projects were significantly delayed with a total expenditure of R3.9-billion. “These delays are mainly attributed to the poor performance of the contractors and are not ready to be used by departments.”

The Auditor-General’s report found that Public Works “continues to fail to deliver projects that are of quality, in a timely manner and within budget”. They also found irregular expenditure of R521-million. This was a significant increase from R145-million in the previous financial year.

Masia added that material irregularities were still an issue in the department, resulting in an estimated loss of R746-million.

The Auditor-General’s office is expected to return to the committee with further details on the material irregularities it found in the department.

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